April 19
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – James F. Collins / Wife & Family
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Acts 2:36-41
On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other Apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22
R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Psalms 118:24
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her.
“The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”
Reflection
Today we see the power of repentance when, in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Peter continues teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God. The people he is preaching to are so moved by his personal testimony that they believe in his message and in Christ as their Risen Lord and Savior. Peter begins by telling the people how they had put to death the promised Messiah. That day, we are told, about 3,000 people converted to Christianity. We must remember that these people who are converted are the same people who watched Jesus do all of the miraculous things he did and still stood by and did nothing while the Sanhedrin carried out their evil plot to kill him. Their repentance is something that has been long in coming, but it is genuine, as seen in their being “cut to the heart.”
Today’s gospel text is a further telling of the Resurrection, this time from Saint John. Here we see a touching scene with Jesus being reunited with Mary Magdalene after his death on the cross and resurrection. It is interesting that she does not recognize him until he calls her name. Many theologians believe that this is because of Jesus’ earthly body having been glorified through the process of death and rebirth. Once she does realize that it is Jesus and not the gardener, we see him instructing her to go and tell the disciples that he has risen and is preparing to ascend to the Father, who is also our Father. The idea that she could not hold him for very long because he had not ascended yet is further information for theologians—and us—that Jesus’ miraculous resurrection involves something otherworldly. As we go through this week, it is important that we ponder Jesus’ death, rising, and ascension because we have been promised that we will do the same thing he did when our time comes.
Have Faith,
Deacon Dare
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