#the magdala stone

[tsalmu]

The Magdala Stone with Hexafoil and Menorah Magdala, Israel / Judea c. 70 CE

[myremnantarmy]

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟑𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥

Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord

The Mass of Easter Day

Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark,

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

and arrived at the tomb first;

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

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.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The First Lord’s Day: Jesus Rises

1-7 When the Sabbath was over, just as the first day of the week was dawning Mary from Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. At that moment there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven, went forward and rolled back the stone and took his seat upon it. His appearance was dazzling like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook with terror at the sight of him and collapsed like dead men. But the angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here—he is risen, just as he said he would. Come and look at the place where he was lying. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And, listen, he goes before you into Galilee! You will see him there! Now I have told you my message.”

8 Then the women went away quickly from the tomb, their hearts filled with awe and great joy, and ran to give the news to his disciples.

9-10 But quite suddenly, Jesus stood before them in their path, and said, “Peace be with you!” And they went forward to meet him and, clasping his feet, worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go now and tell my brothers to go into Galilee and they shall see me there”

11-15 And while they were on their way, some of the sentries went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. They got together with the elders, and after consultation gave the soldiers a considerable sum of money and told them, “Your story must be that his disciples came after dark, and stole him away while you were asleep. If by any chance this reaches the governor’s ears, we will put it right with him and see that you do not suffer for it.” So they took the money and obeyed their instructions. The story was spread and is current among the Jews to this day.

Jesus gives his final commission

16-17 But the eleven went to the hill-side in Galilee where Jesus had arranged to meet them, and when they had seen him they worshipped him, though some of them were doubtful.

18-20 But Jesus came and spoke these words to them, “All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. You, then, are to go and make disciples of all the nations and baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” — Matthew 28 | J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Cross References: Proverbs 8:15; Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 26:2; Daniel 7:9; Daniel 10:6; Matthew 9:31; Matthew 12:14; Matthew 12:40; Matthew 14:27; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 23:7; Matthew 26:32; Matthew 27:2; Matthew 27:8; Matthew 27:56 Matthew 27:60-61; Matthew 27:65-66; Mark 1:45; Mark 14:28; Mark 15:41; Mark 16:4; Mark 16:7; Mark 16:11; Luke 24:47; John 20:14; John 20:17; Acts 1:2-3; Acts 1:8; Acts 18:10; Revelation 1:17

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Magdala Stone

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sunday, August 4, 2024

july 22_august 4

THE HOLY MYRH-BEARER EQUAL-UNTO-THE-APOSTLES MARY MAGDALENE. (1st c.)

Icon from Uncut Mountain Supply

Little is known of the early life of St. Mary. She was called "Magdalene" because she lived in the town of Magdala on the shore of the sea of Galilee, In the Bible we read that she was afflicted with an incurable disease: she was possessed by seven devils (Lk. 8:2). This was allowed by God's Providence, so that in curing her the Lord Jesus Christ could show forth the power and glory of God.

Helpless in her sufferings and hearing about the miracle-working power of Christ, Mary hastened to Him and asked to be delivered from her infirmity. Through her faith in His almighty power, Christ cast the seven devils out from her. Her heart became filled with thanksgiving and pure love for her Divine Healer. From that time forth, She dedicated her whole life to her Saviour Jesus Christ and became one of his most devoted disciples. She took every opportunity to listen to His teachings and to serve Him. Her example encouraged other women to do likewise.

Particularly remarkable was the determination and unusual courage which Mary Magdalene showed toward her Saviour. At the time of His greatest suffering, while He hung on the Cross and when even His apostles had abandoned Him, Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the Cross together with the Mother of God and the Lord's beloved disciple, John. They mourned and wept, but even in their weeping they comforted the Saviour with their undying love and the knowledge that He had not been utterly forsaken. That night, Mary Magdalene came with Joseph of Arimathea and Nikodemos when they took the Body of her beloved Lord down from the Cross and laid It in a tomb. Together with the other women disciples, she returned to prepare myrrh and other ointments with which to anoint the precious Body of Christ, according to the Jewish custom. Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre (tomb) carrying the ointments. (For this reason the Church calls her a "Myrrh-bearer".) Coming close she saw that the large stone that had been placed at the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away. She thought that perhaps someone had already come and taken the Body to another place. Hurrying back to Jerusalem she told the apostles Peter and John: "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, 'and we know not where they have laid Him." Together with them she went again to the tomb and stood there weeping. When they had left she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. There she saw two angels who asked why she was crying. She told them and then, turning around, she saw Jesus, but in her grief she did not recognize Him, and thinking He was the gardener, told Him also the reason for her weeping. It was only when He said her name: "Mary!" that she recognized Him as her beloved Lord. Not believing her own ears, she cried out with joy, "Master ! Then quickly following his His instructions, she ran quickly to announce the good news to the disciples: “Christ is risen!” Because she was the first, sent by the Lord Himself, to proclaim the Resurrection, the Church also calls her "Equal-to-the-Apostles".

Even after Christ’s Ascension into heaven, Mary Magdalen continued to preach the good news of Christ's glorious Resurrection, not only in Jerusalem, but also in other countries. She spent her last years in Ephesus helping St. John the Evangelist in missionary labors. There she died peacefully.

In the ninth century her incorrupt relics were taken to Constantinople and placed in the church of St. Lazarus' Monastery.

St. Mary Magdalen zealously fulfilled the first and greatest commandment: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind and with all thy strength. Her life is an example for us to love and serve God above all, not fearing what others may say or do to us. Let us, too, be apostles of the faith and tell everyone the good news which St. Mary Magdalene was first to proclaim: "Christ is Risen! In Truth He is Risen!"

Source: Orthodox America

VENERABLE CORNELIUS, MONK OF PEREYASLAVL , AND CONFESSOR OF ALEXANDROV CONVENT (1693)

Saint Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, in the world Konon, was the son of a Ryazan merchant. In his youth he left his parental home and lived for five years as a novice of the Elder Paul in the Lukianov wilderness near Pereyaslavl. Afterwards the young ascetic transferred to the Pereyaslavl monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb on the Sands [Peskakh]. Konon eagerly went to church and unquestioningly did everything that they commanded him.

The holy novice did not sit down to eat in the trapeza with the brethren, but contented himself with whatever remained, accepting food only three times a week. After five years, he received monastic tonsure with the name Cornelius. From that time no one saw the monk sleeping on a bed. Several of the brethren scoffed at Saint Cornelius as foolish, but he quietly endured the insults and intensified his efforts. Having asked permission of the igumen to live as a hermit, he secluded himself into his own separately constructed cell and constantly practiced asceticism in fasting and prayer.

Once the brethren found him barely alive, and the cell was locked from within. Three months Saint Cornelius lay ill, and he could take only water and juice. The monk, having recovered and being persuaded by the igumen, stayed to live with the brethren. Saint Cornelius was the sacristan in church, he served in the trapeza, and also toiled in the garden. As if to bless the saint’s labors, excellent apples grew in the monastery garden, which he lovingly distributed to visitors.

