Easter Sunday(Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: The mercy and compassion of Christ calls us to live a life of holiness.
Theme: We live a life of holiness when webelieve in the power of Christ’s resurrection.
Promise: “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.”(Col 3:4)
Reflection:
By His resurrection, Jesus has shown us that life is not a meaningless collection of confusing puzzles, and that we can find answers to life’s troubling questions and act accordingly, because Jesus has conquered sin and death. Human suffering, offered in faith and love, becomes the means by which we receive a new and glorified life. Hence, we can stand firm on this week’s promise: “When Christ your life appears then you too will appear with Him in glory,” (Col 3:4).
With the Risen Jesus in our midst and within us, we can contribute to making this world a better place to live in by emulating and living His values of truth, peace and love. By living the Risen Christ’s values, we can become better persons, in and out of community.Honesty, peace, love, respect and forbearance, especially in resolving conflicts through godly means and sharing of our abundance with those who have none, will help us achieve the fruits of the Resurrection in our work of building up His Kingdom.
Easter brings to us the assurance that despite our trials and struggles, we remain a hopeful people because Jesus has risen from the dead. Easter is an occasion for a real deepening of our commitment to discipleship as we reject what is destructive in our behavior and attitudes and renew our commitment to God. Such deepening should be reflected in the way we live out our community values and word for the month: The mercy & compassion of Christ call us to live a life of holiness.
Resurrection marks the triumph of Jesus and the turning point of our salvation. Christ lives; He lives in God, He lives for us. The gospel of. John shows us his special relationship with Jesus. In his letter to the Colossians (Col 3:2), St. Paul says- “think of what is above, not of what is on earth”, calling us to renew and deepen our faith and recommit our lives to God. Evil and wickedness must be discarded to give way to sincerity and truth. Resurrection is the power that moves and strengthens us in that direction.
What is this power of the Resurrection in our life, in your life? Resurrection is the unshakable foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus opens wide the door of salvation for all. Christ has conquered evil at its roots, opening to the contrite of heart the roadback to the Father. He signals the pathway of hope to a world where mutual support overcomes the barriers of blindness, self-centeredness, and insensitivity that reduce people to conditions of humiliating anxiety. Christ gives us His gift of peace, brings an end to conflicts, and softens the hardness of our hearts. Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled, that we may be able to erase useless fears. Our comfort and assurance rest in what the Lord did for us. He literally took our suffering and death upon Himself so we need not fear what is to come. Jesus is risen! He is alive, powerful and victorious! Let us move on in our Christian way of life as we reflect on the theme for this week: “We live a life of holiness when we believe in the power of Christ’s resurrection.”
Prayer:
Almighty Father, without the resurrection of your Son, our faith would be empty and without hope. But Jesus is alive and we rejoice in knowing that in Him anything that separates, injures and destroys has been overcome by that which unites and heals. We rejoice in you, our Risen Christ.
Reflection Questions:
1. What “old things” in your life have not yet been renewed by our Risen Christ?
2. How can the truth of the Risen Christ nourish our daily life?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 27, 2016 (Sun) Acts 10:34,37-43/Ps 118:1-2,16-17,Col 3:1-4/Jn 20:1-9
March 28, 2016 (Mon) Acts 2:14,22-33/Ps 16:1-2,5,7-8,9-10,11/Mt 28:8-15
March29, 2016 (Tue) Acts 2:36-41/Ps 33:4-5,18-19,20,22/Jn 20:11-18
March 30, 2016 (Wed) Acts 3:1-10/Ps 105:1-2,3-4,6-7,8-9/Lk 24:13-35
March 31, 2016 (Thu) Acts 3:11-26/Ps 8:2,5,6-7,8-9/Lk 24:35-48
April 1, 2016 (Fri) Acts 4:1-12/Ps 118:1-2,4,22-24,25-27/Jn 21:1-14
April 2, 2016 (Sat) Acts 4:13-21/Ps 118:1,14-15,16-18,19-21/Mk 16:9-15
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
