We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.” The greatest gift of Easter Sunday is our hearing and experiencing God’s amazing love for us. Jesus’ rising from the dead is our hope of resurrection. This amazing love of God gives us everything and never abandons us. Since that first Easter morning, we continue to celebrate the power of God to open the chains of death so that we might see life in its fullness.

John 20:1-9

Reflection The resurrection! No one saw it happen: it is too big for that. But in the resurrection of Jesus all of creation is risen, and we human beings walk ‘in newness of life’ as St Paul says. The resurrection is, in the words of Pope Benedict, a cosmic event of love, shattering death.

Peter and the other disciple, who had stood faithfully beneath the cross, run to the tomb. The other disciple saw and believed. Peter, whose last recorded action was to deny Jesus, still does not believe. What blocks me from fuller faith?

Mary was first to announce the resurrection, the first to receive the encouragement and hope that the risen Jesus offers. Others are remembered for promoting the message, for proclaiming the new truth. I take some time with Mary asking her to guide me as I wait; I pray that I may notice and take heart as I see signs of resurrection in my life.

Even at this marvellous moment, those who had been closest to Jesus did not understand the scriptures. I ask God to help me this Easter; that I may recognise where the scriptures are coming to life as I am guided by the spirit of God.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O Risen Lord, the Way, the Truth, and the Life,Make us faithful followers of the spirit of Your Resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed, dying to ourselves in order that You may live in us. May our lives serve as signs of the transforming power of Your love. Use us as Your instruments for the renewal of society, bringing Your life and love to all, and leading them to Your Church. This we ask of You, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever. Amen

Liturgically speaking, Holy Saturday is the quietest day of the year – the time between Jesus’ death, and his resurrection which takes place at the Easter Vigil, technically Easter Sunday. Holy Saturday has always seemed to be such a quiet day in the midst of a very busy week – especially when I try to put myself into the shoes of the apostles, who would have distinctly felt the emptiness and loneliness of Jesus’ death most profoundly. The following is the text of an ancient homily from Holy Saturday as found in the Liturgy of the Hours – and is one of the most beautiful explanations to contemplate in the silence of this day:

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise. ‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image. ‘See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you. ‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God. “The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.”

We have reached the Sacred Triduum. Today we commemorate Maundy Thursday. O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of man, you did not come to be served, but to serve. Give us the grace to lay aside all our vanity, clothe us with your power, and crown us with your humility, that finally, in the glory of serving, we may stand beside your throne, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: (John 13: 1-15)

Let us ponder on some of the highlights of today’s Gospel 1. Jesus washes Judas’ feet. Knowing that Judas is shortly going to betray him, Jesus still washes his feet. After that, is there anyone whom I can justifiably not love, or serve? 2. Jesus is facing his 'hour'. He has no illusions about what lies ahead, of what would be involved in 'departing from this world'. But all his thought is for his disciples; he wants to give them an example of how they should live - in loving service. 3. Jesus tells his disciples that, unless he washes them, they can have no part or fellowship with him. Such fellowship is brought about in the Eucharist. His cleansing of them is done, so that they can be fully united with him. It is the start of something greater. 4. Jesus knows who he is - where he has come from, where he is going. He is teaching his disciples that their true identity is to be servants of one another in his image. 5. Maundy Thursday is also a day of births. The Church, Eucharist, and consecrated priesthood began on this day.

Life Lessons from these highlights: 1. Peter valued his independence; stoutly rejecting Jesus’ ‘unnecessary’ act of humble service. Help me, Lord, graciously to allow myself to be served and to recognize you in those who care for me. 2. Jesus loved his own 'to the end', without limits. Where do I place limits on my love of others? 3. Jesus says, ‘Later you will understand.’ Sometimes that's not enough for me! I want to understand now. Help me, Jesus, to live as you did even when I don’t fully comprehend what you are asking of me. 4. Jesus’ instruction - to do to others what he does to us - was not intended to stop at the Church door. How can I bear witness to a servant God in my life today? 5. Jesus is both Teacher and Lord, and should be regarded as such. But he is also a humble servant. His disciples need to be the same, wise and ever assisting.

Let us conclude with the Love prayer by St. John Maria Vianney. I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally. My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath.

Today is Holy Tuesday. We acknowledge Jesus our master’s incredible love and sacrifice as it makes me enter in close proximity to his passion. My dear suffering and rejected Lord, I do love You but I also know that I cause Your Heart to be troubled by my betrayal. Help me to see my sin honestly this Holy Tuesday. In seeing it, may I let go of that which keeps me from loving You more deeply, so as to walk with You to the Cross to share in Your glorious triumph. Jesus, I trust in You. Gospel: (John 13: 21-33, 36-38) Let us ponder on some of the highlights of today’s Gospel 1. Two treacheries: Judas went out to grab his money, betray Jesus, and kill himself in despair. Peter despite his protests would deny his Lord; he faced his own appalling guilt, wept bitterly, and his failure was not the end of his mission, but the beginning. 2. ‘And it was night’ is not simply a description of the time of day; it is a stark image of the gloom of sin and rejection. Judas walks into the darkness – away from Jesus, the true light whom the darkness cannot overcome. Lord, where there is darkness, let me bring light. 3. Peter hit deep points of his life here. His sureness of following Jesus was challenged by Jesus himself. He would later find himself weak and failing in this following.