The body of Saint Cornelius was withered up from strict fasting, but he did not cease to toil. With his own hands he built a well for the brethren. For thirty years Saint Cornelius lived in complete silence, being considered by the brethren as deaf and dumb. Before his death on July 22, 1693, Saint Cornelius made his confession to the monastery priest Father Barlaam, received the Holy Mysteries and took the schema.

He was buried in the chapel. Nine years later, during the construction of a new church, his relics were found incorrupt. In the year 1705, Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov (October 28), saw the relics of Saint Cornelius, and they were in the new church in a secluded place. The holy bishop composed a Troparion and Kontakion to the saint.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:2-12

2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? 8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.

LUKE 8:1-3

1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

22nd July >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (Inc. John 20:1-2, 11-18): ‘Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord’.

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Gospel (Except USA) John 20:1-2,11-18 'Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them'.

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

Gospel (USA) John 20:1-2, 11-18 Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. 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.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.

Reflections (7)

(i) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Saint Paul has a way of expressing very succinctly what is at the core of our faith. We find one such expression in today’s alternative first reading where he declares that ‘Christ died for all’, so that those who live might ‘live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them’. In today’s gospel reading, Mary Magdalen is only aware that Jesus has died; she does not yet know that he has been raised to life. Not only has Jesus been cruelly put to death, she assumes from the empty tomb that his body has been stolen. Immersed in grief, she is not yet capable of living for him who died and was raised to life. It was only when the risen Lord appeared to her that she could begin to live for him again, as she had done before he died. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, however, Mary failed to recognise Jesus when she first saw him and entered into conversation with him. Their moment of recognition was when the stranger broke bread at their table. Mary’s moment of recognition was when the stranger spoke her name, like the good shepherd who knows his own by name. She was now ready to live for Jesus crucified and risen. She would become a ‘new creation’, in the words of Paul in our first reading. Commissioned by the risen Lord, she became his messenger to the other disciples, declaring to them that she had seen the Lord. The risen Lord, our good shepherd, continues to call us by name. Having died and rose from the dead for us, he calls on us to live not for ourselves but for him, by witnessing to our faith in him as risen Lord. Living for the Lord gives value to all that we say and do. Like Mary Magdalene, we become a new creation.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

In the long tradition of the church, including its artistic tradition, Mary Magdalene has generally been portrayed as the repentant sinner. This is largely due to her being mistakenly identified with the sinful woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair. There is no evidence to suggest in the gospels that she was any more a sinner than the other disciples of Jesus. The gospel reading for her feast which we have just read portrays her as a woman whose devotion to Jesus brought her to the tomb early on that first Sunday morning. Her heartfelt devotion to Jesus also left her outside the tomb weeping tears of loss when she discovered that the body of Jesus was not there. She sought the Lord but could not find him. However, the Lord came seeking her and found her when he called her by her name, ‘Mary’. Like Mary Magdalene, we too seek the Lord, and, like her, we are also the object of the Lord’s search. Indeed, the Lord’s search for us is prior to our search for him. Even if we struggle to make our way to the Lord, like Mary, the Lord always makes his way to us and calls us by our name. He is the Good Shepherd who, having laid down his life for us, now calls us by name. In calling us to himself by name, the Lord also sends us out, as he sent out Mary Magdalene, to bring the good news of his Easter presence to those we meet. The Lord who calls us by name also asks us to be his messengers to others. Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the disciples, can be our inspiration as we take up this task.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

One of the titles of Mary Magdalene in the early church is ‘apostle to the apostles’. That title is based on the gospel reading we have just heard. In the gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is person to whom the risen Lord appears and the first person to proclaim the gospel of Easter, and she does so to the disciples of Jesus. Before she made that outer, geographical, journey of bringing the gospel to others, today’s gospel reading suggests that she first had to undergo an inner journey. She begins still in the darkness of Good Friday. Not only has Jesus died but his body appears to have been stolen. Her dismay and grief finds expression in her tears. Gradually she is led out of this darkness of spirit by the risen Lord. When Jesus came to her, she did not recognize him initially. However, when he spoke her name, her eyes were opened and she saw. Even then, she still had an inner journey to travel. She held on to him as if Jesus had returned to the life he once lived. Yet, Jesus had been transformed through his resurrection from the dead and his relationship with Mary and his other disciples had been transformed. He would now relate to them through the Holy Spirit whom he would send from God the Father, his Father and our Father. It was only when Mary could let go of the relationship she and other disciples once had with Jesus and was open to this new kind of relationship with him that she could out to proclaim the Easter gospel to the disciples.  There is always some inner journey we need to undergo before we can go out to others in the Lord’s name. The Lord keeps calling us by name, inviting us to turn towards him more fully, and calling on us not to cling to whatever may be coming between us and him. This inner journey is the journey of a lifetime. We cannot wait for it to be complete before going out to witness to the Lord, because it isn’t complete this side of eternity. All the Lord asks is that we remain faithful to this inner journey of growing in our relationship with him.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene speaks to the seeker in all of us. In the gospel reading for her feast, the risen Lord asks her two questions, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Mary was weeping because she could not find Jesus whom she was seeking. In the words of the first reading, ‘I sought but did not find him’. Some of the sadness in our lives comes from a sense of loss, an awareness of unfulfilled longing. We have probably all known that particular form of sadness. We long for something or someone, and because that longing goes unfulfilled, we experience a sense of deep sadness. In the gospel reading, Mary’s longing for Jesus was satisfied. When the risen Lord spoke her name, she recognized the true identity of the one she thought was the gardener and her sadness was banished. Yet, even in that moment of great joy, she had to learn to let go of Jesus as she had known him. Jesus had to call on her not to cling to him. Because Jesus was returning to the Father, from now on he would relate to her and to all of his disciples in a new way. He would be as close to her and his disciples as he ever was, indeed even closer, but in a different way. The gospel reading assures us that, even if many of our longings go unsatisfied, our longing for the Lord, which is our deepest longing, will always be satisfied. The Lord speaks our name as he spoke Mary’s name. Because of his death and resurrection, his Father is now our Father and his God is now our God. In journeying from this world to the Father, the Lord draws us into his own intimate relationship with God, thereby making us his brothers and sisters, and brothers and sisters of each other. If we keep searching for him, like Mary Magdalene, we will come to experience him as the good shepherd who calls his own by name.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

According to John’s gospel, the new tomb in which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus was located in a garden, close to the place where Jesus was crucified. In today’s gospel reading, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb in the garden. When the risen Lord appeared to her and spoke to her, she presumed that the person before her was the gardener. The risen Lord was living with a very different kind of life to the life he had before he was crucified. Yet, he seemed to Mary Magdalene to be the gardener. It is interesting to think of the risen Lord as a gardener. A gardener works to nurture the life of nature; gardeners make God’s good creation bloom and blossom. The risen Lord also works to nurture life; he came that we may have life and have it to the full. Fullness of life is a sharing in the Lord’s own risen life. Whenever we nurture life, in whatever form, be it human life or the life of our created world, the risen Lord is working through us. It was only when the risen Lord addressed Mary by name that she realized the person before her was Jesus whom she had been following and who had been crucified. The Lord calls each of us by name, but we don’t always allow ourselves to hear him speak our name. If we seek after the Lord, in the way Mary Magdalene is portrayed as doing in the gospel reading, we will hear the Lord speak our name in love. After the risen Lord spoke Mary’s name, he sends her out as his messenger to the other disciples. She becomes the apostle to the disciples. The Lord who calls us by name sends us out in the same way. The Living One who calls us by name sends us out into the world as life givers, to protect, sustain and nurture life in all its forms.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

