INTRODUCTION
It
is the Solemnity of the Resurrection, of the triumph over sin and death of our
dear Lord Jesus.
Glory
and praise to the victor, because he accepted the humiliation of the cross the
Father has given him a name over every other name. JESUS IS LORD.
THE BOOK OF THE ACTS
During the Easter season the
first reading will be taken from the Acts of the Apostles.
«
The book of the
Acts is found in our Bibles after the Gospels.
«
The Gospels are
the proclamation of Jesus
« The Actos narrate:
o
The fulfillment
of the promise of Jesus with the coming of the Holy Spirit who will guide the
newly born Church and also the Church of all times.
o
The birth of the
Church in Pentecost
o
The expansion of
the Church until the ends of the earth.
«
The author is
Luke as we can see on reading the beginning of the Gospel and the beginning of
the Acts.
«
It was written around the last third of the
first century, after the composition of the Gospel by Luke.
«
It is addressed
to the Christian communities established by Paul.
«
Luke uses all the
information that existed in the Christian communities, but he does so in his
own style.
«
The Acts were
written in Greek
«
Although basing
his narrative on historical events Luke offers us a theological reflection of
these events.
«
The theology of
the Work of Luke (Gospel and Acts)
o
The theological
presentation of the journey that the Father had programmed, that was
accomplished by Jesus, the Son of God,
prophet and savior, in his earthly ministry.
o
Is continued now
by the glorified Christ
§
Through his
Spirit.
§
By means of the
prophetic testimony of the Church.
FIRST READING Acts 10: 34a. 37-43
Peter
speaks to Cornelius household about Jesus
Ø
The Baptism of
John was the initial point of what Peter is about to recount.
Ø
Jesus was anointed, at his baptism with the Holy
Spirit and power.
Ø
Jesus went about doing good and healing all those
oppressed by the devil
Ø
They (the
apostles) are the witnesses of all of
that.
Ø
But their leaders
killed him hanging him on a tree.
Ø
God raised him,
and he was seen by some witnesses, who ate and drank with him after his
resurrection.
Ø
He commissioned them to preach in his name.
Ø
Everyone who
believes in him will receive the forgiveness of sins through his name.
What
a simple, synthetic, and beautiful description of Jesus, which describes our
faith!
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 118
THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE LET US REJOICE IN IT AND BE
GLAD.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
whose love endures forever!
Let the House of Israel say
God’s love endures forever.
The Lord’s right hand strikes with power
The Lord’s right hand is raised
I shall not die but live
And declare the deeds of the Lord.
The stone the builders rejected
Has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done
It is wonderful in our eyes.
SECOND READING Colossians 3:1-4
ü Christ has died to redeem us, to liberate us, to save
us from our sins.
ü On the cross he has destroyed the power of evil and
together with him we have died to sin.
ü Thus if we have died to sin, and have been born to a
new life through baptism
ü Let us not seek the things that separate us from
Him.
ü Because he has taken us with him to the Father.
ü Our life is hidden with Christ in God.
ü What a wonderful text in which the author describes
what baptism does in us.
GOSPEL LUKE 24:1-12
Luke like the other evangelists
explains to us how the followers of Jesus, men and women, had the experience of
the risen Lord.
«
The first
day of the week
o
The day after the Sabbath or day of repose…
o
With Jesus everything is new.
o
The first day brings to our memory the freshness, and
newness of creation. That first day when God said “let it be…”
o
We are looking now to a “new creation”
« The tomb
o
They go to the tomb, they had seen where the men put the
body of Jesus. They go to give him the honor and love which women know how to
give.
o
Although they see that the stone had been removed, they
enter. It seems that they do not remember the words of Jesus explaining to them
that he would come to life again.
o
They do not understand, they do not know what to think or to
do. The dead body of Jesus is not there.
o
The empty tomb… the only physical witness of the resurrection.
All of us have to accept with joy and faith the truth of the resurrection. Trusting
in the truth of his words, the words of Jesus, and in the words of the first witnesses of our faith.
«
Two men in
dazzling garments, in another Gospel they are called angels, messengers of
God.
o
They ask the women, why do you seek among the dead the one
who is alive? Probably they could ask us the same
question today.
o
We feel more comfortable with what we have always heard and
done than with the darkness, and also de
light, of faith in the Risen Lord.
o
Faith that calls us to accept in our life the challenges
Christ is inviting us to.
o
They also felt more secure if they could have found the dead
body of the Master.
o
The men remind them the words of Jesus when he was living
among them: The Son of man has to be
handed over by the sinners and be crucified, but he will rise on the third day.
« The women and the eleven
o
On hearing the men they remember the words Jesus had told them before his death.
o
So they go in haste
to tell the eleven.
o
The men listen to them, but they think that those are
stories caused by their feelings, their sorrow because they could not find the
body of the Teacher.
o
Only Peter goes to the tomb, in case what the women said was
true. He sees everything as the women said but he could not see Jesus, and he
returns puzzled.
It has been very good for all of us,
disciples who have lived after them, that the eleven and the others doubted so
much about the truth of the resurrection.
After 200 years we continue to
experience the difficulty in truly believing in the resurrection and in its
consequences. The Lord is truly risen
and has made of us new creatures, he has given us the possibility of
reconciliation, and has open for us the way to return to the Father.
Let the missionary pray with Christ, praying; travel with
Christ travelling; eat with Christ eating; drink, with Christ drinking; sleep
with Christ sleeping; suffer with Christ suffering; preach with Christ preaching;
rest with Christ tired and live with Christ dying, if he wants to enter into
life with Christ reigning. Venerable Maria Antonia Paris, Foundress of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters, The Apostolic Missionary, 31.
I tell myself:
A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads
its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means
possible to set the whole world on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts him; he
delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander,
and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow Jesus
Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering, and striving constantly and
single-mindedly for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary
Sisters, Autobiography 494.
