Tag: risen Christ

Third Sunday of Easter


From the Gospel acclamation: “Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:35-48)

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

As the two disciples recount their journey, they describe how Jesus made himself known to them in the breaking of bread. Suddenly he stands among them. Terrified, and not knowing what to make of his presence, they think they are seeing an apparition, a ghost. The risen Christ quietly comforts them with questions and an invitation to look on him, at his nail-pierced hands and feet. By the author of life, the horror of death is trampled on. By the risen Christ, death and its terrifying mask have been torn away. “While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,” Luke tells us, Jesus asks for something to eat. For their sake, the glorified Christ eats in front of them, giving the disciples spiritual nourishment as witnesses to teach repentance and God’s mercy to all the nations.

God, open my mind to understand the Scriptures, as Jesus did among the disciples. When I consider death and its terrible effects on the body, help dispel any fear or anxiety I have, putting in its place the image of the risen Christ standing in the midst of the disciples. Let me consider that the effects of death are not lasting on the body, and that death does not have the last word—the Word Incarnate does in his resurrection. God, you are truth itself, and everything you speak comes into being and is fulfilled. In the words of Christ risen from the dead: “Everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” At all times, Lord, especially when I look on death and am afraid, let your face shine upon me and give me peace.

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.

“The risen Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room” flickr photo by Nick in exsilio https://flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669927869 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Friday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let those who fear the LORD say, “His mercy endures forever.” The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 21:1-14)

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Jesus appears on the shore to the disciples, but at first they don’t recognize him. He asks if they have caught any fish. When they tell him no, Jesus instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and they catch an enormous number of fish. Recognizing Jesus, John says, “It is the Lord.” Peter then jumps into the water to meet Jesus, and the other disciples follow. As they reach the shore, they find a charcoal fire with fish and bread that Jesus prepared for them. He invites them to bring some of the fish and to have breakfast with him. Recognizing who it is they sit with, no one asks “Who are you?” This is the third time Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection. As if to return to daily life, Peter and the others get back to their occupation. In his appearance as the risen Christ, Jesus demonstrates that they can’t go back to where they were, that their lives from that moment on will be anything but ordinary.

God, help me understand where the disciples were after the resurrection of Jesus. They were lost, going back to what they knew rather than incorporating into their lives what they had learned from the teachings and works of your Son, and through his resurrection. Give me the grace to see that Easter is not an event in the past but is the living person of Jesus, alive in the glorified body and present in the Church. John says of their attempt to return to ordinary life: “but that night they caught nothing.” Lord, teach me in the ordinariness of the day to hear your voice and with joyful recognition take heart, saying, “It is the Lord.” From the sequence from today’s readings: “Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning! Amen. 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.

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “O LORD, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:35-48)

He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Gathered together in Jerusalem, the disciples who had encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus share their experiences. Even as they speak, Jesus appears among them. “Peace be with you,” he says to them. The disciples believe at first that they are seeing a ghost, but Jesus assures them of his physical presence and invites them to touch him and see his wounds. As if to further reassure the disciples, he asks for something to eat and eats the baked fish they give him. In his presence and in opening their minds to understand the Scriptures, Jesus reveals how his passion, death, and resurrection are part of God’s plan for salvation. “You are witnesses of these things,” he tells them, reminding them of their identity and commissioning them to proclaim repentance to all the nations.

God, help me throughout the day hear the first words of Jesus as he appears to the disciples: “Peace be with you.” Startled by what they believe is a ghost, the disciples go from terror to being “incredulous for joy and were amazed.” Help me put aside the distractions and worries of the day—figments of the imagination—to see with eyes of faith that you are truly with me at all times whether or not I comprehend it. Open my mind, Lord!

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.

“The risen Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room” flickr photo by Nick in exsilio https://flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669927869 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:13-35)

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” 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 walking toward Emmaus, discussing recent events about him, a man they don’t recognize asks what they are talking about. In their sadness and disappointment, they explain to the man that they thought Jesus would save Israel but was instead crucified. Jesus explains all of this to them in terms of how the Messiah had to suffer according to the Scriptures. While he stays with them, Jesus breaks bread, and the disciples immediately recognize him. And then he disappears. Returning to the Eleven in Jerusalem, they tell them that the Jesus has been raised and appeared to Simon, and the two disciples share their story of recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

God, help me see Jesus your Son with the eyes of faith when he appears in the needs of others. The disciples were discouraged but quickly regained their hope as they begin to realize that what Jesus said about dying and rising was true. Give me the grace to strengthen my faith in the resurrection and confront any doubts I have that prevent me from trusting in your mercy and almighty power. From the sequence of the readings: “Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.”

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.

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 20:11-18)

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. 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.’”