According to the gospels, Mary Magdalene was one of the women disciples who followed Jesus in Galilee. She stood with the other women looking on as Jesus was crucified. She witnessed the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. She went to the tomb with other women early on the first day of the week. It is the gospel of John that highlights the role of Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday. The portrayal of Mary Magdalene standing outside the tomb of Jesus weeping, in today’s gospel reading, is true to the experience of all who have suffered a painful loss. As a priest, I have witnessed many a person weeping at a graveside. The tears we shed at a graveside flow from our love for the person who has died. We have a profound sense of loss and we are heart broken. When we love someone deeply, sooner or later our heart will be broken. On that first Easter Sunday, Mary seems to have been alone weeping outside the tomb. Yet, she was not really alone. The one for whom she wept was present to her, even though she did not recognize him, ‘she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize him’. She thought she was seeing the gardener. The rise Lord is always present to us in our moments of sadness and grief, in our times of struggle and distress. Like Mary Magdalene, we don’t always recognize the Lord’s presence. We can be so absorbed by our grief or by our plight that we struggle to see beyond it. At such times, we often need to find a quiet moment to become aware of the risen Lord’s presence, and to hear him speak our name, as he spoke Mary’s name to her. It was when the stranger spoke her name that she recognized him as the risen Lord. As Jesus, the risen Lord, said to Mary Magdalene, he has ascended to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God, but he is also present among us and present to each one of us personally, especially in times of loss and struggle. The feast day of Mary Magdalene invites us to allow ourselves to become more aware of the risen Lord’s presence and to become attuned to his calling us by name.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

The first reading from the Song of Songs is a striking commentary on the state of mind and heart of Mary Magdalene, as she is portrayed in the gospel reading, ‘I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him’. Mary Magdalene, according to the gospel of John, was one of the women who stood by the cross as Jesus was dying. She belonged in that little community of faithful disciples at the foot of the cross, consisting of herself, Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and the beloved disciple. In this gospel of John, the disciples are those who have welcomed the faithful love of Jesus into their lives, his greater love unto death, and who responded by loving him faithfully and loving others in the way that he has loved them. It is Mary Magdalene, the faithful disciple, whom we meet in today’s gospel reading. Having witnessed his death, she now comes to the tomb, as the loved ones of those who have died often do. She seeks the body of Jesus but cannot find it, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb but we don’t know where they have put him’. Little does she realize that the body of Jesus is nowhere to be found, because something more wonderful is waiting to be found, the Lord himself in all his risen glory. However, it is the Lord who seeks out and finds Mary Magdalene, calling her by her name, ‘Mary’. Having lifted her out of her grief, he sends her to proclaim the Easter gospel. She becomes the first person to preach the Easter gospel. The portrayal of Mary Magdalen in the gospel reading reminds us that the Lord whom we are seeking is always seeking us first. Even if our seeking him seems to be leading nowhere, the Lord’s searching love will always find us, if we are in some way open to his coming. Having found us, having allowed ourselves to be found by him, he will empower us, as he did Mary Magdalene, to become messengers of Easter hope and joy to all whom we meet.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

22nd July >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalen

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

Either:

First Reading Song of Songs 3:1-4 I found him whom my heart loves.

The bride says this:

On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. So I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. The watchmen came upon me on their rounds in the City: ‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’ Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my heart loves.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 We do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh.

The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them. From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 62(63):2-6,8-9

R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.

R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.

R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.

R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice. My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.

R/ For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way. – The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ’s glory as he rose! Alleluia!

(The following reading is proper to the memorial, and must be used even if you have otherwise chosen to use the ferial readings)

Gospel John 20:1-2,11-18 'Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them'.

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[troybeecham]

Today, the Church remembers St. Mary of Magdala.

Ora pro nobis.

Saint Mary Magdalene, sometimes called simply the Magdalene, was a Jewish woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. She is mentioned by name twelve times in the canonical gospels, more than most of the apostles. Mary's epithet Magdalene most likely means that she came from the town of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The Gospel of Luke 8:2-3 lists Mary as one of the women who traveled with Jesus and helped support his ministry "out of their resources", indicating that she was probably relatively wealthy. The same passage also states that seven demons had been driven out of her, a statement which is repeated in the longer ending of Mark. In all four canonical gospels, she is a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus and, in the Synoptic Gospels, she is also present at his burial. All four gospels identify her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women, as the first witness to the empty tomb, and the first to testify to Jesus's resurrection. For these reasons, she is known in many Christian traditions as the "apostle to the apostles"

Because Mary is listed as one of the women who were supporting Jesus's ministry financially, she must have been relatively wealthy. The places where she and the other women are mentioned throughout the gospels strongly indicate that they were vital to Jesus's ministry and the fact that Mary Magdalene always appears first, whenever she is listed in the Synoptic Gospels as a member of a group of women, indicates that she was seen as the most important out of all of them.

All four canonical gospels agree that Mary Magdalene, along with several other women, watched Jesus's crucifixion from a distance. Mark 15:40 lists the names of the women present as Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James, and Salome. Matthew 27:55-56 lists Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Joseph, and the unnamed mother of the sons of Zebedee (who may be the same person Mark calls Salome). Luke 23:49 mentions a group of women watching the crucifixion, but does not give any of their names. John 19:25 lists Mary, mother of Jesus, her sister Mary, wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene as witnesses to the crucifixion

According to Matthew 28:1-10, Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" went to the tomb. An earthquake occurred and an angel dressed in white descended from Heaven and rolled aside the stone as the women were watching. The angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then the risen Jesus himself appeared to the women as they were leaving the tomb and told them to tell the other disciples that he would meet them in Galilee. According to Luke 24:1-12 a group of unnamed women went to the tomb and found the stone already rolled away, as in Mark. They went inside and saw two young men dressed in white who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then they went and told the eleven remaining apostles, who dismissed their story as nonsense. In Luke's account, Jesus never appears to the women, but instead makes his first appearance to Cleopas and an unnamed "disciple" on the road to Emmaus. Luke's narrative also removes the injunction for the women to tell the disciples to return to Galilee and instead has Jesus tell the disciples not to return to Galilee, but rather to stay in the precincts of Jerusalem.

Mary Magdalene's role in the resurrection narrative is greatly increased in the account from the Gospel of John. According to John 20:1-10, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb alone when it was still dark and saw that the stone had already been rolled away. She did not see anyone, but immediately ran to tell Peter and the "beloved disciple", who came with her to the tomb and confirmed that it was empty, but returned home without seeing the risen Jesus. According to John 20:11-18, Mary, now alone in the garden outside the tomb, saw two angels sitting where Jesus's body had been. Then the risen Jesus approached her. She at first mistook him for the gardener, but, after she heard him say her name, she recognized him and cried out "Rabbouni!" (which is Aramaic for "teacher"). She tried to touch him, but he told her, "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my father." Jesus then sent her to tell the other apostles the good news of his resurrection.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

(Photo of earliest known depiction of Mary Magdalene, from a fresco uncovered at a church in Dura-Europos, c. 240 A.D.)

