March 31, 2024
Easter Sunday
FOCUS: This Easter, we can see and believe, saying yes to the celebration of this sacred mystery.
What's in Your Heart
We are witnesses of all that Jesus did, says the Acts of the Apostles. What is our response?
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Jesus commissioned us to preach to the people; how well have I accepted this commission? What can I do to bring the message of God's love more vividly to life?
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Everyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins: How well do I witness the Lord's forgiveness? Where do I fall short? What old yeast of malice and resentment do I hold on to?
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We will never fully understand the Paschal Mystery, but like the first disciples we continually glean insights. What new facets of the Good News have I glimpsed that I can share with my community?
Reflection
"Come, let us build the ship of the future.” With these remarkable words an Irish ballad invites us to participate in the world we are making with each new decision and every new day. Where do you want to be tomorrow, or a year from now? Does it occur to you that what you do with today will be the greatest determining factor in reaching the land of your dreams?
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Easter morning was like a ship departing for a new world, a world reborn from the lifeless ashes of the old one. But no one would have been there to board that ship if not for those women of courage. Before Easter morning there was only the hopeless realm of sin and death. At the empty tomb the great stone of history was victoriously moved aside. The women approaching that tomb at daybreak were worried about how such a massive obstacle could ever be rolled away. They had nothing to fear. Heaven accomplished the task before they arrived. And a young man clothed in white told them not to be amazed at that. Far greater things had been accomplished while the world slept: Sin and death had been moved aside!
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The young messenger further told them to advise the disciples to return to Galilee, the place where they started. This is an odd message, jarring with Luke’s imperative to remain in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. But the land of Galilee is not simply a matter of geography. It’s the primary point on a journey of discipleship that has now come full circle. As the Irish ballad earlier quoted continues: “Come, let us build the ship of the future / In an ancient pattern that journeys far / Come let us set sail for the always island . . . .”
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For the believer, Galilee is the “always island.” It is the place where we first encountered Jesus and chose the path of the disciple. We may journey far from that day and place, yet we are always tethered to it as closely as the planets are to the sun that governs their orbits. Once the power of sin and death are rolled aside like the stone at that empty tomb, there is no such thing as beginning or end. We inhabit the shining ring of eternity, the realm of the kingdom of God, a reign without limits, because the love and mercy that makes it possible are themselves without end.
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On this Easter morning you and I are invited to set sail for the always island on our ship of the future. The liberation of Easter sets us free to create the world we want with the joyful freedom of the children of God.
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Video Reflection
Quotes
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God made us for joy. God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.
—Saint John Paul II
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The joy of the gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded.
—Pope Francis
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The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise.
—author Carl Knudsen
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That we may walk in newness of life, Lord, hear us.
That we may advance in the knowledge of You,
That we may grow in grace,
That we may ever have the bread of life,
​That we may persevere unto the end,
That we may have confidence before You at your coming,
That we may behold Your face with joy,
That we may be placed at Your right hand in the judgment,
That we may have our lot with the saints, Lord, hear us.
—Cardinal John Henry Newman, Litany of the Resurrection