Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
Sandwiched in between two overtly Eucharistic sections of John’s Gospel – the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the Bread of Life discourse – is the story we have in today’s gospel reading of Jesus walking on water. I have found myself wondering on multiple occasions: why? Why would Jesus walk on water? What was He trying to communicate? Aren’t there many other things that would’ve been better uses of His time? Was this a kind of David Blane or Houdini act meant to marvel the disciples? After some reflection, I think that we can best understand the nature of this episode in the wider context of John’s Gospel and Jesus’ entire ministry.
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
In the past month, I’ve found myself reflecting deeply on the nature of the church and what it means to be church. The re-emerging sex abuse scandals have hit me hard, emotionally and intellectually, and they have particularly brought up tough questions like: what does it mean to be in a church that is so patently fallible and yet which claims to be Christ’s body, and an eternal institution? Good and evil, divine and human, fallible and infallible, are all intermixed: how can this be?
Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
Easter continues, and so does the adventure story of the early Church. In today’s first reading we have an account of Peter and the Apostles being taken in for questioning before a court. Their answer to the court demonstrates the continuing commitment to Jesus and the gospel message: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). They continue by telling the court that they are witnesses to the resurrection. It is evident that knowing Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has fundamentally changed their lives. The bumbling Apostles of the gospels – often mistaken, often confused, often “weak in faith,” have become courageous leaders of the Church, finally unwilling to deny Jesus.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
Easter season is full of great opportunities for each of us to realize God’s love for us. Our scriptures today give us a beautiful understanding of God’s spirit working in the early Christian community. That spirit was pushing the apostles to witness to the power of the resurrection in their lives. That same good news is affirmed and reinforced in the psalm and the gospel.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
Today’s Gospel reading, from St. John’s Gospel , focuses on the Sacrament of Baptism. We know this not only from Jesus’ discussion of spiritual rebirth, but also from His emphasis on being born again (or from above) by water and the Spirit in the immediate context preceding the section in today’s reading, and also at the end of this passage immediately following the section we have in today’s reading, where Jesus finishes this discussion and His disciples go out and baptize.
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
Alleluia, Christ is risen! We are now starting on our second week of Easter and continuing to follow the journey of the early Church as remembered in the Acts of the Apostles. Our passage for today again describes Peter and John, who, by now must be regarded as troublemakers in the eyes of many in the city. For the Christian community, however, the actions of Peter and John make sense because they are interpreted in light of the paschal mystery, i.e. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The Christians feel empowered by their recollection of all that had happened; Jesus’ death has not ended their discipleship; rather, his resurrection has intensified their commitment to the gospel message. Hence the word that describes them is “boldness.” In the face of threats, they stay true to their lives as followers of Jesus.
Second Sunday of Easter
Today is the last day in the Octave of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. At the end of the Octave we still find ourselves at the beginning of the Easter Season. And so, if you haven’t made the most of Easter yet, there’s still a lot of time, in fact, longer than the season of Lent. Today’s readings really highlight the hope of the Easter season, both resurrection hope, but also the hope of healing.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
These words from today’s Psalm (Ps 118:15) illustrate the insuppressible good news of Jesus’ life death and resurrection. The good news of the resurrection bubbles forth from Jesus’ disciples out of their gut, almost uncontrollably; it is unable to be squelched or held down.
In the reading from Mark’s gospel today, Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the resurrected Jesus (Mark 16:9). In John’s endearing account of this same appearance, we are told that Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first, but mistook him for the gardener (John 20:15). In Mark’s account, we learn nothing of the exchange between Mary and Jesus, only that after He appeared to her, “she went out and told his companions” (Mark 16:10), who summarily dismiss her story. It is interesting that Mark only gives us two verbs: “he appeared” and “she told.” Mary is not even commanded by Jesus to tell the others, but it seems she cannot contain herself. She cannot hold in this joyful news.
