MONDAY - April 18, 2022
“While the world changes, the Cross stands firm.”
– St. Bruno
TODAY'S READINGS
April 18 2022
Monday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 261
Reading 1ACTS 2:14, 22-33
On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
“You who are children of Israel, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.”
Responsorial Psalm16:1-2A AND 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaPS 118:24
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 28:8-15
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, “You are to say,
‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.
In today's Gospel reading, the women who discovered the empty tomb were "fearful yet overjoyed." Why? They weren't afraid that his body had been stolen, because the angel had made it clear that Jesus rose from the dead (read the seven preceding verses). And they weren't afraid to hope in this, because they had seen it happen to Lazarus.
So, what did they fear?
What do you and I fear when something very significant happens? Maybe we're afraid to discover that we need to change our perspectives. Or that the event will change our lives. Or that others will ridicule this change, reject us, misunderstand us, and persecute us. Or that the changes will demand more from us than we want to give.
Imagine if the women of Easter morning had given into such fears: After returning to the Upper Room where the disciples have hunkered together for mutual support, they quietly busy themselves making breakfast for the group. While their minds are spinning with a mix of excitement and turmoil, they hope that someone else will go down to the tomb and notice that Jesus has risen from the dead. They want that person to come back and validate their news before they speak it out loud to anyone.
And when no one does and their joy cannot be contained any longer, they take a deep, uncertain breath and say, "I think something wonderful is going on at the tomb, but it might be just my imagination." Silently, they worry, "Don't think I'm crazy!"
We've all handled the Good News this way at least once.
Notice the bold fearlessness of Peter and the other disciples in the first reading today. They've come out of hiding. They don't care how crazy they sound or what trouble it might cause. And 3,000 people are converted by their fearlessness.
What gave them so much boldness? The Holy Spirit. The two Marys on Easter morning had not yet experienced Pentecost.
How's your relationship with the Holy Spirit? How powerfully does the Spirit of God move within you and through you? The readings at Mass for the Easter season point us toward Pentecost. Let's spend the next forty days inviting the Holy Spirit to overwhelm our fears and enliven us in holy boldness.
Today's Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, because You confirm it with Your presence when I testify about You. Grant me the grace for being bold whenever I'm persecuted because of Your Name. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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