RE: 04.05.12~Easter Sunday + Cath Matters + "October Baby" Movie Review

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***REMINDER: There will be NO Bible Study Session on Friday, April6th!***
We will resume on Friday, April 13th-2012 at 9AM

USCCB » Bible » Daily Readings

APRIL 8, 2012

« April 7 | April 9 »
The Resurrection of the Lord
The Mass of Easter Sunday
Lectionary: 42, 46, 41
READING 1 ACTS 10:34A, 37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said:
"You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."

RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.
R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
READING 2 COL 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
OR 1 COR 5:6B-8
Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
GOSPEL JN 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.


SUNDAY READINGS - Easter Sunday
FIRST READING: Acts 10: 34; 37-43. Peter opened his mouth and said: "You know the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses to all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest; not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
EXPLANATION: These verses are part of the story of the conversion of Cornelius, a Roman army officer. Stationed in Caesarea, Cornelius believed the God of the Jews was the true God, but though a good-living man, he had not become a Jew. Advised by a divine messenger, he sent to Joppa for St. Peter, whose antipathy to pagans had been corrected by a vision seen that same day. Peter came to Caesarea and, contrary, to his life-long custom, entered the pagan home of Cornelius, who explained to him why he had been asked to come (10: 1-33). Peter then speaks:
You know...which was proclaimed: Peter gives a synopsis of Christ's public life and mission in Palestine, of which Cornelius, a man in a position of authority, must have heard already.
anointed...with the Holy Spirit: a reference to the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus during his baptism by the Baptist in the Jordan.
and...power: proved by his many miracles and by his teaching.
God was with him: In his human nature divine power was given him. He was God the Son, but in his human nature, as man, he emptied himself of his divine glory, as St. Paul tells us (Phil. 2: 6; see last Sunday).
"hanging him on a tree": a figurative expression for crucifixion (see Dt. 21: 23). only to have God raise him third day. The resurrection of Jesus is attributed to the Father in almost all the texts that refer to it in the New Testament. The verb in Greek is passive "was raised." St. Jerome translated this with the active voice surrexit "he rose." As the Father and Son, are one God, there is no theological difference.
not to all...witnesses: He appeared to ,the Apostles, disciples and others (see 1 Cor. 15: 1-8), during forty days after his resurrection.
and drank with him: Jesus had eaten with the Apostles---not that the risen, glorified body needed food but to convince them of the reality of his risen human body.
to preach to the people: The commission given to the Apostles on Ascension Day.
judge of the living and the dead: Judge of all men. This will be the role of Christ the God-man (see 17: 31).
prophets...witnesses: No prophets are quoted, but in a true sense the whole Old Testament was a preparation, and a prophecy in fact, concerning him who was to come (see 3: 19-26).
through his name: The purpose of the Incarnation was to make men not only friends but sons of God. Where sin had intervened, its remission was necessary and available for all who believed in Christ (see 3: 19-26).
APPLICATION: This passage from Acts has been selected for Easter Sunday not only because the resurrection is mentioned in it, but especially because St. Peter in his first discourse to a Gentile makes the resurrection the basic doctrine and the crowning proof of the truth of the Christian faith. As St. Paul says: "If Christ has not risen vain is our preaching, vain too is your faith" (1 Cor. 15: 14). And like Paul, St. Peter stresses the truth of the resurrection by citing witnesses, including himself, who had not only seen the risen Jesus but had spoken to him and actually eaten with him.
There is no room for doubt but that Apostles and disciples had thought that the sad events of Good Friday had put an end forever to the mission of love and mercy of their beloved Master. In spite of his previous references to his resurrection, they had completely forgotten it and were convinced that the tomb near Calvary was the end of all their hopes. They had locked themselves into the room of the Last Supper for fear of the Jews---two of them had set off for home on the Sunday morning, down-hearted at the Master's failure; the others were waiting for an opportunity to slip out of the city quietly. But the resurrection changed all this. The unexpected, the unhoped-for happened. Even the most skeptical of them all, doubting Thomas, was eventually convinced of its reality. Had they been hoping for it, or even thinking of it, there might be some reason to suspect it was only an hallucination, the result of their "wishful thinking," but the very opposite was the case. They were hard to convince even when it happened.
All this was intended by God---the basis of our Christian faith was proved beyond doubt. Christ, who had died on the cross on Good Friday, was raised from the dead by his Father on Easier morning. He returned to heaven in the full glory of the divinity which he had hidden while on earth, together with his human body, now also glorified. There (in heaven), as God and Man, he pleads for us at the right hand of the Father until the day when he who redeemed all men will come to judge them all.
