Monday in the Octave of Easter
April 10, 2023
Today’s Readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041023.cfm
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we begin to read and relish the post-Resurrection stories.
As I begin my prayer with these stories, I am reminded of a sweet cartoon I recently saw on Facebook. The illustration showed an elderly couple relaxing outside a simple home. The woman is shelling peas; the man whittling some wood. The comment below the picture reads, “If only I could visit my grandparents one more time!”.
Haven’t we all felt that way about someone dear who has died. If only we could be with them one more time!
Well, that’s exactly what happens in these post-Resurrection stories. The disciples, and we, get to be with Jesus one more time:
- to re-hear his Truth more clearly in the light of the Resurrection
- to get right the Gospel imperatives we might have missed in our distractions
- to heal the doubts which his suffering, and ours, may have caused us
- to have our faith irrevocably affirmed by his real and transformed Presence
The Three Marys at the Tomb – WILLIAM-ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
Mark 28:8-10
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.”
Like Mary Magdalen and the “other Mary”, we too might be “fearful but overjoyed” at moments in our faith life – those moments when we are confronted with our own small Calvaries.
But Jesus, filled with the glory of Resurrection, greets us on our way. He tells us too, “Do not be afraid” —— you will see me, risen in your life. And you will understand.
Prose: from Paula D’Arcy
Who would I be,
and what power
would be expressed in my life,
if I were not dominated by fear.
Music: Don’t Be Afraid – Mac Lynch
Lavish Mercy 
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