TODAY’S WORD…

How great is Your name, O Lord our God,

through all the earth!

When I see the heavens, the work of Your hands,

the moon and the stars which You arranged,

what is man that You should keep him in mind,

mortal man that You care for him?

– Psalm 8:2,4-5 (Grail Psalms)

REFLECTION…

Isn’t it amazing, isn’t it wonderful, that God the Creator of the Universe should focus so much on us; take such special care of us; give us dominion over so much; and love us to the extent of sending His Son to save us.

Humble appreciation of how great man is as a creation, leads us to contemplate on the infinitely greater grandeur of God. But the proud and those who consider themselves powerful, reject God and rebel against Him.

QUOTE…

“Lord, what is man that You should grant Him such importance, that You should take such an interest in him? You go so far as to send Your only-begotten Son to him; You infuse him with Your Spirit; You even promise him the sight of Your face.  And so that none of the celestial beings may fail to play their part in Your loving concern, You send the blessed spirits, the angels, to serve us and help us, making them our guardians; You appoint them our guides.”    – St. Bernard

PRAYER…

Father in Heaven, how great is Your name. 

Your glory shines out on earth from Your dwelling place beyond the heavens.

Thank You for creating us in Your image.

Thank You for loving us as You do.

Thank You for giving us life

and for the grace of knowing You.

My God, I bow before You

and acknowledge You as my Maker, my loving Creator, my Abba.

Abba, how great is Your name!

TODAY’S WORD…

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Lord, my God, how great You are!

You are robed in majesty and splendour;

You are wrapped in light as in a cloak.

– Psalm 104:1-2 (Grail Psalms)

REFLECTION…

The soul, set free, yearns to bless and praise the Lord, who it passionately recognises as its Maker.

It is good, to grant our soul its instinctive desire to express joy in the Lord, but we seem to want to muzzle it sometimes, if not all the time. We need to ask ourselves ‘why?’ Often, one finds that we ourselves are the real reason. Often it is our self-centeredness that is the cause.

It is also good to feed the soul with the revitalising solid food of God’s Word – food which nourishes and strengthens and protects against corruption. What do we feed our soul with? Lust, envy, greed, pride, and more such like…which corrupt and defile the soul and undermines our faith.

As we feed our soul with the Truth and satisfy its spiritual yearnings, the eyes of our heart will open and we will place our full trust in the Lord as our entirety will see and proclaim how truly great He is!

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Alleluia!

PRAYER…

Lord, hold my hand and walk with me and lead me along Your path

…and do not let me stray.

Bless the Lord, my soul! Alleluia!

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TODAY’S WORD…

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.

– 1 Peter 1:3-9

PRAYER…

I will sing Alleluia to You, Lord.

My heart sings with joy to You, O Lord.

Alleluia, Lord, Alleluia!

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You are the Great I Am, – the Source of my Joy!

You are the Resurrection and the Life – the Rock of my Salvation!

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Lord. I praise You,

I Lift You High,

I thank You,

I love You.

Alleluia, Lord, Alleluia!

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TODAY’S WORD…

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

even my body shall rest in safety.

For You will not leave my soul among the dead,

nor let Your beloved know decay.

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in Your presence,

at Your right hand happiness for ever.

– Psalm 16:9-11 (Grail Psalms)

REFLECTION…

These verses of this Psalm could be Jesus’ own – referring to His resurrection. But they can also, in a way, be our own words. If we have a personal experience of the Lord, and seek to devote ourselves to Him as our constant guide, our protector, our joy and well-being, then these words can reflect our hope. Christ’s resurrection is the promise and prelude of our own final resurrection on the last day. As believers, we are full of confident hope that we too will rise from the grave.

Our souls are naturally immortal. When they leave the body they remain alive, to enter an eternity whose happiness or misery depends on how well we have served God during our mortal life on earth.

Our bodies will decay and return to the dust from which they come. But only for a while. In God’s own time – provided we have been faithful to the divine will before death – these dead bodies will be glorified. They will be immortal, never to die again. They will be resplendent with beauty, never again endure pain…not unlike the risen body of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER…

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You

– because of Easter, You have made it possible for me to have a new beginning.

Thank You for Your death on the cross, paying the penalty for my sins.

Thank You for Your resurrection.

You are alive and now You offer me new life, power and hope

here and now and for all eternity.

