Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 28:1–10

Eighteen years ago, the trajectory of my life was forever altered. After a year defined by deep prayer, careful discernment, and spiritual formation, I stood at the Easter Vigil and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. 

My conversion started when I visited the Catholic Church for Sunday Mass with my now husband. Having been raised in the Protestant tradition, I came in with a heart hardened with pride, believing that I knew all I needed to know about Jesus. But that day, I was overwhelmed by the profound and sacred worship in the Mass. In the timeless traditions and transcendent beauty of the Mass, I encountered Christ in a way that felt both startlingly new and ancient. He placed in my heart the desire to go deeper and explore further, making it clear that while I thought I knew about the faith, I had only scratched the surface.

I began RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, now Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) at the Newman Center on my university campus, and over the next year, I was immersed in the incredible power of the sacraments and ancient heritage of the Catholic Church. Experiencing each rite along the journey of my conversion brought me to an ever-deepening intimacy with Christ. (The story of my first confession at the age of 22 with the bishop in New Mexico is a testimony for another blog.)

I will never forget the atmosphere at the Easter Vigil. As I received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time, and experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, one singular thought took hold of my heart: everything has changed. 

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the moment that altered the trajectory of the human story forever. In a world shadowed by sin and darkness, Jesus gave His life on the cross in a divine exchange. In His death, He paid the debt for the sins of a broken world. And after three days, what happened next changed everything. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that three days after Jesus’ gruesome crucifixion and tragic death, Mary Magdalene and the women returned to Jesus’ tomb. Before them, there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, rolled back the stone, revealing the empty tomb. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said” (Matthew 28:5–6). Scripture tells us that the women were fearful yet overjoyed, and immediately they ran to tell the disciples what had been done. In that moment, they realized that because Jesus was alive, the rules of the world had been rewritten. Death no longer had the final word.  

In the time that followed, everything did change for the disciples. Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy in His resurrection and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit was the catalyst for the birth of the Church. Fr. John Bartunek notes that the resurrection is the exact moment that guaranteed the history of the Catholic Church. 

Without the reality of the Resurrection, the history of the Church is utterly inexplicable. A few weak, non-influential, unlettered fishermen from Galilee, frightened out of their wits when Jesus was arrested, suddenly became world travelers, phenomenally successful preachers, and valiant martyrs. And the Church they spread continues to grow after they die, holding fast to the exact same doctrine they preached, century after century, in nation after nation. Only the abiding presence of the Lord can explain this, a presence guaranteed by his resurrection from the dead [emphasis added].[1]

Jesus is alive, so the light of His Church will prevail and conquer the darkness.
Jesus is alive, so the sins of humanity—my sins and yours—may be forgiven.
Jesus is alive, so we may have abundant life.
Jesus is alive, so we may receive His grace and power in the sacraments.
Jesus is alive, so we have the supernatural hope of eternity in heaven with Him.
Jesus is alive, so everything has changed.

In the radiant light of Easter, we unite with the whole world to say hallelujah—praise the Lord—to our God who gave everything for us. But let us ask ourselves: how often do we say hallelujah in our beautiful Easter dresses, feast on all of the things we fasted from—chocolate, meat, wine, Instagram—then go right back to the lives we led before Ash Wednesday?

Friends, Easter is not just the finish line at the end of a forty-day fast; it is the beginning of living the abundant life that Jesus died for. Even if we get to Easter Sunday feeling weary because Lent has been full of struggle and suffering, living this abundant life means that Easter Monday morning will look different because of Easter Sunday. It’s not just about a change in our diet but a change in the direction of our hearts. To live the resurrection is to abide in His presence in our daily life in all seasons: finding Him in the beauty and the pain, the fast and the feast, the cross and the empty tomb. This is the true abundant life—a life lived in Christ.

This Easter, let us celebrate the moment that transformed the human story and continues to convert our daily lives. Let us carry the graces of our Lenten discipline, the habit of prayer and self-sacrifice, into the sacred space of the ordinary. May we invite our risen Lord to move beyond the stone of our hearts and transform our lives into a living testament of His victory. Jesus is alive, so let’s open our hearts to Him and allow Him to change us. 

Hallelujah!
Laura White

Food for thought or journaling … 

What is one area of your life in which you desire transformation? 

Risen Lord, thank You for changing everything. May the joy of the empty tomb fill my heart today and every day. I invite You to be alive in my heart, to transform my habits, my home, and my very life as I seek to live in the light of Your resurrection. Amen.

[1] Fr. John Bartunek, The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer, (Hamden, CT: Circle Press, 2007), 333.