Wednesday within the Octave of Easter
Acts 3:1-10  +  Luke 24:13-35
April 24, 2019

But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”

Easter Monday we heard the chief priests and the elders respond to the news of the Resurrection by covering their tracks with lies.  Yesterday, we heard Mary Magdalen respond to Our Risen Lord when He called her by her name.  She cried out, “Teacher!”  Yet we are called to recognize in Christ much more than simply a teacher. Continue reading →

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter
Acts 2:36-41  +  John 20:11-18
April 23, 2019

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter boldly proclaims to the Jewish people:  “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”  The response of these Jews is pretty easy to guess.  Acts tells us that “when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other Apostles, ‘What are we to do…?’”  You can almost imagine what they, in their fear, expect Peter to reply. Continue reading →

Monday within the Octave of Easter
Acts 2:14,22-33  +  Matthew 28:8-15
April 22, 2019

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed….

During most of the liturgical year, the First Reading at Holy Mass comes from the Old Testament.  But Easter is different.  During Easter, we hear first from Acts of the Apostles.  Why is this?  There are plenty of apostolic letters that could be proclaimed:  Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 John, Jude, and so on.  These New Testament epistles preach about the Resurrection.  So why do we hear, each and every day of the Easter Season, from Acts of the Apostles? Continue reading →

Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34,37-43  +  Col 3:1-4  +  Jn 20:1-9
April 21, 2019

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

Easter is not just the single day of Easter Sunday, but a season of seven weeks plus one more day.  The Church celebrates Easter for fifty days in order to ponder thoroughly the mysteries of this holiest season of the Church’s year.  There are three mysteries of our Faith that the Church gives special attention to during Eastertide.  They are the first three Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.  Here, consider just the first and third.  Consider how they relate to each other. Continue reading →

Holy Saturday (before sunset)
April 20, 2019

…suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell….

How ought Christians spend Holy Saturday morning and afternoon?  Is this time simply an extension of the tenor and tone of Good Friday?  What happened to Jesus during the time between His Death and Resurrection? Continue reading →

Good Friday
Isa 52:13—53:12  +  Heb 4:14-16;5:7-9  +  Jn 18:1—19:42
April 19, 2019

We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.

What is most striking about the scene in Gethsemane is not the betrayal of Judas, but the wandering of the other apostles.  Only two continued to follow Jesus after his arrest, Peter and John.  They follow Jesus, bound and carried away by the soldiers, at a distance:  their faith is wavering.  We know that before the night is over, Peter denies his Lord and Savior three times. Continue reading →

Holy Thursday—Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Ex 12:1-8,11-14  +  1 Cor 11:23-26  +  Jn 13:1-15
April 18, 2019

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that His Hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.

You might be tempted to think that Jesus, knowing that in just a few hours He was going to be nailed to a cross, would have had more important things on his mind than a meal.  If someone came up to you, and told you that you were going to be killed in less than 24 hours, would you sit down for a meal?  Many people would skip eating all together:  after all, if you really knew that you were going to die in less than 24 hours, why feed your body?  Wouldn’t there be more important things to put first? Continue reading →

Wednesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 50:4-9  +  Matthew 26:14-25
April 17, 2019

…from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

Recent scandals in the Church prompt reflection upon the person of Judas Iscariot.  Why did Jesus choose him to be an apostle?  Didn’t Jesus know that Judas would betray Him?  Or is that precisely why He chose Him? Continue reading →

Tuesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 49:1-6  +  John 13:21-33,36-38
April 16, 2019

So Judas took the morsel and left at once.  And it was night.

On the last two days of Lent before the Sacred Triduum starts, the Gospel Reading focuses on Judas Iscariot.  Yet while tomorrow’s passage from Matthew looks solely at Judas, today’s passage from John also looks at Peter, another apostle who will betray Jesus. Continue reading →