As Mary stays outside the tomb, weeping for the loss of the Lord, two angels sit inside the tomb, one at the head and one at the feet of where Jesus had been. They ask Mary why she is weeping. “They have taken my Lord,” she tells them, “and I don’t know where they laid him.” Immediately, she turns to see Jesus there but doesn’t recognize him, thinking instead she is speaking with the gardener. Only when Jesus says her name does she know him. Instructing her to stop holding on to him, Jesus helps prepare Mary for the end of his earthly ministry and for his ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit, instructing her to go to announce to the disciples his resurrection and imminent return to the Father, our Father. What Jesus announces to Mary we joyfully proclaim: his Father is our Father his God is our God.

God, help me take in during Easter as much as limited human understanding allows. I can’t know what it was like for Mary, who experienced overwhelming grief at his loss and then to have that grief transformed into unbounded joy. Yet, in his resurrection, Jesus becomes recognizable according to your will in the bread and wine that becomes his body and blood—”the life of the world to come”—at the celebration of every Mass. Give me the grace to realize what gift I have in the Eucharist and make me a means of proclaiming in my words and actions the joy of the resurrection.

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.

Monday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:8-15)

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Hurrying away from the tomb and experiencing fear and great joy, the two women run to tell the disciples what they have seen. On their way, Jesus meets them, and the women worship him as he tells them not to be afraid. Jesus then instructs the women to tell his disciples to go to Galilee, where they will see him. As this happens, some of the guards who were at the tomb go into the city and report to the chief priests what has happened, and the chief priests make plans to tell a lie: that the disciples stole Jesus’ body while the guards were sleeping. In Jesus’ first words to the women, we find an example of strength in professing the Gospel: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers.”

God, as the day progresses and its trials crop up, help me remember the first words of Jesus to the women after his resurrection. “Do not be afraid.” Help me choose to face trials, not overcome with uncertainty and apprehension, but with the omnipotence of the Risen Christ, who lives within me in his words and through the sacraments. Filled with a sense of urgency, the women did as Jesus asked them to do: “Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Give me the grace, Lord, to go out in the midst of the day to find Christ present, eager to grant me the peace only he can give.

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.

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 12:38-42)

Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees: “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees of his coming death, burial, and resurrection in response to their question, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He compares himself to Jonah as a way to show that God’s word has been spoken through them. But the prophets were ignored, and their hearers failed to repent. “At the judgment,” Jesus says, “the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.” As he alludes to his saving death and resurrection, Jesus answers that this will serve as the ultimate sign of his authority and identity as the Son of God.

God, when I begin to demand signs from you, let me instead look back and see what you have done for me. In this life, I have been a witness to your manifold signs and miracles woven throughout the days and years, yet I still am slow to believe. Help my unbelief and hardness of heart. Be my strength and courage, Lord. Especially when I fail to know you are present, help me recognize and respond to the signs that you have already provided and will continue to provide.

From the responsorial psalm: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Lord, let me hear your voice throughout the moments of this day.

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.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:24-43)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches important truths about the kingdom of heaven through his parables as he recognizes the coexistence of good and evil in the world. In the reality of the fallen world we live in, it is striking how Jesus depicts those who cause others to sin and their final judgment. Elsewhere in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” These little ones— ones who are innocent or poor in spirit or waiting for the Lord’s mercy with contrite hearts—have understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom and are precious in his eyes.

God, thank you for your patience and mercy. Just as the owner of the field allows the wheat and the weeds to grow together until the harvest, you give me an opportunity to repent and turn to you time and time again through my contrition and the sacrament of reconciliation. That you allow the evil one to sow weeds and yet bring good out of it is a mystery. Almighty Father, although evil is contrary to your being and you do not eliminate it, you allow me to make a choice to return to you to receive your grace and repentance. And you do this for all who turn to you.

Lord, intercede for me today when my spirit is weak and I forget you. As Saint Paul says, “And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.”

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.

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Jn 20:1-2, 11-18)

Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, “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 Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.

Today’s Gospel is profound and places us at the moment of Christ’s resurrection, highlighting its reality and the transformative power it holds. Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Jesus demonstrates the personal and intimate nature of Jesus’ relationship with any of his followers. Despite Mary’s initial confusion, Jesus calls her by name, revealing his identity and establishing a deep connection with her. Mary recognizes Jesus not through physical appearance but by the sound of her name being spoken by him. That is the true recognition of the risen Christ, which comes through personal encounter and a deepening understanding of his presence.

Lord, you appeared to Mary Magdalene after your resurrection. She obeys and becomes the first witness to you, the risen Christ, proclaiming the news to the disciples. Help me learn from her and recognize you in your desire to draw me to you. Just as Jesus entrusts Mary with the task of being a witness to the resurrection, show me how to go and proclaim the Gospel.

From the Gospel acclamation: “Tell us, Mary, what did you see on the way?
I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.” Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

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.