He is alive!

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. (Jn 20, 1-9)

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  This is the word of the Lord

Today we are celebrating Easter. The Church invites us to rejoice and sing: Alleluia! Jesus is alive.

For the Christian faithful, Easter is the most important feast. It is the biggest feast, because it gives us a sure and true foundation for our faith in Jesus Christ.

listen on  http://word.op.org/2013/03/31/

Pope Francis to Diplomats

Pope Francis

Discourse to Diplomats - Friday, March 22, 2013

    Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Heartfelt thanks to your Dean, Ambassador Jean-Claude Michel, for the kind words that he has addressed to me in the name of everyone present. It gives me joy to welcome you for this exchange of greetings: a simple yet deeply felt ceremony, that somehow seeks to express the Pope’s embrace of the world. Through you, indeed, I encounter your peoples, and thus in a sense I can reach out to every one of your fellow citizens, with their joys, their troubles, their expectations, their desires.

    Your presence here in such numbers is a sign that the relations between your countries and the Holy See are fruitful, that they are truly a source of benefit to mankind. That, indeed, is what matters to the Holy See: the good of every person upon this earth!

    And it is with this understanding that the Bishop of Rome embarks upon his ministry, in the knowledge that he can count on the friendship and affection of the countries you represent, and in the certainty that you share this objective.

    At the same time, I hope that it will also be an opportunity to begin a journey with those few countries that do not yet have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, some of which were present at the Mass for the beginning of my ministry, or sent messages as a sign of their closeness – for which I am truly grateful.

    As you know, there are various reasons why I chose the name of Francis of Assisi, a familiar figure far beyond the borders of Italy and Europe, even among those who do not profess the Catholic faith.

In the cross of Jesus

… In the cross of Jesus Catherine discovered not the repugnant horror of death pushing us away, but the gracious face of love drawing us close. No human power nailed Jesus to the cross, for earthly forces could not bind him to the wood had his own love not held him fast (Letter T 253 to Trincio De’ Trinci da Fuligno and Corrado his brother). A tortured death thus paradoxically shines as the revelation of the most profound beauty: “He bows his head to greet you, wears the crown of thorns to adorn you, stretches out his arms to embrace you, lets his feet be nailed that he may stand with you” (Dialogue - Ch. 128). Raised on high before the gaze of the entire universe, the cross of Jesus unveils infinite love vulnerable to the last measure of self-giving, as love alone shines forth from every part of Jesus’ torn body.

Yet the source of love, Jesus’ heart, no one could see. … 

Mary Ann Fatula, Catherine of Siena’s way, p.124-125

To go or not to go

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John: (11, 45-57)

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’ He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?’ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

This is the word of the Lord. 

Listen on: http://word.op.org/2012/03/31/ 

To go or not to go, this is the question three types of people asked in this selection from the Gospel written by John.