Tag: easter

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

And Jesus said to the disciples, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, or the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

In today’s Gospel, continuing from yesterday’s reading, Jesus appears to the disciples in the room where they had gathered and greets them with “Peace be with you,” showing them his hands and feet to prove that he is not a ghost. By eating a piece of baked fish in their presence, Jesus further shows them that he is truly present to them in both body and soul. Jesus tells them that everything that had happened to him had been prophesied in the Scriptures and that he had to suffer and die in order to rise from the dead and bring salvation to all people. He also tells them that they are witnesses of these things, and that they are to go out and proclaim the good news of his resurrection to all nations. Jesus gives them confidence by telling them that they are witnesses to the resurrection of the Son of God. Later, in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter himself says to people that they were witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.

God, help me trust in your Son; increase my faith so that I understand that he always seeks to give me confidence in him and in your word. At table with the disciples in Emmaus, Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. In his appearance to the other disciples, Jesus strengthens their faith, first by addressing their fears and uncertainty and then by telling them that they themselves witnessed the fulfillment of the scriptures through his dying and rising. In the same way, Jesus comes to me through the reassurance of the scriptures and the sacraments, bringing with him the true peace of his presence.

Be with me today, Lord, as I strive to remember you and put aside the desire for things that are not of you and that fail to lead to you. This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

As two of Jesus’ disciples are going to the village of Emmaus, Jesus approached them and walked with them, but they didn’t know it was the Lord. Jesus enters into their conversation about the events of the past week and hears in their voices that they are downcast and discouraged. Just as Mary saw the empty tomb, some members of the group also saw the empty tomb, but Jesus did not appear to them. Because of lack of faith, they are uncertain about what has taken place. They say, “But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” Not until Jesus speaks to them of the prophets and Scriptures that referred to him did they begin to recognize that this is no ordinary man. When Jesus stays with them and they eat together, they come to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. After Jesus vanishes from their sight, their faith in him restored, they say, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

God, help me understand the richness of these Easter Octave Gospel readings. Just as Jesus meets Mary Magdalene along the way, he also meets the two disciples heading toward Emmaus. In their uncertainty, as they struggle to understand what has happened in the last week, they see Jesus meeting them where they are. Their encounter with him leaves them with hope restored and faith strengthened. Your Son, the risen Christ, is no less present to me as he was to them. Help me open my eyes to him as I strive to hear your voice throughout the day. In the breaking of the bread, the disciples recognized Jesus. Through your word, through the sacraments, and through the Eucharist, grant me the grace to see the glory of your presence today and every day.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her.

In today’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb of Jesus and finds it empty. She thinks that the body of Jesus has been stolen, so she asks a man she thinks is the gardener where they have taken him. The man tells her that he is Jesus, and she recognizes him. Jesus tells her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” He tells her to go to the disciples and tell them that he is going to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. Mary Magdalene goes to the disciples and tells them what she has seen. In this encounter with Jesus, Mary models perfect discipleship; she recognizes the risen Jesus and goes immediately to the disciples to proclaim what she has seen and what Jesus told her.

God, help me with your grace in the same way you helped Mary Magdalene recognize and respond to your Son’s commandment to go and announce the Good News. By destroying death, Jesus bridged a great chasm that stood between you and all of humanity. In that was the end to the ultimate division between God and man but also an end to small divisions that separated your people from you in their earthly existence. Thank you, Lord, for Mary’s love of the risen Christ. As Archbishop Luis María Martínez said of Easter morning: “But a woman whose heart beat with a fathomless, invincible love, returned from the sepulcher, radiant with jubilation, on the luminous Resurrection morning. From the depths of suffering and death, sinlessness arose victorious over sin to bestow upon the world the divine gift of joy.” Once Jesus restored us to you, like Mary we are able to hear and respond to your will. Just as Jesus called Mary by name, make clear to me today, my God, when I hear him call me by name.

Lord, meet me where I am throughout every moment of this day. How am I to recognize you and your word unless you say my name?