Life Lessons from these highlights: 1. Success is what I do with my failures. Teach me to trust in your love, Lord, and to learn from my mistakes and treacheries. 2. We rightly hesitate to answer affirmatively the question, “Will you lay down your life for me?” But there is no ambivalence in Jesus – he has already decided to lay down his life for us, in purest love. 3. As I look at the Apostles and listen to their brave words, I reflect on my own fickleness, on those occasions when my actions did not reflect my grand declarations. As I acknowledge my weakness, I marvel at the quality of Jesus’ mercy: Lord have mercy.

Let us conclude with the Love prayer by Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ. Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, 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, whom 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.

Have a blessed Holy Tuesday.

Today we commemorate Holy Monday and inch closer to the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This Holy Monday, we are reminded to always prepare; prepare for what will happen next. Learn to earn time instead of wasting it on unnecessary matters. Let us examine ourselves, how could we prepare ourselves spiritually? How could we prepare our lives in the upcoming struggles? Gospel: (John 12: 1-11) Let us ponder on some of the highlights of today’s Gospel 1. Where Judas sees waste, Jesus sees love. Mary’s love anticipates the love of Jesus. She pours her tears on the feet of the one who will pour himself out on the world. 2. This scene is given to us in Holy Week. In a few days, time Jesus will die on the cross. We are given an insight into the minds of many people referred to in the story. Mary centers on Jesus and honors Him in an unusual way, letting us know how much she thinks of Him. Martha was catering to all the people there. Others come just to see Jesus and Lazarus. Judas criticizes the waste of the ointment. Jesus was aware of his forthcoming death, is completely composed and answers Judas. 3. Shortly after Mary’s action, Jesus will himself wash his disciples’ feet, in a similar act of love and humility on Maundy Thursday. The mystery of salvation is whether we will accept absolute and unconditional love and allow it to envelop us wholly. The mystery of damnation is the possibility deep in the human heart of totally rejecting the embrace of Divine Love in a final ‘No’.

Life Lessons from these highlights: 1. Generosity and extravagance can always be criticized, rationalized, and diminished as the head seeks to constrain the heart. In this Holy Week, I look again to see how God may wish to catch my attention in new ways and lead me to learn with my feeling heart. 2. Whose side are we on? Perhaps you can see some validity in what Judas says. Yet it is Mary who continues to be admired for her loving and uninhibited gestures. 3. As we contemplate let us breathe deeply in and imagine the smell of a precious scent filling the house. It was an extravagant, wasteful, and indulgent thing to do but it speaks of human reality: some opportunities need to be grasped as they arise, and some moments need to be honored, friendship cannot always be calculating. 4. Holy Week invites me to spend time with Jesus, not for any logical reason but simply to accompany a loved friend

Let us conclude with the peace prayer by St. Francis of Assisi. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Lent- a time of grace shifts our focus from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the transitory to what is everlasting, from what is insignificant to what is of consequence, in ourselves and in the lives of our fellow pilgrims. As we enter Holy Week, we inch closer to the cross and eagerly await the resurrection. Let us sit in this final week of Lent, in God's invitation to a greater awareness in ourselves and of those around us.

Gospel: Mk 11:1-10

Let us ponder on some of the highlights of today’s Gospel 1. Jesus rides on a lowly donkey: In those days, kings used to travel in such processions on horseback during wartime but preferred to ride a donkey in times of peace. Since the sign of a king was humility, the customary mount for a king in procession in Israel was a donkey. 2. A king’s reception: Jesus was given the royal reception usually reserved for a King or military commander. 3. The slogans used: The participants sang the “Hallel” Psalm (Psalm 118), and shouted the words of Psalms 25 and 26. The Greek word “hosiana” originally meant "save us now" (II Samuel 14:4). The people sang the entire Psalm 118 on the Feast of the Tabernacles when they marched seven times around the Altar of the Burnt Offering. On Palm Sunday, however, the people used the prayer “Hosanna” as a slogan of greeting. It meant “God save the King of Israel.” 4. The symbolic meaning of the Palm Sunday procession: Nearly 25,000 lambs were sacrificed during the feast of the "Pass Over," but the lamb which was to be sacrificed by the High Priest was taken to the Temple in a procession four days before the main feast day. On Palm Sunday, Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb, was also taken to the Temple in a large procession. 5. Reaction of Jesus: Before the beginning of the procession, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and when the procession was over, He cleansed the Temple. On the following day, He cursed a barren fig tree.

Life Lessons from these highlights 1. Jesus teaches us to be humble. He invites us into his kingdom of peace, joy and happiness through his act of triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey’s back. 2. Ultimately, he calls us to know him well, love him dearly and follow him closely. 3. Hundreds of people sang his praises as he entered Jerusalem but these same people will abandon and deny him in a few days’ time and will shout ignominious slogans of ‘Crucify him’ 4. Jesus tries to point out himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 5. Jesus knows he has very less time left so he fastens his prophetic ministerial actions.

Let us conclude with the prayer for generosity by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous; teach me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to seek reward, except that of knowing that I do your will. Amen

Have a blessed Palm Sunday