Friday in the Octave of Easter
During the Easter Season, we do not read the first scripture lesson from the Old Testament as is customary the rest of the year, but we read from the Acts of the Apostles. This is partly to emphasize that Jesus’ resurrection has brought about something new. God is doing a new thing in the midst of the old and we emphasize this by reading only from the New Testament. But there is another, perhaps more significant reason to bring in readings from the Acts of the Apostles: we cannot fully realize the meaning and importance of the resurrection without understanding its aftermath.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
Octave of Easter Thursday 8 April 2010 Incredulous for Joy Alleluia! And happy Easter! Today we celebrate the fifth day in the Octave of Easter. Like all other days in the Octave, today is a solemnity, the highest feast of the Church. But of course, most of our country has already left Easter far behind. And most likely, we too have been back to work this week – the daily grind of everyday life.
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
Signs of resurrection are all around us, especially after this hard winter. There is new growth on the trees, new life springing forth from the earth, and we can even experience new life in the abundance of birds singing in the mornings. These signs along with the ever brightening sun are sufficient to make our souls smile. Yet, these are just the beginning of the discovery process for indeed the whole universe is wired to reveal resurrection.
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
Today we continue to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, which is emphasized in the Gospel reading for today. In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find St. Peter’s important speech, wherein he explains how we are saved: repent and be baptized (2:38). If we pay careful attention to this passage we see that St. Peter explains that this is for children as well as adults, “to you and to your children” (2:39). The fact that he is speaking to a Jewish audience (2:5, 11, 14, and 36) underscores how this message would of course be interpreted as including children (i.e., infant baptism), since Jews circumcised sons on the eighth day, and baptism and repentance are here seen as the new entrance rite into the covenant family.
Monday in the Octave of Easter
Monday in the Octave of Easter 5 April 2010 Share the Unbounded Easter Joy! Alleluia! Christ is risen, alleluia! For most people in the United States, Easter has come and gone. It is over in one day; even the Easter candy is now on sale. But for the Church, Easter Sunday is only the beginning of the Easter season. Today, Monday, is the second day in the octave of Easter. All of the days from Easter Sunday through to the following Sunday rank as solemnities, the highest holy days in the liturgical year of the Church.
Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord
Rejoice! Alleluia! Christ is risen! Today we celebrate Easter, that most joyous of liturgical celebrations, so joyous that, as with Christmas, one day is insufficient to contain the joy, and so we extend the celebration over an entire eight days, known as an octave. The fifty days of Easter are especially joyous, but the first eight even more so, and those eight begin with today, Easter Sunday.
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name) is sacred as the day of the Lord's rest; it has been called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible....Jesus' enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord by lies and slander.
Good Friday of the Lord's passion
I want to reflect today mostly on the Isaiah passage (Isaiah 52:13—53:12), not because the reading of the passion (John 18:1-19:42) isn’t intensely important, but because when it comes to Good Friday and the crucifixion, I think that meditation on the cross, and the liturgy of the day, speaks for itself. What more could I possibly say? If you have a chance at all to get to a Good Friday service, go.
Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper
Today begins our Triduum. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil), are deep with meaning that colors not only this particular day, but the whole of the Christian life. The paschal mystery expressed in this Triduum is at the heart of all we do.
Wednesday of Holy Week
We are half way through Holy Week and Triduum is only hours away. This said today is a good day to take stock of our Lenten journey. Hopefully these forty days have helped us set our face like flint to our own sinfulness. Hopefully these days have helped us recognize that there is no disgrace in doing our best to turn away from all that distracts us from God. In short, reflect upon how this journey has brought us closer to the Lord.
Tuesday of Holy Week
Today we continue our journey through Holy Week. Although we are still only at the beginning, we know how it ends, not with death and sorry, but with Easter joy. And of course, the end is just the beginning, 50 days of Easter joy. We celebrate the greatest mystery of our with Triduum and Easter, the solemn celebrations which conclude this week. All of these mysteries: the Last Supper, Jesus’ passion and death, and His resurrection, are events that cannot be easily separated from one another.
Monday of Holy Week
With Palm Sunday yesterday, we began what is known as “Holy Week,” which includes the last of Lent and the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. We are now quickly moving toward Jesus’ passion and death; we are hastening toward Jerusalem. Today’s first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah is one from the Old Testament that our Church has always understood Christologically. In other words, although it was written before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, we look at this passage as applying to Christ.