Easter Reflection from Father Nathan March

Three crosses with the words Easter Reflection

Rekindling the Fire: Parish Life Today in the Spirit of Acts

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

"We are witnesses of all that he did...They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day...and he commissioned us to preach to the people" (Acts 10:39-40,42)

Christ is risen! Happy Easter! Today is the day that changed everything. The Resurrection of Jesus is not just a past event—it is a present power. He is alive, and He is calling us to bear witness.

Today we begin an eight-week journey through the Acts of the Apostles. Together, we will rediscover what Bishop Ruggieri calls the “original fire” of the Church—a community alive in the Spirit, nourished by the Eucharist, united in love, bold in mission, and joyful in witness. Each week, through the lens of Acts and the reflections of Pope Francis—especially his Catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles and Evangelii Gaudium—we will ask: “What does the early Church have to teach our parish today?” And “how can we reclaim Sunday as the launchpad for discipleship and mission?”

In the first reading this weekend from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter was speaking in the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion and Gentile seeker of God. What Peter proclaimed is the heart of the Gospel: Jesus of Nazareth, anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and healing, was crucified—but raised by God on the third day. And Peter boldly declared, “We are witnesses.” Not passive observers, but those who ate and drank with the risen Lord. And now, commissioned by Christ, they testify that He is the one appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

Peter’s words on Easter morning were not timid. He was not sharing ideas—he was proclaiming a Person. This same Peter who once denied Jesus now stands with boldness, because he has encountered the Risen One. Pope Francis reminds us that evangelization begins with encounter: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus” (Evangelii Gaudium, 1).

Peter doesn’t just talk about Jesus—he testifies to what he saw, touched, experienced. The early Church was made up of men and women who had met the Risen Christ and couldn’t keep it to themselves. They didn’t build a program—they became a people. A people of the Resurrection.

And they did it on a Sunday. The first day of the week. The day the tomb was found empty. The day that the Church still gathers, to remember and to receive that same risen life.

So let us begin this Easter season with urgency and joy. Our world is hungry for witnesses—not just to what Jesus did, but to what He is doing. May our parish become a place where people encounter the Resurrection—through our joy, our unity, our mission, and our mercy.

Questions to Consider

  • Peter says, “We are witnesses.” In what ways are you personally a witness to the Risen Jesus?

  • How does your experience of Sunday Eucharist form you to live as a disciple during the week?

  • What do you hope to gain from this Easter series through Acts?

  • How can our parish become a community that makes the Resurrection visible in everyday life?

  • What one step can you take this week to live more boldly as a witness to the risen Christ?

Prayer

Jesus, You are risen. Send us Your Spirit. Form us into a community of witnesses, and set our Sundays on fire with the joy of Your Resurrection. Amen.