Easter Sunday Sermon – April 5, 2026 – Year A

My brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the core of our faith: the resurrection of Jesus.

This is not simply commemorating an event from the past; it is a living reality that transforms our lives. Easter is the day when life conquers death, light overcomes darkness, and hope leaves despair behind.

In the Bible, we hear that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. When she saw the stone being lifted, she ran to call the disciples. Peter and the other disciple rushed to the tomb. There they saw some signs: an empty tomb, linen cloths lying on the ground, a neatly folded shroud. And then the Bible says: “She saw and believed.” But what did she see? She didn’t see the resurrected Jesus at that moment. She only saw the signs: an empty tomb, traces, silence, absence. And yet… she believed.

This says a lot about our faith. We too often don't see everything clearly. We don't have definitive proof. But we have signs: moments of grace, experiences of love, little "resurrections" in our daily lives. And we are called to follow the path of that beloved disciple: to see with the eyes of the heart and to believe.

In the first reading, Saint Peter boldly declares: Jesus lived doing good, was killed, but God raised him on the third day. And Peter says: we are witnesses to this. Peter had denied Jesus three times. He repented, asked for forgiveness, and returned to witness the resurrection and become the first head of the Church. This is the essential point: Easter faith is born from witnessing and encounter. The apostles did not just hear; they encountered the Risen One. This encounter completely changed their lives.

So what does it mean to have faith for us today?

• Believing in the resurrection is not simply accepting a fact from the past. It is recognizing that Christ is alive today as well.

• When forgiveness prevails over hatred,

• when one starts again

• When hope is reborn where everything else has ended.

• Most importantly: Believing in the resurrection means knowing that Jesus is still alive. He lives in this world and wants to be present in our lives. He lives and wants to give us life.

  
  

Believing in the resurrection also means knowing that all suffering is temporary. Life in this world is preparation for true and eternal happiness in heaven. Perhaps we, like Mary Magdalene, are going to the "grave" of our own sufferings, disappointments, and fears. And everything seems dark. But Easter tells us: the stone has been lifted.

God is already working, even if we don't fully realize it yet. "My brothers and sisters, they have seen and believed." Today, we too are invited to take this step: to believe without seeing, but to see with new eyes through belief.

We are invited to look at the world with the eyes of faith. God works in this world to give life to everyone and to save everyone. We must learn to look at every moment of our lives with faith.

What does God want to teach me?

How does this situation I'm experiencing help me to know myself better, or to know Jesus better?

Faith shows us that God is always in control of everything and never abandons us. What we need to do is surrender ourselves to God and accept His will in our lives.

May the resurrection of Jesus renew the faith within us. Let us, like Peter, bear witness and proclaim with our lives: Christ is risen! He lives!

May the Virgin Mary help us to always maintain our faith in the resurrection of Jesus, who wants to give us true life and eternal happiness.