Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” – John 20:18

       “When was the last time you shared Christ with somebody?” Dr. Charles Stanley asked as I watched his talk on TV this morning.

       This came after I had asked God for a renewed revelation of His unconditional love.

       Jesus, in His goodness, answered my prayer. He made me experience His palpable presence during my time alone with Him. He made me feel that despite my numerous sins and mistakes, He loves me and desires to be in constant fellowship with me.

       What a great encounter with the Risen Lord. I had a resurrection experience!

       Dr. Stanley’s question is an invitation for me to respond to Christ’s love. To do what Mary passionately shared. Just like her, “I have seen the Lord!” And so I tell others about it. Ariel Driz(adriz77@yahoo.com)

Reflection: When you hear of good news, you can’t help but share it with others.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being in my life. Thanks for loving me unconditionally, for revealing Yourself to me. I ask for the zeal to share You with the people around me. Amen.

St. John Baptist de la Salle, priest, pray for us.

Our generation is as corrupt as that of Peter’s time. We think that we live within a Christian milieu but that is a fast disappearing thing. The capacity of the Church to speak its mind on an issue and be respected for its moral position is constantly under attack on all sides, unfortunately, even from within the Church. To turn this around, the faithful will have to live more and more faithfully the truths of the Gospel in order to maintain the Christian witness in the world. Otherwise the secularizing tendencies of the world will prevail.

36 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.” 37 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?” 38 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. 39 For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” 40 He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

4 Upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. (R) 18 See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. 22 May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you. (R)

When our name is called, we respond. When Mary hears her name spoken by this stranger, she immediately recognizes Him as Jesus. It must have been a tremendous shock to her that Jesus was standing before her alive! After all, she was at the foot of the cross only a few days ago. Yet she has enough faith and conviction to speak the truth – she believes this is Jesus who rose from the dead. Let us listen as Jesus calls our names so that we will recognize His presence as the Risen Lord.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.

11 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. 13 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.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. 15 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. 17 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.’ ” 18 Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.

think: Let us listen as Jesus calls our names so that we will recognize His presence as the Risen Lord.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Leviticus 4-6

CUT TO THE HEART

Mary grieved and “stayed outside the tomb weeping.” Peter stood and addressed the crowd, and told them: “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

       Mary was moved to tears beside the tomb, but her love for the Lord led her to do much more than shed tears. These were tears of compassion.

       Peter and the eleven were eager to preach, energized as much by grief as by the knowledge that Christ was risen. They were so passionate as to take the crowds to task for putting Jesus Christ to death. Their preaching touched the crowd. They were “cut to the heart” and shed tears of compunction.

       Three years ago, just days before Christmas, I received a call from a former student. His classmate was dying of a rare disease. He simply wanted me to know and said he was looking for a priest to give his friend the last rites. But since I was far from the hospital where he was confined, he would not force me to do what appeared to be impossible for me to do at that time, given the Simbang Gabi Masses that I had to celebrate, both at dawn and late in the evening, on top of my regular duties during the day.

       But I was “cut to the heart” by the story of this young man who worked himself to near death, just so he could give his family a better life. I drove to the hospital and did what my heart told me. He died just hours after.

       It is good to listen to our hearts and to give in to tears of compassion. But there is even something better — to allow tears of compunction to lead us to repentance and conversion. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: When was the last time you allowed your heart to lead you to do the right thing for others?

Grant me Your compassion, Lord, that I may be Your heart to others today.