Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Acts 4:13-21 & Mark 16:9-15
Holy Spirit of God heal my disbelief … No wonder the rulers, elders and academics (scribes) of Jerusalem arrested Peter and John just weeks after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven – they had never believed the ‘Good News’ that Christ had proclaimed. But even the disciples engaged disbelief – they did not believe the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection until they saw Him in person. St. Mark tells us, “Jesus upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness because they had not believed.” What disbelief in me needs healing? How is Jesus Christ calling me to believe in Him? Holy Spirit of God, heal my disbelief. I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. (Psalm 118) Soli ad gloriam dei
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Acts 4:1-12
Christ Jesus, teach me the saving power of your Name … Peter’s statement, “It is the Lord” caused him to swim to shore to embrace his risen Master, and later allowed him to not only heal the paralytic but to powerfully proclaim the saving power of Christ in front of the very adversaries who had crucified Jesus weeks before. The holy name of Christ is not an incantation we utter to get what we want. Rather, it is the truth of love that resounds through ages past and ages to come, saving or redeeming human kind one by one from evil. Uttering the name of Christ calls every one and every being into alignment with the glory of God, from darkness to light, from dis-ease to health and from distress to peace that passes understanding. Christ Jesus, teach me the saving power of your Name. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118) Soli ad gloriam dei Acts 3: 1-10 & Luke 24: 13-35
Although he expected only money, the man lame from birth “fixed his attention” on Peter and John when they stopped by him –and through his openness he received healing for his lameness and joy in his spirit. Although they expected only to tell their fellow traveller the dismal news of Jesus’ torture and death, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus listened to Jesus’ scriptural interpretation of his own incarnation, ministry & death –and through their openness received healing from their despair and joy in their spirits. In the activity and places of brokenness in my own life, Christ Jesus comes alongside me today and everyday in his disciples, with scriptures, or by means of the sacraments –and through my openness I, too, can receive any specific healing he is offering me, and joy in my spirit. Christ Jesus, help me embrace the wholeness you are offering me. Let all who seek the Lord rejoice! (Psalm 105) Soli ad gloriam dei John 20: 1-18
That first day of the week after Jesus had died, Mary Magdalene was so fixated on his death and looking for a body in the tomb, that she almost missed her beloved Master standing near to her. I too can become so wrapped up in my own griefs, fears and angers that I fail to recognize Christ Jesus –reflected in the beauty of nature, the turn of a phrase of scripture, a liturgy of the word or of Eucharist, in the play of the arts, or in the eyes of another person. Christ Jesus, help me release the past and dead things I have experienced, realize who you are, and embrace your present, living and eternal Holy Spirit. If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above… Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians3:1,2) Soli ad gloriam dei Romans 6: 3-11 & Mark 16: 1-8
Easter is not just the celebration of an isolated Alleluia event, the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Rather it marks the rising of new life for all of human kind, the dynamic shift from death by enslavement to sin, to abundant life through the obedience of, and our alignment with, Jesus’ passion and death on the cross. St. Paul explains it well, “We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Christ Jesus, help me die to sin to live to you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 118) Soli ad gloriam dei |
AuthorBeverly Illauq lives in Kemptville, Ontario, where she greets each morning by seeking the Gospel Mystery of the Day - the Word of the Lord for direct and practical application to the specific challenges & joys of the day. Archives
March 2024
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