When and where the Spirit comes upon a person, with what signs and consequences, cannot be determined ahead of time. “The wind blows where it will…. You do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” In both Hebrew (ruah) and Greek (pneuma)
Sharing, at various levels, emerges as a linking theme in today’s Scriptures. The earliest generation of christians were a sort of consecrated commune, with total sharing of all that they had. Their Eucharist was just the high-point of an already deep union, like an extended family, where each individual worked for the good of the family as much as for his own. Then from Peter we hear of the shared joy and faith of that first group of Christians. And in the story of Thomas we find that even a sharing of doubt can be healthy for the community….
Even though a week has passed since Easter Sunday, today’s liturgy is still filled with good news. We praise God for the life and love poured out for us in the raising of Jesus, which makes divine mercy possible — and available to all.
The Sanhedrin, the supreme ruling body of Judaism, found it impossible to consider that Jesus could be the Messiah, and that he had really risen from the dead. To believe in him would demand a major change in the whole furniture of their belief-system; nothing less than a total reinterpretation of their Scripture and cherished traditions.
The apostles went back to where they started, to Galilee, where they continued their work as fishermen. But their lives had been transformed by their contact with Jesus, and when they met him by the lakeshore, they recognised him, hauled in the net at his advice, and heard his guidance for their future, building on the past.
Peter shares his conviction that Jesus was the fulfilment of all that the Jews had hoped, over many centuries: “All the prophets have announced the events of these days.” This echoes what Jesus himself said on the evening of Easter day, “Everything written about me in Moses and the prophets had to be fulfilled.”
The Emmaus story offers an inspiring model or paradigm for disciples of every age: if we travel the journey with each other, sharing our faith in Christ, he will be with us, to open our minds to the truth. Just as he brought them to deeper understanding, so he does for all who listen to him. His promise remains, “I am with you, always!”
The fascination of the Easter story is largely due to the sense of gradual recognition of the risen Jesus, by his closest friends and followers. John’s vivid account of Magdalene challenging the gardener to hand back the body of Jesus conveys some sense of their stupor and confusion. ..
Our Scriptures describe the miracle and mystery of our Lord’s dying and rising in many and varied ways. As Peter’s sermon on that first Pentecost was addressed to an international group of Jews, all conscious of their Jewish identity, he sets Jesus within the larger framework of Jewish history…
When Christ broke the death-barrier on the first Easter morning, he did so as our Saviour, for all of us. He opens up the gateway and prepares for us a highway to the loving presence of God. So we often proclaim, “Dying, he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life.” This Easter message is at the very centre of our Christian faith. Today’s Scriptures offer an experiential account of this new life, from the lived experience of Peter, Paul and the Beloved Disciple.
On Easter morning the Christian family celebrates the central mystery of faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He suffered on the cross and died for us, but now he is risen! Filled with the spirit of Easter joy, Christians proclaim the might and glory of God.
At the Easter Vigil, we gather around the Easter candle, inspired by its light and heated by the Spirit of God, celebrating the Lord’s resurrection. With that light to illumine our way, we remember how God has cared for humanity from the dawn of time. The readings read this night remind us what happened at the highpoints of our history.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? … In the words of that haunting song, sometimes it does indeed cause me to tremble…. when I hear those words from the cross, “It is Consummated!” Consummated – completed – achieved to the last degree – engraved forever on the memory of mankind. “I have come to seek and to save what was lost…. The Son of Man came, not to be served but to serve.”
Holy Week is focussed on the central mysteries of our Christian faith. Beginning the Sacred Triduum with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we highlight the gift of the Eucharist re-presenting the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, the very heart of the Church’s existence…
The liturgy that begins at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper continues until Easter begins. At the Mass, we are at the start of a three-day celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We journey from the Last Supper to Gethsemane the first night, from there to Calvary on the second day, and from the tomb to resurrection and new life on the third day, which ends with the Vigil of Easter Sunday.
When Isaiah says, “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard,” he’s talking about that same place. It was usual in Isaiah’s day for Hebrew men to wear full beards, and pulling out a beard, besides being quite painful, was an attack on a man’s dignity.
This liturgy, for use in parishes in Holy Week, is a celebration of God’s forgiveness, and of our reconciliation with God and one another. The service has four parts. After a brief introduction (the first part), people listen to God’s word and reflect on it. Then all celebrate the Rite of Reconciliation, during which everyone will have the opportunity of going to Confession. The service ends with an Act of Thanksgiving.
The Gospel for today treats the two Apostles who denied Christ. One, of course was Judas Iscariot who swiftly left the Last Supper room to do his dastardly deed and the other, of course, was Simon Peter, who…
The three gospel texts leading up to Holy Thursday deal with Judas Iscariot and his path to damnation. In the first reading, Isaiah records in Isaiah 42:1 “My chosen one with whom I am pleased.” Our Lord wanted so much to say this about his apostle, Judas, but no matter what he would say, Judas had his eyes on worldly gain rather than heavenly riches…
Today we recall with reverence how totally Jesus shared in the depths of human suffering. But by enduring his passion in a spirit of loving trust in God the Father, he paid the price for all human sinfulness, and won for us the gift of salvation. In his Servant Song Isaiah declares his trust that God never abandons those who risk all for a cause they believes in, regardless of scorn or rejection.