The Alleluia is repeated often during the Easter ceremonies. It is a Hebrew word, which means "praise ye the Lord." It is our attempt to give verbal expression to our joy and gratitude for all that God has done for us. We are no longer mere humans living on this planet for a few short years. We are citizens of heaven, made children of God the Father by Christ our Brother. And he has gone before us to his and our kingdom to prepare a place for us. He conquered death. Our earthly death has, therefore, now no real fears for us: it is not the end but the beginning of our true lives. It is only after our earthly death that we truly begin to live.
There is only one death now which we can fear---the spiritual death of serious sin which can keep us from our true heavenly life. But while this is a possibility for all of us, it is only a possibility. The sincere Christian who realizes what God has done for him and what is in store for him, will never be so ungrateful to God or so forgetful of his own best interests as to let some temporal and passing pleasure, pride, or profit, come between him and the eternal home which God's love has prepared and planned for him.
SECOND READING: Colossians 3:1-4. If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
EXPLANATION: The method of administering Baptism in the apostolic days was by immersion. Those who heard the story of the gospel and were ready to believe in the one true God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who had cooperated in man's redemption and elevation to divine sonship, were immersed in water to be cleansed from their sins and their previous worldliness. Immersion in water symbolized being buried in the tomb with Christ. By immersion, therefore, the now Christian died with Christ to all earthly attachments and desires. He was raised again from the water (the tomb) to be with the Risen Christ.
If you have been raised...Christ: The physical act of immersion and rising again from the baptismal bath was not enough unless the convert meant what he was doing. The Christian life was a new life, a life of unity with Christ. Therefore, the new Christian must:
set your mind...things above: His thoughts must now be on the things of the spirit, the everlasting truths which he has just learned. His past evil practices must be forgotten.
where Christ is seated: He must strive to earn heaven where Christ is now in glory, having gone through death and resurrection to make heaven available to us.
not on things that are on earth: The things of earth insofar as they are sinful, or occasions of sin, are now forbidden. Insofar as they are necessary for the sustenance of earthly life they are not forbidden, but they must always be used so that they do not impede the journey to heaven.
You have died...your life...Christ: The Christian has died in baptism to all sinful earthly concerns. He is now living a new life; it is hidden because it is a spiritual life. Externally, in bodily appearance, he has not changed, but since his baptism, he is a new man. He is with God, a brother of Christ and a member of God's family.
When Christ...appears: Christ lives in the Christian. The Christian lives in Christ and through Christ. Christ is the source of our new life, and the essence of it, by faith and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
you shall appear...glory: Christ will appear in glory at the particular and the general judgements. The loyal Christian will appear, will return with Christ from the grave, in the glorified state which will be his for all eternity.
APPLICATION: Children at boarding schools draw, up calendars and mark off each day which brings them one nearer to the end of the, term. Fiances mark off the months, the weeks, the days that separate them from, the great day when they will be united forever, they say, to their beloved one. Seminarians count the years, months, weeks to the great day when, they will be ordained and say their first Masses. Parents look forward anxiously to the day when their children will be educated and safely settled in life. In fact, we are all always looking forward to a happier day which is to come some time. All this is very natural and very human, because our present life is not our permanent life; our present home, this earth, is not the real home destined for us by our loving Creator.
We were created for unending happiness in heaven, and it is only when we get there that our desire and our quest for some greater happiness will end. From then on, we will always enjoy and possess that all-satisfying happiness.
Today, Easter Sunday, St. Paul reminds us that we have this happiness within our grasp. We are moving steadily and more quickly than we realize toward it. The Holy Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, have already done, and are daily continuing, to do for us, all within their power. All that is needed is that we do the little that is asked of us.
St. Paul tells us we must "mind the things that are above not the things that are on earth." We must never let the "things of earth," the pleasures, the power, the possessions which we can or could, have in this life, block or impede us on our upward journey. Does this mean that we must all return to the deserts of Egypt, as some early Christians did? By no means. We are not forbidden to have the lawful pleasures of life. We are not forbidden possessions or power if they are used justly. All we are forbidden is the unlawful use of the things of this world.
And as regards minding the things that are above, this is not something calling for extraordinary self-sacrifice or unnatural mental activity. All we are asked to do is to try to stay in God's grace, and do our daily chores whatever they be, as well and as diligently as we can. We are expected to recognize our natural weakness and to turn to God frequently for pardon and for help.
