From today’s Scripture: “Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.’”—Jn 20:1-2

Hope in the midst of darkness, grief, and sadness. What was Mary thinking and feeling as she approached the tomb? She had witnessed Jesus’ horrific torture and execution, and now the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away.

Mary’s hope is not that things will “work out.” Her hope is that love is stronger than death — even when she can’t yet see how. She stands at the tomb because love keeps her there. And that’s the turning point: hope, in the Christian sense, is fidelity, not certainty. Staying when you don’t understand. Seeking when you are confused. Loving when the story appears finished. As women and men of faith, what does it mean on this Easter Sunday to be people of hope?

Let us pray: Jesus, my Lord and my God. Send your Holy Spirit and fill us with HOPE  even as we confront the darkness of our time.

Today’s author is Father Dan Dorsey, president of Glenmary Home Missioners.

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