[byfaithmedia]

In Magdala a stone was uncovered that portrayed images from the Second Temple of Jerusalem. These include the passageways into the Temple, Ezekiel’s vision of wheels and the Menorah.

[catolinewsdailyreadings]

Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord

Readings of Sunday, March 31, 2024

Reading 1

ACTS 10:34A, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea,  beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil,  for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.

R./ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. or: R./ Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” R./ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. or: R./ Alleluia.

“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power; the right hand of the LORD is exalted. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” R./ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. or: R./ Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. R./ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. or: R./ Alleluia.

Reading 2

COL 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,  where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 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.

Sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes

Christians, to the Paschal Victim    Offer your thankful praises! A Lamb the sheep redeems;    Christ, who only is sinless,    Reconciles sinners to the Father. Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:    The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal. Speak, Mary, declaring    What you saw, wayfaring. “The tomb of Christ, who is living,    The glory of Jesus’ resurrection; bright angels attesting,    The shroud and napkin resting. Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;    to Galilee he goes before you.” Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.    Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!    Amen. Alleluia.

Gospel

JN 20:1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,  and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter  and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,  “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,  and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter  and arrived at the tomb first;  he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 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.

[cpmbumba2020]

March 31, 2024 - Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection

Daily Gospel

John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark,

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

and arrived at the tomb first;

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

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.

Photo and Caption by: Simon Tanjutco

[myremnantarmy]

𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

The Resurrection of the Lord

The Mass of Easter Day

Gospel Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark,

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

and arrived at the tomb first;

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

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.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Music For the Soul by Alexander MacLaren

Memorials of Victory

"Ye are our glory and our joy" – 1 Thessalonians 2:20

Paul’s name was that of his first convert. He takes it, as I suppose, because it seemed to him such a blessed thing that at the very moment when he began to sow, God helped him to reap. He had gone out to his work, no doubt, with much trembling, with weakness and fear. And lo! here, at once, the fields were white already to the harvest.

Great conquerors have been named from their victories: Africanus, Germanicus, Nelson of the Nile, Napier of Magdala, and the like. Paul names himself from the first victory that God gave him to win; and so, as it were, carries ever at his breast a memorial of the wonder that through him it had been given to preach, and that not without success, amongst the Gentiles " the unsearchable riches of Christ."

That is to say, this man Paul thought of it as his highest honour, and the thing best worthy to be remembered about his life, that God had helped him to help his brethren to know the common Master. Is that your idea of the best thing about a life? What would you like to have for an epitaph on your grave, professing Christian? "He was rich; he made a big business." "He was famous; he wrote books." "He was happy and fortunate." Or, "He turned many to righteousness"? "This man flung away his literary tastes, his home joys, and his personal ambition, and chose as that for which he would live, and by which he would fain be remembered, that he should bring dark hearts to the light in which he and they together walked"?

His name, in its commemoration of his first success, would act as a stimulus to service and to hope. No doubt the Apostle, like the rest of us, had his times of indolence and languor, and his times of despondency when he seemed to have laboured in vain and spent his strength for nought. He had but to name himself to find the antidote to both the one and the other, and in the remembrance of the past to find a stimulus for service for the future, and a stimulus for hope for the time to come. His first convert was to him the first drop that predicts the shower, the first primrose that prophesies the wealth of yellow blossoms and downy green leaves that will fill the woods in a day or two. The first convert "bears in his hand a glass which showed many more." Look at the workmen in the streets trying to get up a piece of the roadway. How difficult it is to lever out the first paving-stone from the compacted mass! But when once it has been withdrawn, the rest is comparatively easy. We can understand Paul’s triumph and joy over this first stone which he had worked out of the strongly cemented wall and barrier of heathenism; and his conviction that having thus made a breach, if it were but big enough to get the end of his lever in, the fall of the whole was only a question of time. I suppose that if the old alchemists had only turned one grain of base metal into gold they might have turned tons, if only they had had the retorts and the appliances with which to do it. And so, what has brought one man’s soul into harmony with God, and given one man the true life, can do the same for all men. In the first fruits we may see the fields whitening to the harvest. Let us rejoice, then, in any little work that God helps us to do, and be sure that if so great be the joy of the first fruits, great beyond speech will be the joy of the ingathering.

[carmelitesaet]

The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste wish you a very Happy Easter as we celebrate the Resurrection. Throughout the Easter Season we will remember you and your family in the masses and prayers celebrated in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Middle Park (VIC). May the power of the Risen Christ continue to heal us and make us his Body. Download #CelebratingAtHome for Easter Sunday and #LectioDivina for April : https://carmelites.org.au ... He must rise from the dead It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead. [John 20:1-9] #HeIsRisen #easter #jesus #christ #resurrection #happyeaster #catholic #christianity #carmelite #carmelites #prayer #faith #spirituality #inspirationalquotes #gospel #scripture #kingdomofgod #forgiveness #redemption #peace #hope #love #courage #popefrancis #freedom #truth #veritas

[orthodoxydaily]

SAINTS&READING : Friday, August 4, 2023

august 4_July 22

THE HOLY MYRH-BEARER EQUAL-UNTO-THE-APOSTLES MARY MAGDALENE ( 1st c.)

Mary Magdalene was one of the myrrh-bearing women and “equal to the apostles”. She was born in the town of Magdala along the shore of Lake Gennesaret and was from the tribe of Issachar. She was tormented by seven evil spirits from which the Lord Jesus freed her and made her whole. She was a faithful follower and servant of the Lord during His earthly life. Mary Magdalene stood beneath the Cross on Golgotha and grieved bitterly and mourned with the All-Holy Birth-giver of God. After the death of the Lord she visited His sepulchre three times. When the Lord resurrected she saw Him on two occasions: once alone and the other time with the other myrrh-bearing women.

[While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre (tomb) carrying the ointments. (For this reason the Church calls her “Myrrh-bearer”.) Coming close she saw that the large stone that had been placed at the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away. She thought that perhaps someone had already come and taken the Body to another place. Hurrying back to Jerusalem she told the apostles Peter and John: “They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, ‘and we know not where they have laid Him.” Together with them she went again to the tomb and stood there weeping. When they had left she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. There she saw two angels who asked why she was crying. She told them and then, turning around, she saw Jesus, but in her grief she did not recognize Him, and thinking -He was the gardener, e reason for her weeping. It was only then He said her name: “Mary!” that she recognized Him as her beloved Lord. Not believing her own ears, she cried out with joy, [Rabboni] “Master! Then quickly following his His instructions, she ran quickly to announce the good news to the disciples: “Christ is risen!” (Because she was the other time with the other myrrh-bearing women.

