Resurrection of the Lord (April 16, 2017)
This is the day that the Lord has made! We have good reason to rejoice and be glad. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death; he is risen!
In his great love for us, Jesus has drawn us into himself by his death and resurrection, making us his “body”. We now share in his loving obedience to his Father on the Cross; we now share in his new life after the Resurrection.
St. Paul reminds us: if we really believe that Jesus is risen and we share his new life, we must make a sincere effort to set our hearts on heavenly things. We must try to be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.
This is a daily struggle for most of us. It’s just too easy to become intent on our own needs and wants, our own suffering and pain. These can easily distract us from the new life we share, and seeking to do God’s will and not our own, and trying to love others as Jesus has loved us.
St. Francis de Sales encourages to start afresh each day. Mindful of God’s loving presence with us and the new life within us, we can ask our God for the grace we need to do each action of our day in a manner that is pleasing to him – as Jesus did.
In a moment, we will share again in the saving mystery of Jesus’ death and rising.
We will renew our baptismal promises as a community of faith.
Let us be mindful that we are called to give witness to our renewal by the way we live our daily lives. Our words and deeds must flow from the same source - the grace of our salvation – being one with Jesus.
May the words we say and the actions we do proclaim to everyone we meet that Jesus is risen. He is alive in us!
