Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
John 6:19-23
Grief and fear go hand in hand, especially when someone close dies suddenly or gruesomely. These overwhelming emotions have a way of shutting us in, isolating us from ‘normal’ life. Jesus, in his risen glory, cut through the grief of the disciples by finding them behind their closed doors. He extended to them the peace of his presence, the joy of re-connection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, in order that they might resume the journey they had started with him. So too as much as I try to shut myself away in grief, Jesus can ‘show up’ – in Holy Communion, in lectio divina, in times of prayer –and extend to me the peace of his presence, the joy of re-connection with life and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then I, like the disciples, can go out from my isolation and continue to journey with the Lord of Life. Have I welcomed the risen Christ into my griefs? When grief shuts me in, visit my heart with your risen joy, Christ Jesus. Truly the eye ofthe Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (Psalm 33:18-19 ) Easter is the key to the kingdom, that kingdom that begins amongst us –or could, if we stopped living as if God didn’t exist. Catherine Doherty www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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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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