Easter Monday
Readings at Mass
First reading — Acts 2:14, 22–33
God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to this
On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice:
‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since, as David says of him:
I saw the Lord before me always,
for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.
So my heart was glad
and my tongue cried out with joy;
my body, too, will rest in the hope
that you will not abandon my soul to Hades
nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.
You have made known the way of life to me,
you will fill me with gladness through your presence.
‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 15(16):1–2, 5, 7–11
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: “You are my God.”
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Sequence — Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Gospel — Matthew 28:8–15
Tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee: they will see me there
Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.
And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’
While they were on their way, some of the guard went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.’ The soldiers took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.
Reflection
First Reading — Acts 2
Peter proclaims the Resurrection with clarity and authority.
“You killed him, but God raised him to life.”
There is no ambiguity. The Resurrection is not framed as possibility — it is declared as fact. And Peter anchors it in both prophecy and witness.
“It was impossible for him to be held in its power.”
Death is not simply overcome — it is shown to be powerless before Christ.
The Catechism teaches that Christ’s Resurrection is the definitive victory over death and sin, fulfilling the promises of Scripture (CCC 638, 654). What David spoke prophetically is now fulfilled in reality.
And Peter makes this personal:
“All of us are witnesses.”
The Resurrection is not hidden truth — it is proclaimed truth.
Gospel — Matthew 28
The Gospel holds two responses to the Resurrection side by side.
The women:
- filled with awe and joy
- encounter Jesus
- fall in worship
- are sent to proclaim
The guards and leaders:
- witness the same event
- choose control over truth
- spread an alternative story
This contrast is striking.
The same reality produces two radically different responses:
faith or resistance.
Jesus’ words are simple:
“Do not be afraid; go and tell.”
This is the pattern of Christian life. Encounter removes fear. Mission follows encounter.
The Catechism reminds us that the Resurrection is not only an event to believe in, but a reality that sends the Church to proclaim it (CCC 641–642).
The Gospel also shows something sobering:
truth can be rejected, even when evidence is present.
Faith is not forced — it is received.
One line to carry today:
Do not be afraid — go and tell what you have seen.
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