April 20, 2014

Bulletin

Easter Sunday - the Resurrection of the Lord

Acts 10: 34, 37-43; Colossians 3: 1-4; John 20:1-9
Easter Sunday ... the most beautiful day of all ... Jesus came to show the Father’s love and to prove that God’s love is more powerful than my sins and each person’s sins. As today’s Psalm Response from Psalm 118 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
Now how do I view this day: as just another celebratory day...as a day of rest...as a day to be grateful...as a day to be open to all God’s love and gifts...as another busy day...as a day to get all dressed up...as a day to gather with family and friends...as a day of faith?
Easter can be such a powerful day in my life just as was recounted in the lives of the first witnesses or it can be a day that just begins and ends. The joy of the first followers of Jesus echoes throughout the readings of this season but those responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion and death were no doubt celebrating too: this troublemaker is gone, forgotten, never to be heard from again. They continued to live their normal routine, nothing had changed. For the believers, their lives would never be the same.
Is my life changed with each celebration of Easter? Am I more aware of God’s personal love for me? Do I see signs of God’s life and love all around me? Jesus daily pointed out God’s signs though His words and His wonders, am I too caught up in my world that I miss God’s world?
I accidentally stumbled upon a Renewal of Baptismal promises from Ireland. These made me stop and think and reflect on the precious gift I have been given. I share this now:

“Priest: My dear sisters and brothers, we were once in darkness, but in His great love for us, God has called us out of darkness into the wonderful light of His Son. WE must live as children of the light. The effects of the light are seen in goodness, right living and truth.

Now that we have completed our Lenten exercises, and the light of Easter has dawned for us, let us renew our belief in the light of Christ, and commit ourselves to follow it more faithfully. This, after all, is what we promised at baptism when this precious light was first kindled in our hearts. Our Response is: I DO.

Do you believe in God the Father, source of all light, and in His love for you?

Do you reject the many false gods the world offers for your adoration?

Do you reject Satan, the prince of darkness?

Do you reject the works of darkness, namely sin?

Do you reject the false lights by which Satan seeks to lure you from the path of the Gospel: greed for material things, lust for pleasure, craving for power and popularity?

Do you believe in Christ, the light of the world?

Do you believe that Christ has entrusted His light to us, and that He now depends on us to let the light of goodness shine in the world today?

Do you believe that by rising from the dead Christ has overcome the darkness of death, and that we can do the same if we have faith in Him?

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, consoling us in times of sorrow, strengthening us in times of difficulty, and binding us together in the love of Christ?

Do you believe in the Church, the community of believers in the light, brothers and sisters in the Lord?

Do you believe that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is also our Mother and the Mother of the entire Christian community?

And now, my sisters and brothers, I say to you in the name of Christ: Hold up your heads. Never be ashamed of this light. Then Christ will not be ashamed of you before His Father in heaven.

May the Lord bless you and keep you faithful.
{The priest now blesses the people with holy water, inviting them to pray silently for the grace to be faithful to Christ. As far as possible, he should go all around the church in order to ensure that everybody is sprinkled. If need be, let him get some help}.
Let us pray:
God of love and mercy, through the resurrection of Your Son, You have kindled in our hearts the hope of eternal life. Guard this hope with your grace, and bring it to fulfillment in the kingdom of heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”
The Resurrection tells each person something about Jesus. It also tells each person something about God whom we encounter in the person of Jesus. It was God’s plan that the redemption of the world happened exactly in this way. The God that Jesus taught that God is a God who is love, a love that is more powerful than my sins and the sins of every person living and deceased. This love did not end with Jesus death, because Jesus did not end. This love triumphed over death and it is a love that seeks to share itself with me and everyone so that each one can triumph over sin and death. This is the message of Easter...this is the reason for the day...I can’t sit and be idle I must live and share and love and spread this close relationship with God.
So I reflect on:

• In what way could I serve as a sign of God’s love?
  
• As Christians there is no such thing as death in the sense of final extinction. Our dead are not dead. They share the life o the risen Christ. They are alive. And that’s how we should think of them. Do I spend time and see the love lessons of Jesus that they taught me and then live them?
  
• “What is the connection between Jesus’ resurrection, and hope and trust in God? How do I renew my hope and trust in God amid the pressures and tensions of everyday life? How can I support others as they strive to renew their hope and trust in God and in the kingdom?
  

And Sacred Space 2014 adds:
“Mary was the first to announce the Resurrection, the first to receive the encouragement and hope that the risen Jesus offers. I take some time with Mary, asking her to guide me. I pray that I may notice and take heart as I see signs of resurrection in my life.

Even at this marvelous moment, those who had been closest to Jesus did not understand the scriptures. I ask God to help me this Easter that I may recognize the call to new life in myself.”