Daily Reflection – Apr 16, 2017

Sunday 16 April 2017

First Reading: Acts 10:34A, 37-43
Responsorial Psalm:
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel Reading: John 20:1-9

Today’s Note: The Resurrection of the Lord – The Mass of Easter Day

Gospel Reading:

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.

Reflection:

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. (Psalm 118:17)

Jesus, you are the risen Lord, and all creation sings your praise today!

I hear the very stones cry out, just as you said they would, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Even the stone that sealed your tomb is rolled away and proclaims a wondrous mystery. Instead of being an immovable testament to your death, it has become an indisputable witness to your resurrection.

Today, the burial cloths come alive to declare your victory. How tightly those garments of death bound Lazarus when you summoned him from the grave! They clung to him and would not release their grip until you spoke the word: “Untie him.” But death had no hold on you, Lord. You broke free in a great burst of light, and left the burial cloths tidily behind. There in the tomb with Peter and the beloved disciple, your Church fixes its gaze on those discarded trappings with wonder and amazement. These cloths invite me to believe that my Redeemer lives. They urge me to stake everything on your mercy and your promise of eternal life.

Loving Savior, because of you, a cruel instrument of death now speaks to me of life. By your cross, you have destroyed the enemy and flung open the gates of salvation. Its light shines out—in our churches, in our homes, in hospital rooms, in the rubble of warfare, and in every dark and dreary place—proclaiming life to anyone who puts their faith in you.

So many transformed lives! So many signs of victory! Each one, in its own way, speaks to me of you. Help me to look, listen, and believe so that, in my own way, I too may become a sign that speaks of you to the world.

“Jesus, you have conquered death! You live and are always at my side! Help this reality sink into the core of my being. Show me one new step, however small, that I can take today to ‘declare the works of the Lord’ by my life and words (Psalm 118:17).”