Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have. Luke 24:39 These words should shock you: “God is dead.” Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote these famous words in criticism of morality and religion. He wrote, “the belief in the Christian God has become unbelievable,” and everything that was “built upon this faith, propped up…
Let those who fear the Lord say, ‘His mercy endures forever.’ Psalm 118:4 This week we celebrate the Sunday of Divine Mercy, God’s immense, steadfast love and compassion for His people. The word ‘mercy’ comes from the Latin word misericordia. You can break that word down into miseria, meaning misery, and cor, meaning heart. Mercy, then, is the compassion that we share with another due to their suffering–we suffer with them in our hearts. Here’s…
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. – Easter Sequence Alleluia! Jesus is risen! Happy Easter! This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the victory of Jesus over the powers of death. Death seems so frightening and final, like nothing can stop its grip on us. On the surface, seeing only with worldly eyes, it seems like death has the final word. But Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the true victory.…
Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:8-9 Last week we considered how we can come to believe in the Risen Christ without seeing Him face-to-face. Belief should not be limited to our human senses, such as…
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. – John 20:8-9 Our Lenten adventure has reached its end. We have reached Jesus’s empty tomb. We have encountered the truth of the Resurrection. Imagine you are with Mary Magdalen that Easter morning. As you follow her to…
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5 Alleluia! The season of Easter joy has arrived! Jesus promised His disciples that although He would suffer and die and they would have to hide while mourning Him, their suffering would be replaced with joy. Jesus told His disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your…
An Easter Poem Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 At early morning, join the women at the tomb. The tomb now stings of death no more. No more shall death prevail nor scare, for Christ triumphant left it there. There in the morning, join the women, who come to anoint the Son. The Son now risen victoriously—sin and death…
Our first reading tells of the apostles in the early days of the Church. It was a time of togetherness, sincerity, and joyful praise. They met in their homes to worship, pray, and eat together. They shared all that they had, and Love—yes Love with a capital “L”—united them. The Holy Spirit had come upon them just before this at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). It was this Spirit of peace and unity that gave them the…
The first disciples did not have the gift of hindsight, as we do: “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). Jesus said that He would rise again (Mark 9:31), but His disciples had to live through His crucifixion and those deathly quiet hours afterward without knowing what would happen next and armed with only their faith. We can use our Gospel imagination to suppose…
Alleluia! He is risen! Pope St. John Paul II said, “Do not abandon yourself to despair. We are Easter people and Alleluia is our song.” We are Easter people; hope is our Christian identity. We are not people of fear. We are courageous, hopeful, beloved sons and daughters of God. Our very identity is tied to the Resurrection. We are called to believe that Christ is truly risen, to feel it deep in our bones,…