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Monday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

On this second day in the Octave of Easter, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, “Do not be afraid.” After all they experienced at the empty tomb—an earthquake, an angel descending from heaven, paralyzed Roman guards—the emotions of the two Marys were full of fear and joy as they hurried back to tell the disciples what had happened. And then Jesus met them. Consider how Jesus meets them where they are at that moment, at the height of their overwhelming joy and trembling. They couldn’t wait to share what they had witnessed. By contrast, the guards who had been frozen in fear went to tell the chief priests what had happened and were told to keep quiet. They received hush money. What did they do, Lord, when you met the two Marys on the road? Matthew says, “They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.” Where will I be today when Jesus meets me on the way, and will I recognize him?

God, help me be ready to go out and receive you wherever today’s road leads. Often I choose paths that lead me out of fear away from giving witness to you through my life and words. Help me understand that you are there along the harder path of being your witness. Keep me in the truth of the resurrection of your Son and give me the grace to be a faithful witness of him to others.

Thank you, Lord, for this day, which is yours. Keep me in your peace and the joy of the risen Christ. As the Gospel acclamation says, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

The Resurrection of the Lord

The Disciples Peter and John running to the sepulchre
on the morning of the Resurrection,
Eugène Burnand

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Today’s Gospel by John describes the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John. The passage begins with Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb early on the first day of the week. She sees that the stone has been rolled away from the entrance and runs to tell Peter and the other disciple. Peter and the other disciple go to the tomb and see that the linen cloths are lying there, but the body of Jesus is gone. At the end of the passage, John enters the empty tomb and sees and believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. It is evidence of Jesus’ historical resurrection, a central tenet of the Catholic faith, but also an example of discipleship. Despite following Jesus as his closest disciples, it wasn’t until Peter and John entered the darkness of the empty tomb to see and believe in the Scripture—that Jesus had to rise from the dead. As a disciple of Jesus, I have to stop and consider how to increase my faith, where I need to see and believe.

God, help me understand the glory of the resurrection. In the empty tomb, the risen Christ has conquered death and is alive today just as he was when he rose from the dead two thousand years ago. He is the first, the one who goes before me in the hope of my own resurrection and salvation through him. It is a kind of veiled hope in this life, which quietly calls me toward you day after day in the bold, resounding hope that one day I, like your Son, will be with you forever in your glory. As Saint Paul says, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” Christ has risen, and in him is undying hope. Father, give me the grace of discipleship to see and believe in hope made visible through the glory of his resurrection.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed; let us then feast with joy in the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church: Reflection

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.‘ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes how the Apostles returned to the upper room in Jerusalem after the Ascension with Mary and some women and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” What is described here is a result of what happens in the first Gospel reading, when Jesus says to Mary and John from the cross: “ ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.‘ ”

God, help me be faithful to John’s example by taking Mary into my home. Her gaze, always on her Son, brings Jesus’ spirit into the home of everyone who believes. The Gospel acclamation says: “O blessed mother of the Church, you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.” Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of your mother to all who praise you—one you gave us from the cross before blood and water flowed out from you. “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

Mary, who brought comfort to Jesus in his earthly life, follows the command of her son to behold her Son John and all other sons and daughters, the children of God. There is no mistake in Jesus’ calling Mary “woman.” In an alternative to the first reading, Eve is described as “woman,” whom the serpent tricked into eating from the tree. From the wood of the cross, Jesus makes Mary the New Eve, whose role in restoring humanity is to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate.

Today let me remember that the Virgin who gave birth to the Lord is present in my home and ready to intercede for me to her Son. The Regina Caeli, a prayer said during Eastertime in the Liturgy of the Hours, brings Jesus and Mary together in the joy of the Resurrection.

Queen of Heaven

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. 
For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. 
Has risen, as he said, alleluia. 
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. 
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

USCCB Readings

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Mass in the Morning: Reflection

Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

After the Resurrection, Peter asks Jesus whether John will be the one to betray Jesus. The terseness of Jesus’ reply to the man who will become the first leader of the Church seems unwarranted. Where is the tenderness in Jesus’ spiritual formation and care of Peter? The response seems harsh and abrupt.

