Readings:
1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
Jn 20:2-8

Introduction

Close to our Lord, obsessed by love. This may well be the marks of John the Evangelist. He had experienced in his person what it means to be loved by Jesus and to love in return. And Jesus was the Lord, God’s Son! In later life he was driven by this love, as his gospel and his first letter reveal to us. He was the man who preached love; the words he used, the urgency and insistence with which he spoke cannot come but from a man who lived this love deeply and who felt that this should be the mark too of the Christian communities.

Opening Prayer

Lord God, you are love itself.
We know that you loved us first
before we could ever love you.
Let this unforgettable experience
of your “beloved apostle” John
become also our deep and lasting experience.
May the love you have shown us
in your Son Jesus Christ
move us to love you very deeply in return
and overflow on all those we meet in life.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: 1 Jn 1:1-4

This is what has been from the beginning, and what we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word who is Life…

The Life made itself known, we have seen Eternal Life and we bear witness, and we are telling you of it. It was with the Father and made himself known to us.

So we tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

R Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

Gospel Reading: Jn 20:2-8

On the first day after the sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved. And she said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have laid him."
Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter.

Then Simon Peter came following him and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat. The napkin, which had been around his head was not lying flat like the other linen cloths but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed.

(Commentary)

General Intercessions

–   Lord Jesus, make us understand and put into practice that the core of the gospel is love for you and for one another, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, may our words and actions bear witness that we believe and rejoice in you as our risen Lord, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, make us happy people, who feel secure because we know that we live in your presence, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Father,
bread and wine are the signs
in which your Son gives himself to us today.
May these gifts be at the same time
the signs in which we place ourselves
at your disposal
and of the concrete you
who are our neighbors far and near,
our brothers and sisters whom you love
and whom we love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Our living and loving God,
who can nourish our love better
than he who spoke of it to us,
your Son Jesus Christ?
Like him, and strengthened by his body and blood,
may we respond to the warmth of your love
by caring for our brothers and sisters,
even at the expense of ourselves.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

John is the apostle who insists that we should love one another as Jesus loves us. Jesus asks us to live in him as he lives in us. May we remain and grow in this love, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Gospel Commentary (Friday)

St. John, the beloved disciple, witnesses to Christ by his gospel and letters. "The Word who is life, this is our subject." As John shares his faith, his joy increases: "We are writing this to you to make our own joy complete." In today's gospel John witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus: "He saw and he believed." Imagine all that we would have lost without the gospel of John! John teaches us that Jesus made the invisible one visible, the eternal one present in time, "and of his fullness, we have, all of us, received."

"No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart, who has made him known."