Mark 16:1-8

                     
When grief-stricken we have a choice, to ignore our sadness, to freeze our emotions with a favourite addiction, to unleash rage or fold up into despair, or to do as the women did on Easter morning – take up the duty of the moment at dawn and find out what gift the day holds. Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome were exhausted with grieving no more and no less than you or I. Because they engaged their grief, they discovered the Lord’s mysterious and miraculous resurrection and his provision for them.  For the rest of their lives they bore witness to God’s saving grace, beginning with Jesus’ band of disciples on Easter morning.  Will I avoid or live into each grief as it comes to me in my life? Holy Spirit of Jesus guide me to live into grief that I might discover life made new.    
 
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever... I shall not die but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. (Psalm 118:1,17)
 
Easter Says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.
Clarence W. Hall

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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
Alleluia, the Lord is risen!  He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
A blessed and joyous Easter season to you ! 

Matthew 13:1-15

Jesus’ washing of the feet of his disciples is the one demonstration of ministry that Jesus set up an example for his disciples: “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” How did Jesus serve others? Without much talk; with no fanfare; on his knees; using simply water; addressing an actual, not an assumed, need; not delving into ‘issues’, but simply serving each one of his disciples; not shunning Judas Iscariot, even though he knew he was in the process of betraying Him to death; methodically purifying and drying off each one’s feet, without complaint, and with deeper meaning. How am I to serve others? Can I follow Jesus? Is there some simple act of service to others I can do today with the love and life-giving touch of Christ? Christ Jesus, teach me how to serve as you did.
 
What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:12, 13)
 
Especially when we are talking of the journey of the poustinik (roughly translated - pilgrim) –which is the journey toward the Trinity –we must travel lightly, taking only bread, salt, and water, symbols of our freedom of movement.
Catherine de Hueck Doherty
 

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Soli ad gloriam Dei

Matthew 26: 14-26
             
Although Judas stayed with Jesus, his motives were different than those of the faithful disciples.  Fame and fortune had perhaps been a secondary motive for all of the disciples in following Jesus, but for the eleven disciples who became Apostles, remaining faithful to the Messiah and embracing the abundant life that he offered became their most important reason for staying with the Lord. Judas on the other hand gave in to avarice and notoriety and made what he thought to be a secret deal for betrayal with the council of the chief priests. Hoping that secretiveness and the darkness of night would protect the darkness of his own heart, he dared to ‘stay with’ the Light of the World for what turned out to be the Last Supper. His weak and selfish plot ended his love of money and his life. In the character of Judas, all humankind discovered for all ages to come that Light not only exposes but ultimately overcomes evil.  Are my motives for staying with Jesus evil or holy? Christ Jesus, purify the reasoning of my heart.
 

 Save me from sinking in the mud; keep me safe from my enemies, safe from the deep water.  (Psalm 69:14) 
 
The darkness does not simply not know the light; it does not want to know it.
Hans Urs von Balthasar
 

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Soli ad gloriam Dei

John 13:21-28
                 
More than anything in the week leading up to his death, Jesus wanted his disciples to stay with him. He had invited them to go up with him to Jerusalem, knowing full well that he would be put to death. He took them with him to dinner at Lazarus’ home in Bethany on their way into Jerusalem, perhaps as a final evening of relaxation together. He expected all twelve men to stay with him to celebrate the Passover Seder meal rather than going home as they normally would to be with their families for the festival. And after the meal when he knew his passion was upon him, he asked them to stay with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, to ‘watch with him’. Just as Jesus invited his band of twelve to accompany him, so he asks me, as his disciple to ‘stay with him’, as his passion continues to unfold in this present age. We are asked to stay with him while he reveals the Word to us in the ordinary stuff of life –visits with others, journeys here and there, meals eaten together and through the watches of the night. Am I good company for Jesus? Christ Jesus, help me to stay with you today.
 
 For you, O Lord, are my hope; my trust, O Lord, from my youth.   (Psalm 71:5)
 
We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love.
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
 

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Soli ad gloriam Dei

John 12:1-11
                     
We never know when the relationships we take for granted will be curtailed.  Within one week of having dinner with Mary and Martha and Lazarus in Bethany, Jesus would be put to death by crucifixion. Even though she was unaware of Jesus’ imminent Passion, Mary of Bethany had seized the opportunity to welcome their family friend and Master. Not only did she invite him and his disciples to dinner, but she also by purchased a pound of costly ointment infused with the healing oil of nard for the sole purpose of anointing Jesus, the highest honor one could bestow upon a guest. Her costly act of love that evening has been told and retold throughout the centuries. Judas on the other hand, although he attended the same feast and had had even more opportunities to surround his Master with love, chose instead to enter into criticism of others and ultimately self-centred and death-dealing  dialogue.  Moment by moment will I, like Judas, remain caught up in judgemental thoughts and actions, or will I, like Mary of Bethany, expend my all to enter into the more sacred dialogue of love honor?  Christ Jesus, help me in each moment to seize the opportunity to love.  
 
 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts.  (The Benedictus)
 
Many will be confused and many will be deceived.  But Jesus says, you must stand ready, stay awake, stay tuned to the word of God, so that you will survive all that is going to happen and be able to stand confidently (con-fide, with trust) in the presence of God together in community.
Henri Nouwen, Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and Spirit

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Soli ad gloriam Dei