To you, O God, we praise, to you, Lord, we sing; / the army of your holy martyrs praises you!

First Reading: 1 John 1:1-4 Beginning of the first letter of Saint John - Dear friends, 1what was from the beginning, what we heard, what we saw with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands touched of the Word of Life - 2indeed, Life manifested- if we have seen it, and are witnesses, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has become visible to us - 3what we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you, that you may be in communion with us. And our communion is with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write these things to you so that our joy may be complete. - Word of the Lord. Responsorial Psalm: 96(97) O righteous ones, rejoice in the Lord! 1. God is king! Let the earth exult with joy, / and the numerous islands rejoice! / Darkness and cloud surround him on his throne, / which rests on justice and right. – R. 2. The mountains melt like wax / before the face of the Lord of all the earth; / and thus heaven proclaims his justice, / all people can see his glory. – R. 3. A light is now rising for the righteous, / and joy for the upright in heart. / Righteous men, rejoice in the Lord, / celebrate and bless his holy name! – R. Gospel: John 20:2-8 On the first day of the week, 2Mary Magdalene ran out and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them: “They took the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” . 3So Peter and the other disciple left and went to the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5Looking inside, she saw the strips of linen on the floor, but she did not go in. 6Simon Peter, who was running behind, also arrived and entered the tomb. She saw the linen strips lying on the ground, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not laid with the strips, but rolled up in a separate place. 8Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also entered. He saw and believed. – Word of salvation. Reflection: John, son of Zebedee and brother of James, was a fisherman from Bethsaida and a disciple of John the Baptist. He directed him to Jesus, the “Lamb of God”. Jesus chose him to form the group of apostles, among whom John became one of the most active members. Jesus entrusted several responsibilities to him and made important confidences to him. With his brother James and Peter, he formed the privileged trio, whom Jesus invited to special moments, such as the transfiguration and prayer on the Mount of Olives. John is considered the author of the fourth Gospel, in which he emphasizes the manifestation of God to the world in the person of Christ: Jesus is the Son of God and as such he presents himself through his solemn “I am the good shepherd”, “I am the true vine”, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, “I am the bread of life”, “I am the resurrection and the life”.