Tagged: Daily Reflections

“I have seen the Lord!” —John 20:18 At a college “Encounter with Christ” retreat many years ago, I had a “Mary Magdalene” moment. The retreat director asked everyone to find a quiet location and spend an hour reading letters written to us by fellow students. I walked through the snow-covered woods to a secluded hilltop overlooking a frozen lake and sat atop a tree stump to read and pray. Each letter radiated encouragement, hopes, and prayers. The final letter ended with a Bible verse: “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bushel basket” (see Lk 8:16)....

“This is the Jesus God has raised up, and we are His witnesses.” —Acts 2:32 The risen Jesus was seen not by all but only by witnesses “hand-picked by God” (Acts 10:41, our transl). By our Baptisms, all Christians have been hand-picked by the Lord to be witnesses for the risen Christ. To be loving and effective witnesses, we need to be like: Mary Magdalene, who loved Jesus as she stood at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25), the women leaving the tomb, who worshipped Jesus (Mt 28:9), Peter, who repented of denying Jesus (Lk 22:62) and became the...

“Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away.” —John 20:1 Jesus is risen from the dead! Alleluia! “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Ps 118:24). I am writing this teaching for Easter with an IV in my arm, as I await having a tube put down my throat. This may be followed by other tortures, which may lead to surgery. What kind of Easter celebration is this!?...

“In baptism you were not only buried with Him but also raised to life with Him because you believed in the power of God Who raised Him from the dead.” —Colossians 2:12 Today in the Catholic community, we have no Mass and no Holy Communion until we celebrate the Easter Vigil. It is a most peculiar day during which we identify with Jesus buried in the tomb. “Through baptism into His death we were buried with Him” (Rm 6:4). To be buried with Christ means that our old fallen nature is “six feet under.” We must keep it that way...

“Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord.” —Psalm 31:25 As Jesus agonized over His decision to lay down His life for us, He was so severely tempted to give in to fear that His sweat became as drops of blood (Lk 22:44). Nonetheless, Jesus refused to be intimidated by Satan. He stood up to a cohort of soldiers and several police officers (Jn 18:3). “They retreated slightly and fell to the ground” (Jn 18:6) in the face of Jesus’ love and courage. Then Jesus fearlessly died on the cross for us. However, except for the...