The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
“I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live.” (John 11, 25).
“Joy in truth: for only sincere and upright souls who seek the truth lovingly and still more, ‘do the truth’ can fully rejoice in the Resurrection. We are sincere when we recognize ourselves for what we are, with all our faults, deficiencies and need for conversion. From this knowledge of our miseries comes the sincere resolve to purify ourselves … in order to be renewed in the risen Christ.
“Truth, however, must be accomplished in charity — veritatem facientes in caritatem, doing the truth in charity. (Eph. 4, 15). Therefore the Postcommunion prayer that is placed on our lips is more timely than ever: ‘Pour forth upon us, O Lord, the Spirit of Thy love, to make us of one heart.’ Without unity and mutual charity there can be no real Paschal joy. (Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, Divine Intimacy, p. 419-420).
On that first Easter morning, we see the penitent, Mary Magdalen, weeping and searching for the Master. She found His tomb empty and thus began her sorrowful efforts to find Him and tend lovingly to His Remains. Blinded by her tears and grief, she failed to recognise Him when He stood nearby. She was expecting death, but here was Life! He spoke but one word, her name, (for He knows His own by name) pronounced with such infinite mercy, she was transformed by joy. Like Peter at the Lord’s Transfiguration, she responded in a wholly human way. ‘Master!’ And yet her urge to clasp His refound humanity was gently rebuffed.
‘Noli me tangere.‘ Do not touch me yet!’ For He must go to His Father. And we too, must respond to this Passion, Death and Resurrection by following Him. With Him, we turn towards Our Father, rejoicing in truth and in love. We too have rolled away the stone of our past, our sins, our indifference; we too have seen the empty tomb. For now, we see the sepulchre in the great rock of the Church: it is empty! And pagans stand guard as once they did. We too, seek Him, weeping.
But He is risen! He goes to the Father.
And we go with Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
A brief explanation for readers who question the last three lines above, that is, “For now, we see the sepulchre in the great rock of the Church: it is empty! And pagans stand guard as once they did. We too, seek Him, weeping.”:
In a previous post, (The Auto-demolition of the Church) the quotation from Pope Pius XII, “A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, ‘Where have they taken Him?’”
If you, like I do, feel somewhat challenged to rejoice when we see everywhere our dear Jesus so rejected despite His loving sacrifices, His generous mercies to us, let’s remind ourselves of Saint Therese the Little Flower and not let Him see our tears, but rejoice with Him as we commemorate His victory, and rejoice today, for we trust in Him Who is our only joy!
May your Easter be blessed and peaceful. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes, and also, thank you for reading – and sharing! our posts.
previously posted 21 April, 2019 by evensong
† Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
† O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!.
† St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
† St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Please pray the Rosary – so many souls depend on it!
~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!
