Easter Sunday

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we are talking about the moment the world turned upside down. Usually, when we visit a graveyard, it's quiet. It's still. It's a place where things end. But this is the story of a woman who went to a graveyard and found an earthquake, an angel, and a new beginning.

Close your eyes for a second. Imagine it is the very early morning. It's dark, just toward the dawn of the first day of the week. You are walking with St. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. You are heading to the tomb of Jesus. You're likely tired, sad, and expecting to see a heavy stone sealing a dead body away forever.

But then, the ground moves. According to the Gospel of Matthew, suddenly, there was a great earthquake. This wasn't just a tremor. The earth itself was shaking, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. Forget the cute, chubby angels you see in cartoons. This angel came down and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance wasn't soft. It was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. The guards, tough Roman soldiers whose job was to not let anyone pass, were so terrified of this lightning-bright being that they trembled and became like dead men.

They literally froze in terror. But here is where our saint, Mary Magdalene, shows her grit. While the soldiers were paralyzed, the angel spoke directly to her and the other Mary. The angel said, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. This is the dramatic introduction to the most important reality of our faith. This is the moment we celebrate on Easter Sunday, the most important day on the liturgical calendar.

It is the day the Church celebrates our Lord Jesus' resurrection and the fulfillment of His triumph over death and sin. Mary Magdalene was standing at ground zero of the culmination of the Paschal Mystery. So, what did she do? Did she stay there, staring at the empty tomb? No. The angel gave her a mission. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. She didn't walk. She ran. The text says they departed quickly from the tomb, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

And then, the ultimate plot twist happened. As they were running, breathless and overwhelmed, Jesus met them and said greetings. Imagine the surprise, the relief. They ran up to him, fell to the ground, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Jesus, who had been crucified, was standing right there, telling them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.

It's such a massive event that one day isn't enough to contain it. We celebrate for an octave, which means eight days, to prolong the celebration of this joyous feast, and then we continue into the 50 days of the Easter season. It's interesting to note that the date of the celebration changes every year. Back in 325 AD, the First Council of Nicaea decided that Easter would be held on the first Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox. That's why Easter can land anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

At the end of the encounter story, the angel told Mary Magdalene to go quickly and tell. She didn't keep the good news to herself. She ran with fear and great joy. Identify one piece of good news in your life. Something God has done for you, or just something beautiful you've noticed. Don't keep it inside. Like Mary running from the tomb, go tell someone. Tell a parent, a friend, or a sibling. Do not be afraid. Remember, the stone has been rolled back. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.