Mary Of The Angelus Association

MEDITATION based on the readings for today's Mass. 

The readings can be found in your bible or missal.  Then spend time with Jesus and ask him what he wants you to know from the readings.

First Reading: Acts: Chapter 4: Verses 13-21

A simple act of kindness which results in an undeniable miracle.  Peter and John after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, have been filled with power. Now unafraid, by faith in the name of Jesus, they can "do everything Jesus did, only even more so".  This is because, as he promised, the Risen Lord sent his Holy Spirit to be with his church until the end of time.

This miracle of healing gets them into trouble with the ruling authorities of the Temple.  They are imprisoned and only released after a warning not to teach in the name of Jesus.  But the two "retorted...We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen or heard" . 

If I grew in my faith, could I heal a person crippled from birth?  Of course.  What is God's plan for me?

Response to the Psalm: "I praise you Lord, for you have answered me"

Psalm: 117(118): Verse 1. verses 14-21. The Lord is my strength and my song: he was my saviour.

Gospel: Mark. Chapter16: verses 9-15

During this first week of Easter, we have read in all the four gospels, accounts of the first day of Lord's resurrection.  They vary, but the essentials are the same.  Mary of Magdala, was the first to see the Risen Lord.  Then the other women, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and then the group including the apostles, assembled in the Supper Room. 

The gospels do not say who else the Lord appeared to.  His mother, perhaps first of all; Lazarus who, only a short while before, had also been raised from the dead by his Jesus; the shepherds of Bethlehem?

We learn of the disbelief of the apostles, not just Thomas, but all of them.  Then we share in their joy when, what they had not dared to hope was actually true.   The Lord is truly risen!!!