Easter Sunday, Cycle B

General Intercessions

Celebrant: Christ is Risen, and the power of His resurrection fills the world today with new life. With hope and expectation, we therefore bring him all our needs.

Deacon/Lector:

That the Church may boldly and faithfully proclaim the Resurrection of Christ to those who do not yet believe in it, we pray to the Lord...

That the leaders of the Church may embody the mysteries of new life which we celebrate in our liturgy, we pray to the Lord...

That the leaders of our nations and world may give priority to those with greatest need in the distribution of the world's basic resources, we pray to the Lord...

That in the light of Christ's victory over death, nations may work together to overcome violence against all, especially the poor, the weak, and the unborn, we pray to the Lord...

That the newly baptized and confirmed, and those received into full communion with the Catholic Church, may continue to grow with this community in worship and service, let us pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may one day share in the promise of new love one for us by the resurrection, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:

God of glory, you know the deepest desires of our hearts. As we celebrate the Resurrection, make us faithful to you in all we do. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Bulletin Insert

Our Easter Mission

“Have no fear. The outcome of the battle for life is already decided, even though the struggle goes on against great odds and with much suffering… "Christ is now raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep ... so in Christ all will come to life again" (1 Cor. 15:2022). The paradox of the Christian message is this: Christ - the head - has already conquered sin and death. Christ in his body - the pilgrim people of God - continually suffers the onslaught of the Evil One and all the evil which sinful humanity is capable of.
”The liberating message of the Gospel of life has been put into your hands. And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing to your generation. Like the great apostle Paul, you too must feel the full urgency of the task: "Woe to me if I do not evangelize" (1 Cor. 9:16). Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life. The church needs your energies, your enthusiasm, your youthful ideals, in order to make the Gospel of life penetrate the fabric of society, transforming people's hearts and the structures of society in order to create a civilization of true justice and love.” – Pope John Paul II to Youth, August 15, 1993, Denver, Colorado.

Homily Suggestions on Pro-life Themes  

There is no day on which it is easier to preach on the victory of life than today, the Feast of Life, the Feast of Christ’s victory over death. Easter makes it clear that being “pro-life” is not something that flows primarily from any political or ideological loyalty, nor simply from a cause, plan, project, or organization. Being pro-life, and all its other manifestations and activities, flow from what happened on Easter. Christ did not only conquer his death; he overturned the entire kingdom of death! 

On Easter, we do not come to Church simply to congratulate Jesus for rising from the dead. We come to celebrate the fact that we share that victory. We too, by living and dying in him, will rise in him on the last day.

But this victory is also about today, because we share his risen life now. If we share his life, we are “an Easter people,” or as Evangelium Vitae says, “the People of Life.” This means that we proclaim this victory of life, and stand strongly against all the forces in our society that eclipse or destroy the value of life – foremost among them all being abortion. We stand before these forces, not intimidated, hesitant, or unsure of our ability to overcome them. Instead, we stand before them in strength, declaring that they no longer have any ground to stand on, nor any place in our midst. Christ is Risen! On this day we preach with all the vigor and conviction that the Gospel inspires, and send our people forth to apply the Easter victory of Christ to every segment of society!

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