Even in yesterday’s readings, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and Peter affirms Jesus’ divinity by saying, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Peter seems to want to know more about what will happen and who will play what role. God, help me understand that you work through your Son in ways that fail human comprehension. Did Jesus see in Peter a lack of trust in the Divine plan? Did he want to redirect Peter to his role in leading the disciples and spreading the Gospel? Whatever the purpose of this response, Jesus calls attention to the spiritual reality that man’s ways are not God’s ways and that some things and the actions of others are out of our hands. “You follow me,” Jesus says.

God, show me today how to trust in the words of your Son: “What concern is it of yours?” Help me recognize my gifts and be less concerned about others’ shortcomings. I know you want me to see you at work in my small sphere of interaction and in the whole world. I know you want me to be at work today on foundations you lay and not on shifting sand. For this, you will need to stay with me, Lord.

Today let me remember that to face the things I can’t control, I can give back to God and say, “What concern is this of mine?” That’s easy to say at this moment, but in the midst of the day, things get complicated. God, give me the ability throughout the day to call on the gifts you gave me and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know my part and yours. Your will, not mine.

USCCB Readings

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter: Reflection

Jesus prayed, saying: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Earlier in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says that those who believe in him will become one with the Father and that Jesus gives them the glory that the Father gave him. The exact words are “And I have given them the glory you gave me.”

This suggests a spiritual reality which seems like it shouldn’t be. How can Jesus give me glory? Isn’t it the opposite, that I give glory to him? God, help me understand this completely without thinking I understand it right off the bat. The reason Jesus gives us the glory the Father gave him is so that we may be one with the Father as Jesus and the Father are one and because the Father loves us even as he loved Jesus.

My Jesus, mercy! I close my eyes and distractions crowd around me. Stay with me today so that I might have the hope and the courage to be one with you. And you love others; let me remember you pray that they also may be in you and the Father.

Jesus says of the Father: “You loved me before the foundation of the world.” And Jesus wants us to be brought to perfection as one with the Father just as he is one with the Father. Let me think about that today; that the Father has loved me also from before the foundation of the world. Through the Eucharist, through God’s love incarnate, every time I receive it, I become one with God through his Son, one with the Father from before I was brought into the world. It is for this that Jesus prays, “that the world may believe [the Father] sent me.”

USCCB Readings

Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr: Reflection

Jesus said, “They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.”

Jesus says this in prayer twice within 52 words as if to emphasize that consecration in God’s truth keeps his own from the Evil One, from the world that hates them. More than anything on earth that we could possess, Jesus wants us to share his joy completely.

Just as a pilgrim passes from one place to another for sacred purposes, this gift of life that God gives allows for passage from earthly life to life in heaven. God, to think that I don’t belong to this world, is to trust in the life to come that remains unseen. Help me see the worth of the present world in terms of passing into everlasting life.

“Your word is truth, God.” In this pilgrim world that I don’t belong to, help me glimpse the life to come. Father in heaven, give me the grace I need daily to live a good life and calm any fear or unbelief I have in coming to stay with you forever. Consecrate me in truth.

Just as Paul leaves Ephesus, let me go throughout the day as a pilgrim, open to changes prompted by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I know there will be so-called interruptions today that give me the opportunity to move outside myself to recognize God’s presence in every moment of the day.

USCCB Readings

Audio

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter: Reflection

“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.’ ”

Jesus speaks these words as he prepares his disciples for the coming of the Advocate. It follows the disciples’ statement that they now believe Jesus because, as they say, “Now we realize that you know everything.” From there, the disciples go out into the world, where Jesus tells them to take courage because he has conquered the world.

God, thank you for the courage you give me, if I am able to see it, day after day despite that in the world I will have trouble. Jesus, you say you have conquered the world, and these words of yours I accept by faith as true. As far as I can accept this, there is joy in being at ease in the troubles of the world.

The disciples go out into the world to preach the Gospel, each to his own place. Yet, they are never alone just as Jesus is not alone because the Father is with him. Neither am I alone today. By sharing all that the Father gave to him, Jesus makes his Father our Father.

Today let me go out into the world in joy, as a child steps out onto the lawn on a summer day. Let my joy in knowing that you have conquered the world prompt others around to wonder at the cause of my joy.

USCCB Readings