A thought for the day
Tuesday, within the octave of Easter
Mass at noon: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - Thursday at 7pm
Saturday at 5:00 - Sunday at 9:00, 11:15am and 7:00pm during the semester
When the people gather for prayer, all are welcome.
Saint of the day - Benedict the African
Readings for today’s Mass
Tuesday, within the octave of Easter
Mass at noon: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - Thursday at 7pm
Saturday at 5:00 - Sunday at 9:00, 11:15am and 7:00pm during the semester
When the people gather for prayer, all are welcome.
Saint of the day - Benedict the African
Readings for today’s Mass
Resurrection is a concept hard to get our minds around. Maybe that's the reason that we find it easier to focus on the Season of Lent rather than the Season of Easter. At Newman we have the Friday evening discussions and soup; we distribute little black books with Lenten devotionals; we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation more frequently, and so on. Don't misunderstand me: All this is good and right. We "get" death, pain, betrayal, eating supper together.
However, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, there would be no victory over death and sin. As St. Paul says, If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain (1 Cor. 15). There would be no Pentecost, no Church. Jesus would be just another executed Jew.
So, when Jesus tells Mary, Stop holding on to me, his words are extremely important. He is, in effect, saying: I am changed. I am now the Christ, the Savior of the Universe who will send you an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who can be with you forever and ever. Christ is telling her that she needs to experience the Christ, not as simply a man from Galilee -- Jesus. So, let go of the "old me, the earthly me." Everything is different now.
Paul adds, in 1 Corinthians 5: In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. So all will be made alive in Christ. In short, no Resurrection, no life. A Christian needs to be first and foremost an Easter person who has "put on Christ."
However, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, there would be no victory over death and sin. As St. Paul says, If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain (1 Cor. 15). There would be no Pentecost, no Church. Jesus would be just another executed Jew.
So, when Jesus tells Mary, Stop holding on to me, his words are extremely important. He is, in effect, saying: I am changed. I am now the Christ, the Savior of the Universe who will send you an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who can be with you forever and ever. Christ is telling her that she needs to experience the Christ, not as simply a man from Galilee -- Jesus. So, let go of the "old me, the earthly me." Everything is different now.
Paul adds, in 1 Corinthians 5: In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. So all will be made alive in Christ. In short, no Resurrection, no life. A Christian needs to be first and foremost an Easter person who has "put on Christ."
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