EASTER SUNDAY | SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C 2025
LECTIONARY READINGS
First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43
Responsorial psalm: Ps 117(118):1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second reading: Colossians 3:1-4 / 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Gospel: John 20:1-9
Link to readings
Easter Sunday: the greatest feast of our liturgical year! May our readings fill us with hope and deep joy, whatever our circumstances may be. In our Gospel we see Mary Magdalene, running to tell the disciples about the empty tomb. Peter and the beloved disciple discover this for themselves and slowly come to believe that Jesus is risen.
Psalm 117 (118), which we will meet several times in the Easter season, is a joyful song of praise to the Lord who has triumphed over suffering and death. The First Reading, from the Acts, shows how Peter has grown in his faith. He is spreading the Good News and gives his personal witness to the Resurrection of Jesus to Gentiles as well as Jews.
Both alternatives offered for the Second Reading challenge us to live out the reality and the consequences of the Resurrection for us—we have been brought back to true life with Christ.
As Pilgrims of Hope, this Jubilee year encourages us to acknowledge that we need to pause, to give time to rest and worship. May the Easter season lead us to put aside some time for quiet each day, or maybe enable someone else to do so. We can place our trust in God who rested on the seventh day.
PSALM 117 (118)
R./ This day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad
Give praise to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures for ever.
Let the house of Israel say,
his mercy endures for ever.
The Lord’s right hand is exalted.
The Lord’s right hand has done mighty deeds.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done,
a marvel in our eyes.
REFLECTION
I come to my place of prayer and sit quietly, taking a few deep breaths, and asking the Spirit to help me as I pray on this glorious feast. I read the psalm slowly, taking time between the verses for their meaning to sink in.
I let the refrain set the tone. Even if I do not feel great enthusiasm myself, I can let the joy of Easter surround and support me. How do I feel that Easter is a new day, a new creation? As I re-read the psalm, what words or expressions strike me particularly? Why do I think or feel this? The psalmist exhorts us to give thanks. For what do I wish to thank God today? I spend time in a spirit of gratitude.
I consider the metaphor of Jesus, the rejected stone, becoming our cornerstone. What is this new structure? How do I belong? I speak to the Lord about this. I think of my journey from Palm Sunday, through Holy Week. Where have I been newly aware of God’s unending love? I draw my prayer to a close with a ‘Glory be . . .’
GOSPEL
John 20:1–9
On the first day of the week Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him’. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on the head of Jesus, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
REFLECTION
As I prepare to pray, I may choose to light a candle, symbol of the Risen Christ. I relax my body and slow my breathing, and become aware of being in his presence. When I’m ready, I read the text slowly a couple of times. I consider Mary coming to the tomb in the darkness, full of grief and apprehension. She finds the tomb empty. She runs. What are her feelings: fear, confusion, hope . . .? How am I feeling today? Maybe the stone is still covering the tomb for me . . . or do I feel a surge of hope?
Peter and the other disciple run too. What jumble of emotions do I imagine are theirs? It is brighter now and the disciples can look into the tomb. They see the cloths lying there. What is their significance for me?
The disciples did not understand the teaching of the Scriptures. What would Peter think and feel as he stood in the empty tomb? And the other disciple? Why does faith seem to come more quickly for him? I stand in the empty tomb; the sun has come up. What do I say to the risen Lord? I speak to him from my heart. I end my prayer in gratitude for all those who help me to believe.
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SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C, 27 APRIL 2025
LECTIONARY READINGS
First reading: Acts 5:12-16
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 117(118):2-4, 22-27
Second reading: Apocalypse 1:9-13, 17-19
Gospel: John 20:19-31
Link to readings
The outpouring of God’s love and mercy flows throughout this Sunday’s liturgy. The joy of Resurrection that we celebrate in this Easter season rings out in the words of praise that we repeat with jubilation in today’s Psalm: ‘Give Thanks to the Lord for he is good, His love has no end’. It reminds us that in the midst of dark and challenging times, the presence of the risen Christ is a comfort in our distress.
In the First Reading, we hear how the early Church, filled with the Holy Spirit, gather together to worship, bringing the risen Lord’s healing to all who seek it. St John, writing from the place where he was imprisoned for his beliefs, describes a vision of God’s endless living love (Second Reading). The risen Christ is the Alpha and the Omega: the Eternal One stands with us, encouraging us to not be afraid.
Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples are hiding, fearful of what might happen to them (Gospel). Jesus appears among them in the midst of their fear, his presence bringing them peace. Thomas is not there, and cannot believe what he is told. Eight days later, Jesus stands among them again, and the reality of the resurrection is revealed to Thomas, too.
Today, Jesus stands alongside us, tenderly drawing us out from doubt and disbelief. He has breathed his Holy Spirit upon us. Just as he sent the disciples two thousand years ago, today he sends us out, to bring peace and healing to a fractured, hurting world. Let us pray for that peace that only Christ can bring, in our hearts, in our communities and in our world.
PSALM 117 (118)
R./ Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say: ‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say: ‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say: ‘His love has no end.’
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
REFLECTION
Taking all the time I need, I allow myself to become still. I remind myself that even though I may not be aware of it, I am always in the presence of our loving God. I read the psalm slowly and with reverence. As I do so, I recall how these words have been sung and prayed by countless generations of people, and by Jesus himself. I am connected to them through my prayer.
What words, phrases or images am I drawn to from this psalm of praise? Trust … rejection … refuge … gratitude ...? Why are the words that seen to touch me important in my life? When have I seen answer to prayer? What am I thankful for?
As I draw my prayer to an end, I focus on the opening and closing response to the psalm: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end. I close my prayer with my own words of thanks.
GOSPEL
John 20: 19–31
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe’.
Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’, he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand: put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ . . .
These things are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
REFLECTION
I read the Gospel slowly. I may like to use my imagination to enter into the scene, standing with the confused and fearful disciples in the upper room. What is the mood of the gathering? I let myself wonder … What are they afraid of? What are my own fears at this time?
I imagine seeing Jesus return again, and the compassion he shows to Thomas. Then I imagine Jesus suddenly being present with me, standing alongside me in my life today.
I allow him to look deeply into my being; knowing, loving and accepting me, just as I am. Even in my doubt, Jesus sends me to spread his love and peace. What words of encouragement do I need to hear Jesus speak to me? What do I want to say to him? I close my prayer – like Thomas, with my own declaration of belief.
Courtesy of St Beuno’s Outreach in the Diocese of Wrexham, UK