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"Death could not bear my face.
I made of the dead an assembly of the living. I spoke to them with living lips
so that my word should not be in vain.
They ran towards me, the dead.
They cried out, 'Take pity on us, O Son of god . . .
Deliver us out of the darkness that fetters us. Open the gate for us that we may go out with thee. Wee see that death has no hold on thee.
Deliver us also, for thou art our Saviour. And I heard their voices and I traced my name on their heads. So they now belong to me.
Alleluia!
- Odes of Solomon, 42 (ancient Christian poem)
(Spend some time contemplating Christ's victory over death. How does it feel to know that he has completely conquered death and that you may share, with him, in this victory?)
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ACTS
4:32-37; PS 93:1-2, 5; JN 3:7-15
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
What happens when we allow ourselves to enter into a deeply loving relationship with another, being willing to be vulnerable and be seen as we are, with all of our strengths and faults and burdens? When we allow ourselves to be deeply loved, we are transformed. We become more patient, kinder, more forgiving, more hopeful, more compassionate, more just, more loving.
We may have difficulty explaining it, but the transformation is visible and concrete.
In today's first reading, we hear of the transformation that has occurred in the minds and hearts of the apostles. They were of "one heart and mind", not claiming their own possessions but sharing everything so that there was no needy person among them. "With great power the Apostles bore witness to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all." Jesus' act of love, and their willingness to enter into this love, transformed the way they saw themselves, transformed their relationship to material goods and property, and transformed the way they treated each other. The changes were tangible and real.
In this second week of Easter, we continue to celebrate and ponder
Jesus' Resurrection - not as a moment in history, but as an ever present invitation to enter into a deeper relationship of love with one another, with Christ, with the Source of all life.
Today, minute by minute, may I open this invitation, letting God's love through Christ penetrate and transform my mind, my heart, my vision, my hearing and my actions.
- by Diane Jorgensen
Creighton Online Ministries
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Selected Quotes from St. John of the Cross on the Journey of the Soul to God by Contemplation - from Living Flame of
Love
Second Redaction
Stanza III. #36. Pure contemplation consists in receiving.
#48. The soul approaches God more nearly by _not_ understanding than by understanding.
Faith is darkness to the understanding.
#54. God brought them to this solitude and emptiness of their faculties and operations that He may speak to their hearts.
- compiled by James and Tyra Arraj Paperback edition: Kindle edition available
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