1. What if it took a minute of assurance to free one from death-like fear? Of peace to soothe the unbearable pain of death? Of clarity to pierce the numbing confusion of loss?

    These could have possibly been some of the experiences felt that first Easter morning. They might have been for the women who went to the tomb: hearing the Angel proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection, it took them a few moments to realize this truth, and fearful yet overjoyed, they ran to announce this to the apostles. These could also have been Mary Magdalene’s: she admonished the gardener for Jesus’ missing body but upon hearing him call her name paused only to sense his reverberating voice within her to be that of the Risen Jesus greeting her. And, truly, they must have been John’s experiences as he ran with Peter to the empty tomb, looked in, saw Jesus’ burial shroud folded up, and, taking a deep breath, believed.

    And what if all it takes this Easter is just a minute for you and me--amidst our Easter liturgies and celebrations-- to see anew what is the unimaginable? To recognize hope alive when all is despaired? To believe again when having faith seems so hard to do?

    Perhaps, then, by pausing a bit, closing our eyes and keeping silent, we can savour…really, really savour...the joyful truth of what we celebrate this Easter Day: Christ has risen; He has redeemed us with God's favor!

    A Blessed Easter to one and all!


    artwork: empty tomb by barbara adams



    0

    Add a comment



  2. Many a Palm Sunday Mass would have began this weekend with the Procession of Palms, which included a reading of Luke 19.28-40. This passage describes the crowds jubilantly welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem by waving palms and taking off their cloaks to spread them on the road before the donkey Jesus rode on to enter the city.

    For the poor among the crowd, a cloak would have been an expensive item to own. If they had one, it would probably have been a prized possession, clothing and protecting them in their poverty and vulnerability. But their cloaks are expensive in another sense: it gave them wellbeing and dignity.

    The action of taking off their own cloaks and spreading them on the ground to welcome Jesus speaks to me of their generosity to give of their best--not just their garments but their whole selves to one who is coming to give them his most prized possession--his life so that they might have life in God. And so, I ask myself, “What about me? What cloak have I offered this Lent to welcome Jesus who saved us once, and still saves all, from sin and death?”

    Looking back on Lent, I’ve to confess that as much as I have tried my best to fast, pray and share, I have held back a part of myself, cocooning it in the safe, secure and comfortable folds of my cloak. Indeed, I could have done better. Perhaps, it is time to unfasten my cloak and to lay it down totally, like the poor challenge me to do today. Would this be your Lenten experience too?

    This coming Holy Week climaxes in our celebrations of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The beauty of the Paschal Mystery we will celebrate is its affirmation that God still gives the very the best of Godself--without cost or concern and in spite of our Lenten shortcomings--to us. And so, we can take heart that the invitation Lent began with is still God’s gift for us to rejoice in: to open ourselves and enter more deeply into the selfless love of God-who-is-for-us, loving us into fullness of life as only God-who-is-with-us on the Cross can.



    0

    Add a comment

  3. Xavier Beauvois' film, Of Gods and Men, tells the story of eight French Christian monks who live in harmony with their Muslim neighbours in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When Islamic fundamentalists begin to terrorize the region, the monks are faced with the question of departing to safety or staying with the people they care for only to face possible death. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping and death in 1996.

    As I watched it this evening, these cherished words from Karl Rahner's You are the Silence came to mind:


    Then you will be the last word, the only word that lasts, never to be forgotten. Then, when in death all things will fall silent, and I will have finished learning and suffering, there will begin that great silence, where you alone will speak, the Word from eternity to eternity. Then will cease all human speaking; to be and to know, to know and to experience, will have become the same thing. I will know as I am known, I will sense what you have said to me: yourself. No human word, no idea, will stand between you and me. You yourself will be the only word of jubilation, of love and of life, which fills every corner of my soul.




    0

    Add a comment

"Bukas Palad"
"Bukas Palad"
is Filipino for open palms
Greetings!
Greetings!
Peace and welcome, dear friend.
I hope you will find in these posts something that speaks to you of the God who loves us all and who always holds us in the palm of his hand. Blessings!
The Liturgical Calendar / Year C
Faith & Spirituality
Tagged as...
Blog Archive
Blog Archive
Fall in Love, Stay in Love
Fall in Love, Stay in Love

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."

Pedro Arrupe, sj, Superior General, 1965 - 1983

About Me
About Me
My Photo
is a 50something Catholic who resides in Singapore and works for the Church. He is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
©adrian.danker.sj, 2006-2018

The views I express in these pages are personal. They do not speak for the Society of Jesus or the Catholic Church.
Loading