She traveled to Rome and appeared before Tiberias Caesar and presenting him with a red colored egg, greeted him with the words: “Christ is Risen!” At the same time, she accused Pilate before Caesar for his unjust condemnation of the Lord Jesus. Caesar accepted her accusation and transferred Pilate from Jerusalem to Gaul where, this unjust judge, in disfavor with the emperor, died of a dread disease. After that, Mary Magdalene returned from Rome [and having passed through all of Italy and France, along with Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Pamphylia preaching Christ, she returned to Jerusalem, where she stayed for a period of time with the Theotokos. She returned] to Ephesus to St. John the Theologian whom she assisted in the work of preaching the Gospel. With great love toward the resurrected Lord, and with great zeal, she proclaimed the Holy Gospel to the world as a true apostle of Christ. She died peacefully in Ephesus and, according to tradition, was buried in the same cave in which seven youths were miraculously put to sleep for hundreds of years and, after that, were brought to life and then died (August 4). The relics of St. Mary Magdalene were later transferred to Constantinople. There is a Russian Orthodox convent dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene near the Garden of Gethsemane.

Source: Saint Sophia Orthodox Cathedral , Washington DC

SAINT WANDREGISILUS (Gaul_668)

St.Wandregisel, Church of St. Vincent-de-Paul, Clichy

The son of Walchisus, a kinsman of Pepin of Landen,[2] he was born around 605, near Verdun in the region then known as Austrasia. He was educated at the Frankish court in Metz.

Wandregisel was part of a group of young courtiers including Audoin and Didier of Cahors who served Dagobert I, but in 629 he retired from court to become a monk at Montfaucon under the guidance of Saint Balderic. Wandregisel had received the tonsure without the permission normally required for a courtier, and was summoned to court to explain this apparent oversight. Dagobert then approved his request.[3]

Wandregisel soon withdrew to live as a hermit in complete solitude at Saint-Ursanne in the Jura.[2] Wandregisel adhered to the principles of Columbanus and his disciple Saint Ursicinus, who had founded several monasteries in the region. In 635, Wandregisel spent some time at the monastery of Saint Columban at Bobbio in northern Italy.[1] From there, he wished to travel to Ireland,  but by 642 got only as far as the abbey of Romainmôtier,[5] which lay on the banks of the river Isère in the Tarentaise Valley.

Wandregisel was ordained, and then founded Fontenelle Abbey in Normandy,[1] on land obtained from Erchinoald through the influence of his friend Archbishop Audoin of Rouen. Fontenelle followed the rule of Saint Columbanus, and the abbey became an important center of learning. Near the abbey's ruins lies the village of Saint-Wandrille-Rançon.

Wandregisel died on July 22, 668

During the Viking invasions, Wandregisel's relics were dispersed to various locations and shared between various churches, including the abbey of Saint-Pierre-au-Mont-Blandin in Ghent (now in Belgium). Wandregisel's cult was celebrated in England prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066.[1]

In the 19th century one of his relics remained: his skull was found in Liège. It was brought back to the Abbey, when the new church was dedicated in 1967. It can be seen today in a modern reliquary.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:2-12

2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? 8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does the law not say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.11If We have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not used this right but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.

LUKE 8:1-3

1 It came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

31st March >> Fr. Martin’s Homilies / Reflections on Today’s Mass Readings (Inc. John 20:1- 9) for Easter Sunday (B): ‘He saw and he believed’.

Easter Sunday (B)

Gospel (Except USA) John 20:1-9 He must rise from the dead

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Gospel (USA) John 20:1–9 He had to rise from the dead.

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 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.

Homilies (7)

(i) Easter Sunday

I like to walk places, whether it is around the parish or whether it is in some place like the Botanic Gardens or the sea coast. You see things when you are walking that you don’t see from a car or a bus. You meet people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. I have never been into jogging but I know some people love jogging. They often pass you by on the footpath, puffing and panting. Apart from someone who is obviously jogging, if I see someone running I immediately begin to wonder ‘Why are they running?’ Are they running to get away from something, or are they running to get somewhere?

All this running from and to the empty tomb of Jesus that first Easter Sunday suggests that those closest to Jesus were taken completely by surprise by the discovery that Jesus’ tomb was empty. Why was it empty? It wasn’t because someone had stolen Jesus’ body as Mary Magdalene first thought. The tomb was empty because God had brought Jesus through death into a new and glorious life over which death has no power. Jesus’ enemies did not have the last word after all. Calvary was not the end of the road for Jesus. Human beings did for Jesus what human beings are capable of doing, inflicting a cruel death on him. God did for Jesus what only God is capable of doing, transforming Jesus’ death into a glorious new life. God’s life-giving love for his Son was stronger than people’s deadly hatred for his Son.

God’s life-giving love for his Son was at the same time God’s life-giving love for all of humanity, even for those who put his Son to death. As the fourth evangelist said earlier in his gospel, ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’. God gave the gift of his Son to us by sending him into our world as flesh of our flesh. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Even as Jesus was lifted up on the cross by his enemies, God was continuing to give us his Son out of love for the whole world. When his Son was finally put to death, God lifted up his Son in glory so as to continue giving him to the world as the fullest possible expression of God’s love. Easter proclaims the good news that God’s love is stronger than human sin and more powerful than death. Easter announces that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Saint Paul expresses this truth of Easter in his own memorable way, ‘I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’.

That is what Easter announces, that is why the song of Easter is ‘Alleluia’, that is why Easter is the most important feast in the Christian calendar. Of the three disciples mentioned in today’s gospel reading, only one of them recognized the empty tomb as good news, rather than as just another sorry twist in a tragic story. It is said of the beloved disciple that when he went into the empty tomb, ‘he saw and believed’. He saw the empty tomb not as further evidence of the harm that human beings can do to others, but rather as a powerful sign of God’s unshakable, loving, commitment to a broken world. In the fourth gospel, this disciple is never given a name. Perhaps that is because he represents us all. We are all beloved disciples. The risen Lord loves each of us as deeply as God the Father loves him. We believe that Jesus’s love for us will do for us what God his Father’s love did for him, bringing us through death into a new and glorious life.

The beloved disciple recognized the presence of the risen Lord in the empty tomb. The risen Lord is also powerfully present in all those places in our lives that often seem empty to us, for whatever reason. There is no situation, no matter how dark or hopeless, where the Lord is not lovingly present to us, inviting us to receive from his fullness, so that we may have life and have it to the full.

And/Or

(ii) Easter Sunday

There is a lot of running in this morning’s gospel reading. Mary Magdalene runs from the tomb to Simon Peter and to the disciple that Jesus loved. They in turn run to the tomb together, with the beloved disciple running faster than Peter and reaching the tomb first. They ran because the tomb in which Jesus had been buried was now empty. Initially the disciples didn’t seem to know whether the surprising discovering of the empty tomb was good news or bad news. Mary Magdalene said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’. She thought the body had been stolen. The initial running wasn’t the energy of joy but the energy of anxiety and confusion. What does this surprising discovery mean? Of the three people mentioned in the gospel reading this morning, the evangelist declares that only one of them recognized immediately why the tomb was empty. It was the beloved disciple who ‘saw and believed’. He recognized that the reason the tomb was empty was not because the body had been stolen but because Jesus had risen from the dead. Having been put to death by human powers, he had been raised to new life by God’s power. This is what the beloved disciple recognized. This was Easter faith; this is the faith which brings us together on this Easter Sunday. We gather to celebrate the good news that the crucified Jesus is now the risen Lord. Just as Jesus was faithful to God and to the mission God had given him, faithful unto death, God, in turn, was faithful to Jesus, bringing him through death into a new and glorious life.