Whilst there are saints in heaven who lived lives of extreme self-mortification and did extraordinary things for God and for their neighbor, it is an encouraging and consoling thought that there are millions of unknown saints in heaven who lived normal lives, unnoticed by the world and maybe even by themselves. They are people who kept in God's friendship all their lives, or got back quickly to it, if they sometimes forgot or offended their heavenly Father.
What millions of others have done I can do too. We are aided by God's grace as they were. God wants me in heaven. He has an Easter resurrection planned for me.
GOSPEL: John 20:1-9. On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away 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." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb, he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths 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 know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
EXPLANATION: The accounts of Christ's resurrection on Easter morning as given by the four Evangelists vary in details but agree on the essential points. Some women, the leader among them being Mary Magdalene, came to the tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the dead body with spices, in order to help preserve it. This anointing had been done very hastily on the Friday because of the Sabbath which began at sundown. The tomb was found open and empty. The first thought of the women was that somebody had stolen the corpse. This shows how far resurrection was from their minds. They went in haste to the disciples. Peter and John ran to the tomb. Later that day Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene, to ten of the Apostles, to Peter separately (according to St. Paul, 1 Cor. 15: 5), to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13); and, later on, he appeared often to the Apostles and disciples in Galilee, for a period of days.
First day of the week: The Sabbath was the last day of the Jewish week, so the first day corresponds to what is now called Sunday.
Mary Magdalene: John mentions only Magdalene by name but the "we don't know" in verse 2 implies there were others with her.
stone had been moved away: The tomb was raised above the ground and its entrance was closed by rolling a large stone, cut for the purpose, across the entrance (see Mk. 16: 3).
they have taken the Lord...: Magdalene's only possible explanation of the absence of the body.
Peter and the other disciple: Peter and John ran to the tomb. When they found the winding sheet and the cloth that covered the head lying there, they realized that the body had not been stolen or taken away: why should the linen coverings have been removed?
He saw and believed: That Peter had been the first to believe and then John, seems to be the meaning here, not that John believed in contrast to Peter.
as yet they did not understand: Until this moment they had not understood the Scriptures which had foretold his resurrection. In fact neither had they believed Christ's own prophecies of his resurrection---it seemed to be something which could not happen.
APPLICATION: As we said above, the accounts of the resurrection of Christ differ in many details in the different writings of the New Testament, but the fact of the resurrection stressed in all of them, was the basis of the new Christian Faith. Had it not happened, Christianity would, have been stillborn. It would have disappeared from Jerusalem and the world on that first Easter Sunday. Peter and his companions would have returned to their fishing-nets and boats on Lake Genesareth, and Christ the good and the kind man who had helped so many, would have been forgotten in half a generation.
But Christ was no mere man of kindly acts and words of wisdom. He was the Messiah, promised for centuries. He was the suffering servant foretold by Isaiah, whose perfect obedience to his Father had led him to the Cross and the grave. But above all, he was the Son of God who had emptied himself (St. Paul) of his divine glory in order to be the perfect human servant of the Father, and who was now raised by the Father with his divine glory restored, and his glorified resurrected body sharing in that glory. This was the divine plan of God for mankind, through Christ, and because of Christ's (the new Adam's) perfect obedience, all mankind would be made worthy of divine sonship, and worthy of one day rising like Christ from the grave in glorified bodies.
Is all this too good to be true? It is, if we make God to our image and likeness, as so many opponents of Christianity do. He is God and his love is infinite and incomprehensible to us. What God can see in me and my fellowman will always be mystery to me, but then I have not the mind of God. All I know and all I need to know is that I have sufficient proofs that God loves all men. The Incarnation, death and resurrection of his Divine Son for man's sake is the greatest proof of love for us that even the omnipotent God could give. He has given it. As a necessary consequence from this act of divine love, we are guaranteed our resurrection from the dead to a life of unending happiness and glory if we do not, in extreme folly, reject God's offer.
Today, let us thank God once more for Easter and for all that it means for us. Our personal Easter mornings not far away from even the youngest among us. We have a few Calvaries to climb perhaps in the meantime but what are they when we see our glorious Easter on the horizon?b161
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***I Saw the film “OCTOBER BABY,” Tuesday night, April 3rd and was quite moved by it, and I strongly recommend seeing the film and staying for the end credits as they roll by on the screen… Here is the usccb movie review: