Saturday, April 15 : Saint Epiphanius of Salamis

The Sun of Justice (Mal 3,20) that had disappeared for three days, today rises and shines on the whole creation. Christ was in the tomb for three days but he existed before the ages! He comes up like a vine and fills the earth with joy. Let us behold the rising sun that will never set; let us anticipate the day and be filled with the joy of this light! The gates of Hell have been broken by Christ, the dead awake from sleep. Christ rises, he, the resurrection of the dead, and comes to awaken Adam. Christ, the resurrection of all who have died, rises and comes to free Eve from malediction. Christ rises, he who is the resurrection, and he transforms in all its beauty what had “no stately bearing to make us look at him” (Is 53,2). As a sleeper the Lord awoke and confounded all the deceitfulness of the enemy. He was raised and gave joy to the whole creation; he was raised and the prisonhouse of Hell was emptied; he was raised and transformed what is corruptible into incorruptibility (1 Cor 15,53). The risen Christ clothed Adam with incorruptibility, his original dignity. Today, through Christ, the Church becomes a new heaven (Rev 21,1), a more beautiful vault to contemplate than the visible sun. The sun that we see every day cannot compare with this Sun: as a servant filled with respect, it eclipsed before him, when it saw him hanging on the cross (Mt 27,45). It is of this Sun that the prophet said: “For you who fear my name, there will arise the Sun of Justice with its healing rays” (Mal 3,20)…Through him, Christ, the Sun of Justice, the Church becomes a beautiful heaven filled with a multitude of stars that emerge from the baptismal waters in their new light. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Ps 117,24), filled with the joy that comes from God.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team