That was good news for Jesus, but it is also good news for all of us. It is because God raised Jesus from the dead to a new and more powerful life that Jesus is not just a figure of history belonging to the past. Rather, he is more alive today than he was before he was put to death. In being raised from the dead, Jesus did not return to the life he lived before his death; he passed over into a fuller and more wonderful life, a life which allows him to be powerfully present to his followers of every generation. The Jesus who walked the paths of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem continues to journey with all of us as risen Lord. This was the wonderful discovery that the two disciples made as they journeyed from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The Jesus who had been crucified continued to walk with them as one who had been transformed, gloriously changed. He continued to be present to them in a special way in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist. Their hearts burned within them as he opened the Scriptures to them, and then went on to recognize him fully in the breaking of bread. The Scriptures and the Eucharist remain two privileged ways that the risen Lord is present to us today. He continues to speak to us through his Word, so that our hearts might burn within us, so that our faith may be fanned into a living flame. He continues to give himself to us in the Eucharist under the form of bread and wine, just as he first gave himself to his disciples under the form of bread and wine at the last Supper, in anticipation of the gift of himself to them and to all the following day on the cross. As the Lord continues to give himself to us in the Eucharist, we are invited, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to recognize him in the Eucharist.

Apart from those privileged places where the Lord draws near to us, his Word and the Eucharist, the risen Lord is present to us in many other ways as well. He comes to us in and through our children. During his public ministry, Jesus said that whoever welcomes a little child welcomes him. Today we are welcoming two children into the church; in doing so, we are welcoming the Lord himself. The Lord also comes to us in and through those he termed the least of his brothers and sisters, those who are most vulnerable and who seem to have least to offer. One of the lines in the Easter Sequence that we read before today’s gospel reading goes, ‘Christ, my hope, has risen; he goes before you into Galilee’. We can substitute Galilee with any place name we choose. The Lord is always going before us, and coming towards us.

Today’s wonderful feast assures us that the Lord is all around us even in those dark and difficult experiences that threaten to swamp and engulf us. He is all around us as we face into that most difficult experience of our own death. As one who has passed through death to new life, he will take us through death to a sharing in his won risen life, if we remain in communion with him. Paul puts it, very simply, in today’s second reading: Christ ‘is your life’. The Lord first gives us a share in his risen life at baptism; N and N will be baptized into the Lord’s risen life in a few moments. Then, at the hour of our death we will be brought fully into his risen life. That is the hope given to us by this wonderful feast of Easter.

And/Or

(iii) Easter Sunday

We are all only too well aware of the reality of death. We hear almost every day of those killed on our roads – mothers, fathers, teenagers and children. We are horrified at the number of people who are being callously murdered in our country. Some people in this church may have had their own very personal experience of death in the course of last year, with the loss of a loved one. From time to time we are reminded of our own mortality when we brush up against serious illness.

When Mary Magdalene approached the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning, she was preoccupied with death. Jesus, whose healing love she had experienced, had been cruelly put to death by the Romans in his prime. She had stood by the cross and watched him die. Now she was approaching the tomb to complete the rituals associated with death, by anointing Jesus’ body with oils and perfumes. To her amazement she discovered the tomb was empty. This discovery only added to her darkness of spirit, her grief. Not only had Jesus been put to death, but his body had been stolen. It was only when the risen Jesus appeared to her and called her by name that she understood why the tomb was empty. The tomb was empty because Jesus had been raised from the dead and was now alive. Filled with new joy, new hope, new energy, she went to the disciples and excitedly declared, ‘I have seen the Lord’.

That declaration of Mary Magdalene, ‘I have seen the Lord’, is the heart of the Easter message; it is the message on the parish Easter card this year. Jesus who was crucified has been raised by the Father and has been given the name ‘Lord’ which is above all names. Easter declares that the one we worship is a living Lord. The good news of Easter is that the tomb of death has been transformed by God into the womb of new life. This took everyone by surprise. The gospel reading suggests that even Peter did not immediately understand the true meaning of the empty tomb. It is only of the beloved disciple that the evangelist says: ‘he saw and believed’. He alone understood why the tomb was empty; he alone saw that life had triumphed over death. Even before the risen Lord appeared to him, he understood that Jesus was risen. There will always be some who seen more deeply than others.

The feast of Easter is the feast of life. In a culture where death can be so dominant, we need to savour this feast of life. At Easter we renew our faith in a living God who brings new life out of death. If the death of Jesus reveals a God of love, the resurrection of Jesus reveals a God of life. We know from our own experience that genuine human love is always life-giving, and divine love is profoundly life-giving. At Easter we celebrate not only what the God of life has done for Jesus, but what God can do for us all. Because of Easter, we can face our own personal death with hope. Easter teaches us that the journey to the tomb is not ultimately a journey to death but, rather, as Mary Magdalene discovered, a journey to a wonderful and surprising new life. In the face of death, we too, like her, will discover that ‘no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’.

If Easter enables us to face our own death with hope, it also encourages us to look at all our other experiences of death with new eyes. There is a sense in which we have to deal with death throughout our lives, long before the moment of our own personal death arrives. Whenever someone close to us dies, some part of us dies with them. The experience of aging is itself a kind of dying, a letting go of our physical energy, perhaps even of our mental capacities. At any stage in life we can find ourselves dealing with very significant losses, such as the loss of a relationship that has been very significant for us, the loss of a job, the loss of our good name. In such losses, Easter, the feast of life, can speak powerfully to us. Because the Lord is risen, we do not face these losses alone. With St. Paul, we can say, ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me’. The risen Lord can work powerfully in all our experiences of loss and weakness.

All those to whom the risen Lord appeared were sent out as messengers of Easter hope and joy, as agents of new life. Easter, the feast of life, sends all of us forth to create a culture of life. We are faithful to that Easter calling whenever we help others to make new beginnings, whenever we help those who are struggling to live life to the full, whenever we are present to people in ways that enable their gifts to come alive and be placed at the service of others. Easter reminds us of our calling to be agents of God’s life-giving work in our world. This is our baptismal calling. Easter is a day to renew our response to our baptismal calling.

And/Or

(iv) Easter Sunday

We often speak about being pleasantly surprised. We can head into some situation expecting the worst, and the worst does not happen. We can go to a meeting with someone, dreading what might come out of it, and, to our surprise, it turns out to be a very positive experience. We start into an enterprise of some sort with a group of people expecting nothing but trouble and it turns out to be a really worthwhile happening that bears fruit in all kinds of unexpected ways. We have all had our own moments of being pleasantly surprised.

