This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.NPS 117:24
My Soul's Beloved,
From the time of Abraham until the last prophet, we saw the age of the Father. Then, at a time of His choosing, the Father sent You, His only beloved Son, into the world, and we had the powerful age of the Son fulfilling all the prophecies beginning with the promise to Adam and Eve. The first 30 years of Your life, beginning with the Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Eternal Word in the womb of the Virgin Mother, were silent years hidden in Nazareth. So humble was Your life growing up with Mary and Joseph that the people of that town simply could not equate You with the miracle worker that went around Israel, whom crowds followed in droves and who marvelled at the wondrous signs You performed. Once You made Yourself known for 3 short years after Your Baptism in the Jordan and the first Miracle performed at the Wedding in Cana, You preached about the Kingdom of God. proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that You were who You claimed to be, the Son of God. Anyone with integrity could testify to this truth. Sadly, the enemies of Truth, into whose hands God delivered You, condemned You to a barbaric, gruesome, and ignoble death. This was Your Father's will, and You were obedient even unto death, death on the Cross.
Now, Beloved, lifted high above all creation and everything in heaven on earth and under the earth, You reign in glory and splendour. But before You come again in glory to claim all under Your Lordship, You have sent us the Holy Spirit. We are now living in this glorious age where we see how, with the power of the Holy Spirit, lives are being transformed as Peter's was and the rest of the Apostles'. From frightened, cowardly men, they burned with zeal for You and preached the Good News with fire, unafraid of intimidation, persecution, scorn, imprisonment, flogging, torture, and death.
Thank You, Lord, for pouring this same Spirit into our hearts. Grant that we may allow the Holy Spirit free rein in our lives so we too may be fearless in living our faith, no matter the cost.
‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’
PSALM 15(16):1-2,5,7-11
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.’
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
MATTHEW 28:8-15
My Soul's Beloved,
You came to the faithful women first, and they were privileged to see You, worship You, and become the first witnesses to the Resurrection. Filled with joy, they ran in haste to bring the Good News to the disciples that the tomb was empty and to convey the message they received from Your lips, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’ Fear is our natural human response to things that trouble us and make us anxious, and You assure us as often as we need assurance, 'Do not be afraid.'
Lord, when we see You and are touched by You, we desire nothing more than to cling to You and never let You go. But this is not the mission given to us. The encounter is granted to us as consolation only to encourage us and strengthen us for our true mission, which is to evangelise the world, beginning from where we are, in our home, our neighborhood, and our community.
Help us, Lord, to be faithful in little things, and if we are, You will continue to increase the field in which we labor for Your glory. Grant us the graces necessary to keep us little, humble, childlike, obedient, so we will always respond joyfully and promptly to all You ask of us.
Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.
And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’
No comments:
Post a Comment