Collect Series: Easter Sunday Year A

 Collect Series

The Mass: Collect Series

COLLECT SERIES

 

COLLECT

 

The Collect for Easter Sunday Year A reads as follows:

O God, who on this day, through Your Only Begotten Son,

Have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity,

Grant, we pray, that we who keep the Solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection

May, through the renewal brought by Your Spirit,

Rise up in the light of life.

Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

What does Jesus conquering death and unlocking for me the path to eternity mean for me

How will I keep the Solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection in both good times and in crises in my life.

How will I renew myself with God’s grace in the light of Christ this coming week?

How will I renew my spiritual life during this Eastertide?

What are the areas of my life that need to risen up in the light of life?

 

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION

‘He is not here. He is risen. He will go to meet you in Galilee.’

This Gospel reflection is from Matthew’s Gospel which was read at the Easter Vigil.  On Easter Sunday, the Resurrection account is from St John.

Matthew 28:1–10

Theme: “Do Not Be Afraid — He Has Been Raised.”

 

Setting the Scene

The Sabbath has passed.

In the grey light before dawn, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” go to the tomb. There is no triumph in their step — only devotion and grief.

Then suddenly:

A great earthquake.
An angel descending.
The stone rolled back.

The guards shake with fear.
The women are told:

“Do not be afraid.”

The words that began the Incarnation now begin the Resurrection.

“He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.”

The tomb is empty — but not abandoned.

It is fulfilled.

 

Gospel Reflection: From Fear to Mission

Matthew’s Resurrection account is marked by movement.

The women come to see the tomb.
They are sent from the tomb.
They run — with fear and great joy.

This mixture is important. Resurrection does not erase awe. It deepens it.

The angel gives them a commission:

“Go quickly and tell his disciples.”

Before they reach the disciples, Jesus Himself meets them.

“Greetings.”

Simple. Ordinary. Almost gentle.

They take hold of His feet — the same feet that had been pierced, the same feet that had walked dusty roads, the same feet washed on Holy Thursday.

The Crucified is the Risen One.

And again, He says:

“Do not be afraid.”

Fear marked Good Friday. Fear marked the disciples in hiding. But fear does not have the final word.

The Resurrection is not merely consolation. It is commissioning.

“Go and tell my brothers…”

Notice the word: brothers.

After betrayal. After denial. After abandonment.

Relationship is restored before explanations are given.

 

Personal Reflection

The Vigil begins in darkness. A single flame pierces it.

Light spreads quietly, candle by candle.

So too in the Gospel.

Resurrection often begins in small obedience — going to the tomb when hope seems buried.

Where in my life do I still sit in Holy Saturday silence?

Where does fear still whisper louder than hope?

The women did not go expecting resurrection. They went to honour love.

Faithfulness preceded revelation. Perhaps that is the key.   Remain faithful. Watch what God rolls away.

 

Questions for Reflection

What “stones” feel immovable in my life right now?

Where has grief overshadowed hope?

How does the Resurrection reshape my understanding of suffering?

What would it mean for me to truly hear, “Do not be afraid”?

Where is God sending me to share hope?

 

Closing Prayer

Risen Lord,
In the quiet before dawn
You broke the power of death.

Roll away the stones
that seal my heart.

Turn fear into courage.
Turn grief into mission.

Let Your light grow in me
until it becomes witness.

Alleluia.
Amen