Those kinds of experiences are a little bit like the experience of Jesus’ followers on that first Easter Sunday. The gospel reading this morning describes the journey of Mary Magdalene to the tomb on the first day of the week. She had stood by the foot of the cross as Jesus was dying. Now she would stand outside his tomb and mourn. Those who have accompanied people on their final journey out of this life often experience the need to spend time at the graveside after burial. Yet, according to the gospel reading, what Mary Magdalene found on that first Easter morning was contrary to all her expectations. The stone that had been rolled against the opening of the tomb was now rolled away from the tomb, and the tomb stood empty. Standing outside the tomb weeping, as she had expected to be doing, was no longer an option. She had to run to tell the others, in particular Peter and the other disciple, what she had found.

Although Mary did not yet understand the true significance of the empty tomb, something extraordinary had happened. The crucified one had become the risen one. The tomb of death had become the womb of new life. According to our gospel reading, it was the beloved disciple who was the first to recognize the true significance of the empty tomb. ‘He saw and he believed’. The deeper truth of that empty tomb would soon become clear to the other disciples, including Mary Magdalene. The risen Lord would appear to them, and confirm them in their calling as disciples and in their mission to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. St. Paul, writing to the church in Corinth about twenty five years after the crucifixion, states: ‘He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me’. These appearances revealed why the tomb was empty. It was not because the body had been stolen, as Mary Magdalene had first thought, but because God had raised his Son from death to new life. If the crucifixion reveals the faithfulness of Jesus to God the Father, the resurrection reveals the faithfulness of God the Father to Jesus. In raising Jesus from the dead, God vindicated his Son, raising every value that Jesus stood for, every story that Jesus told, every choice that Jesus made, and every purpose that Jesus followed.

It is also true to say that if the crucifixion reveals the faithfulness of Jesus to all of us, his faithful love for us, the resurrection reveals the faithfulness of God the Father to all of us. In raising Jesus from the dead, God the Father ensured that the life-giving movement that Jesus began would endure to embrace future generations, including all of us here today. If God had not raised his Son from the dead, Jesus would have been reduced to an historical footnote. Without the discovery of the empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday, with all it stood for, the gospel would not have been preached, the church would not have been born, and we would not be gathering here this morning. As Paul writes to the church in Corinth, ‘if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and you faith has been in vain’. Easter is by far the most important feast in the church’s calendar. A whole season is given over to the celebration of this feast. This season of Easter lasts seven weeks, extending from today, Easter Sunday, until Pentecost Sunday.

During this Easter season we give thanks to God who, in raising Jesus from the dead, assures us that he can raise us from death also. Because of that first Easter, we live in the assured hope of sharing in the risen life of Christ, beyond our earthly lives. Because of that first Easter we also believe that God can work powerfully in all our own Calvary experiences. We each travel our own way of the cross from time to time. Like Jesus on his way to Golgotha, we can experience hostility, misunderstanding, rejection, desertion by former companions, betrayal, and isolation. Easter assures us that God works to bring new life out of the suffering and loss we experience, as he brought Easter Sunday out of Calvary. In that sense, Easter invites us to expect to be surprised by God here and now, as Mary Magdalene was on that first Easter Sunday. As Paul puts it in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’. We pray this Easter for a more expectant and hopeful faith.

And/Or

(v) Easter Sunday

Easter is the most important feast in the church’s calendar. As Saint Paul expressed it in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain’. Then he goes on to state with the conviction of someone to whom the risen Lord appeared, ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits off those who have died’. ‘Christ is risen, Alleluia’ is the cry of the church this morning throughout the world.

The extraordinary event of Jesus being raised from the dead seems to have taken his disciples completely by surprise. All four gospels tell the story of women coming to the tomb of Jesus on the morning after the Jewish Sabbath, our Sunday morning. As Jews they had rested on the Sabbath day. As soon as the Sabbath was over and light began to creep across the sky, they made their sad journey to Jesus’ tomb to grieve. It is a journey most of us have made as we followed a loved one to his or her final resting place. All of the gospels agree that it was the women who went to the tomb first on that Sunday morning. The male disciples had fled at the moment of Jesus’ arrest. A group of Jesus’ women followers were still there as Jesus was being crucified; they saw where he was buried and now they come to his tomb. John’s gospel, from which we read this Easter morning, puts the spotlight on just one of those women, Mary Magdalene. She came in the darkness of the very early morning expecting to keep vigil at the tomb. However, what she saw when she got to the tomb completely shattered her expectations. The stone had been moved away from the tomb and it was empty. We have all experienced our expectations being shattered. We head into some situation with a certain expectation and we are faced with something which we could never have imagined.

That kind of experience can often be very disconcerting. We say to ourselves, ‘this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be’. According to this morning’s gospel reading, Mary Magdalene’s totally unexpected discovery that first Easter morning was very disconcerting for her. Her initial interpretation of Jesus’ empty tomb was that someone had stolen Jesus’ body. Not only had he been put to death in the cruelest fashion imaginable, but now there wasn’t even a body to mourn alongside. In those circumstances, her running to two of Jesus’ closest disciples, Simon Peter and the disciple Jesus loved, was perfectly understandable. When we are shaken to the core by some disconcerting discovery, we need to talk to people we trust, people with whom we can share our distress and our questions. Mary’s implicit question to these two disciples was, ‘Where is Jesus to be found?’ ‘Where has his body been taken to?’

As Mary ran away from the tomb to the two disciples, these disciples now run in the opposite direction, towards the tomb. People run for different reasons, for exercise, because they are late for an appointment. Sometimes our running, if we are able to run, is a sign of strong emotion within us. At an airport people run to embrace a family member who has been away for a very long time and have finally returned home. The running of the three characters in today’s gospel reading must have expressed a great mixture of emotions, confusion, distress, perhaps, hope. When the two disciples reached the tomb of Jesus, one of them saw the empty tomb and its contents for what it really was, not a sigh that robbers had inflicted the final ignominy on Jesus, but a sign that Jesus had passed through death into a new life. It was the beloved disciple who ‘saw and believed’. It was as if his deeper love for Jesus allowed him to see more deeply, made his eyes more perceptive.

Different people can see the same reality in different ways. Some people are more sensitive to the signs of life in places of death. This morning we are invited to see with the eyes of the beloved disciple, to recognize in the empty tomb of Jesus God’s power at work bringing new life out of death, not only for his Son, Jesus, but for all of us. The empty tomb declares that the forces of evil that put Jesus on a cross do not have the last word. God has the last word and that word is not a vengeful word but a life-giving word, a word that brings forth life not only to his Son but to all who receive him in faith. Easter Sunday calls on us to see all of life, including our own lives, with the eyes of the beloved disciple. In our own dark and empty places we are invited to see the light of God’s presence. In our own disconcerting experiences, we are asked to recognize, in the words of Saint Paul, God’s power at work within us, which is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.

And/Or

(vi) Easter Sunday morning

The great spiritual writer C.S. Lewis wrote many wonderful books. One of them is entitled, ‘Surprised by Joy’. The word ‘Joy’ in the title refers to a woman that he met rather unexpectedly whom he subsequently married, and whose first name was ‘Joy’. He met her rather late in his life at a time when marriage was not on his horizon. He hadn’t really planned to marry, but, to his great surprise he met Joy. They fell in love and got married.

The title of Lewis’ book ‘Surprised by Joy’ is a fitting description of what happened on that first Easter morning. The extraordinary event of Jesus being raised from the dead took his disciples completely by surprise. All four gospels tell the story of women coming to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning after the Jewish Sabbath, our Sunday morning. It was a sad journey; they came to Jesus’ tomb to grieve and to honour his body. It is a journey most of us have made as we followed a loved one to his or her final resting place. All of the gospels agree that it was the women who went to the tomb on that Sunday morning. For the last week or so, we have been reflecting on the story of the passion and death of Jesus. In that story it is men who are to the fore, and the men, with one or two exceptions, don’t come out very well. It is the male Jewish Sanhedrin who hand Jesus over to Pilate who in turn hands Jesus over to his soldiers for crucifixion. Jesus’ male disciples deserted him at the moment of his arrest, Judas betrayed him and Peter denied him three times. It is the women who come to the fore early on the first day of the week, our Sunday They wanted to honour the body of Jesus. There was a protective quality to their presence on that early morning. It is women who, not only give birth to life, but who, so often, are the protectors of life.

John’s gospel, from which we read this Easter morning, puts the spotlight on just one of those women, Mary Magdalene. She came ‘early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark’. The darkness of the early morning reflected the darkness of her grieving spirit. What she saw when she got to the tomb completely shattered her expectations. The tomb was empty. One perfectly natural explanation was that Jesus’ body had been stolen. This was how she explained her unexpected discovery to Simon Peter and the beloved disciple, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have put him’. Mary Magdalene’s interpretation of Jesus’ empty tomb was inadequate, but what happened on that first Easter morning was so extraordinary, from a human point of view, that no merely human explanation would ever be adequate. Golgotha, Calvary, was the work of men. Easter was the work of God. This is the explanation that Peter gives to Cornelius and his pagan household in today’s first reading, ‘they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen… by certain witnesses’, and Peter goes on to say, ‘we are those witnesses’. It was the appearance of the risen Jesus to Peter and the other disciples that allowed them to understand why the tomb was empty. The tomb was empty not because people had stolen Jesus’ body, but because God the Father, to whom Jesus had been faithful unto death, had transformed Jesus’ physical body into a glorious body. God’s work of transformation on that first Easter Sunday defied all human expectations.

In today’s gospel reading, one of Jesus’ disciples, the disciple Jesus loved, understood the real reason why the tomb was empty, without having to wait for an appearance of the risen Lord. It is said of him that ‘he saw and he believed’. Some people see more deeply than others. In the following chapter of John’s gospel, a group of Jesus’ disciples are out fishing in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and it is this same disciple who is the first to recognize that the stranger calling to them from the shore was the risen Lord. ‘It is the Lord’, he said to the other disciples. In John’s gospel, this disciple is especially close to Jesus in faithful love. He alone of the male disciples stood at the foot of the cross with the women. We are being reminded that when we open ourselves to the Lord’s love for us and respond to him in love, we will see him more clearly. We will become attuned to his hidden presence to us.

On that first Easter Sunday, God transformed the crucified Jesus into the risen Lord, transforming darkness into light, death into life. That remains God’s work today. God is always about his transforming, life-giving work, and God looks to us, the members of his risen Son’s body, to become agents of that work. Whenever we protect life in all its forms, from the womb to the tomb, God’s transforming, life-giving work, continues through us. Easter is not just a celebration of a past event. Easter is a work we are always to be engaged in, because God is always engaged in it.

And/Or

(vii) Easter Sunday

The death of a loved one can be one of the most distressing experiences of life. The landscape of our lives changes, as someone who has been such a vital presence for us is no longer visibly there. It can take time to begin to live with the loss and re orientate ourselves. That is probably how the disciples of Jesus felt after his cruel death at the height of his human powers. The one who had given meaning to their lives was gone. The men seemed to have gone into hiding after Jesus’ crucifixion. The women, in contrast, rendered Jesus a final service; they visited his tomb as soon as the Sabbath was over to anoint his body with their spices. They were paying their respects to his mortal remains, which is what people have always done when a loved one dies. It was a conventional and reassuring service to the deceased. Similar reassuring acts of loving service by men and women for the living and the deceased have been a light in the darkness of these recent difficult days and weeks.

Yet, what the women discovered early on that first day of the week was not, initially, reassuring to them. They found that the tomb of Jesus was empty. All four gospels tell the story of the women’s discovery of Jesus’ empty tomb slightly differently. According to John’s account, which we have just heard, the first thing Mary Magdalene did on discovering Jesus’ empty tomb was to run from the tomb. Thinking the body of Jesus had been stolen, she had to tell her strange tale to the other disciples. It was only after the risen Jesus appeared to them that the women and the other disciples understood why the tomb was empty. Jesus had passed beyond death into a new kind of life, a glorious life. What happened on that first Easter morning was far more than the disciples could possibly have imagined. As Saint Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘eye has not seen nor ear heard nor the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’. On that first Easter Sunday, Jesus’ disciples struggled to come to terms with an astonishing event that went beyond anything they could have hoped for. In these days when life has been a struggle for so many people it is worth reminding ourselves that, in the end, the Lord will not only fulfil our deepest hopes, but far exceed them.

What happened on that first Easter Sunday had enormous implications not only for those first disciples but for all of us who are trying to be the Lord’s disciples today. On the cross Jesus absorbed all human sin. In his resurrection from the dead, he defeated sin with life-giving love; he showed that God’s love cannot be shut up in a tomb. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can be sure that God’s love present in Jesus is stronger than sin and death. Jesus’ resurrection assures us that beyond death there is new life, beyond darkness there is light, and beyond sin there is forgiveness. Jesus died and rose from the dead out of love for us all, so that we might have life and have it to the full. His resurrection shows us that our own death, like his death, can be a gateway to a new form of life.

Not only can we look forward to this new life as our ultimate destiny, but we can begin to experience this new life in the course of our earthly lives. The risen Lord who met with those first disciples wants to meet with each one of us here and now. His coming to us will be very personal to each of us, taking different forms for different people, just as his coming to those first disciples was very personal to each of them. How he came to Mary Magdalene was different to how he came to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The feast of Easter invites us to be alert to the unique way that the risen Lord wants to touch our lives. We are invited to open ourselves to the Easter life that the risen Lord offers us, with all its hopes and possibilities. As an Easter people, we are full of hope, because each of us can say with Saint Paul, ‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength’. We can live already, here and now in the strength of the Lord’s risen life, while looking forward to its fullness beyond death.

One of the questions the disciples had on that first Easter morning was, ‘If Jesus is not in the tomb, where is he now?’ In the light of his appearances to them, they came to understand that he was to be found among the community of believers. The risen Lord wants to take flesh in our lives so that we become living signs of his Easter presence. We can be grateful this Easter for the ways that the Lord’s love has taken flesh in the lives of so many people in these days. The generosity of spirit that is so evident at this time shows that Easter isn’t just a moment we look back on but is a present reality.

Fr. Martin Hogan.