Please forgive my sins and make me part of Your family.

I gladly receive You, Lord, and place my full trust in You.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

He is risen!

– Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6

CHRIST IS ALIVE! …

He is risen! This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; He has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness.

“Do not be amazed.” This was how the angels greeted the women who came to the tomb: “Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen; He is not here” (Mk 16:6)

JESUS SAID…

“I lay down My life, that I may take it again…I have power to lay it down: and I have power to take it up again.” (Jn 2:19-20)

EASTER IS A TIME OF JOY! …

“Easter is a time of joy – a joy not confined to this period of the liturgical year, for it should always be present in the Christian’s heart. For Christ is alive. He is not someone who has gone, someone who existed for a time and then passed on, leaving us a wonderful example and a great memory. No, Christ is alive, Jesus is the Emmanuel: God with us. His Resurrection shows us that God does not abandon His own. He promised He would not…and he has kept His promise. His delight is still to be with the children of men” – St. Josemaria Escriva

PRAYER…

You are risen, O glorious Lord. Thank You for the joy, the love, the peace, and the hope You place in my heart!

TODAY’S WORD…

They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

– John 19:40-42

REFLECTION…

Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began…

He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him – He who is both their God and the son of Eve…

“I am your God, who for your sake have become your son…I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.”

– from an Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

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TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus replied to Pilate, “You’re correct in saying that I am a king. I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

“Truth?” said Pilate, “What is that?”

– John 18:37-38

REFLECTION…

Imagine, having Jesus standing in your presence, and something inside of you tells you that He is someone special and that what He teaches is good and difficult to find fault with…and yet you are too self-centered, and you fear for your immediate situation, for your status and your reputation, which you feel you will forfeit if you go against the flow. Imagine having Jesus standing in front of you and you are refusing to acknowledge Him. How sad!

How sad it is when, for our own selfish reasons, we do not admit, acknowledge and follow the Truth even when “it” is there looking at you in the eye!

“Truth?” said Pilate, “What is that?” Then he played to the crowd by symbolically washing his hands. He gave Jesus to them, and they took Him and crucified Him. How sad, indeed!

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus, You are my King, You are the Truth,

and I want to acknowledge You with all my heart.

Lord Jesus, when I look at You on The Cross,

I realise that is where I put You

whenever, for my own selfish reasons, I put aside Your teachings and Your truth

and do things my way just to satisfy my immediate needs.

Forgive me, Lord,

and fill me with a spirit of determination

to embrace Your truth and to do Your will,

as I look forward to being with You in Your Kingdom.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Peter said to Him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with Me.”   Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

– John 13:5-9

REFLECTION…

In this scene Christ teaches us through specific example, and urges us to serve one another in all humility and simplicity. Jesus’ whole life was an example of service towards mankind, fulfilling His Father’s will to the point of dying on the Cross. If we imitate the Lord, our Teacher, in disinterested service (which always implies sacrifice), we will find true happiness which no one can force away from us.

Our Lord’s gesture had a deeper significance than St. Peter was able to grasp at this point.  He would later understand, as we do now, that by washing his feet, Jesus was stating in a simple and symbolic way that He had not come to be served but to serve.

St. Peter never suspected that God had planned to save mankind through the sacrificing of His Son. Christ served – to the extent of giving His life as a ransom for us. Thank You, Jesus!

QUOTE…

“Let us reject from our hearts any pride, any ambition, any desire to dominate; and peace and joy will reign around us and within us, as a consequence of our personal sacrifice”  – St. Josemaria Escriva

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus, I want to be more like You.

Make my heart clean and humble.

Wash me clean – completely –

and like Saint Peter, I too pray,

“Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

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TODAY’S WORD…

God our Saviour desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

– 1 Timothy 2:4

REFLECTION…

God desires everyone to be saved and He so loves us that He sent His only Son, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, to redeem us. But, in order to attain salvation, we must come to the knowledge of the truth.

“The truth” is Jesus and “knowledge of the truth” is knowing Christ’s message and teachings – knowing the Gospel. But this knowledge is not just an intellectual grasp of truth: it is something which should have an impact on our everyday life – it is a life-changing experience.

Knowing the truth and practicing the truth – gives life. Jesus sacrificed His life to show us the way, to teach us the truth and to save us. It is now up to each one of us to unswervingly embrace this truth …and be saved.

PRAYER…

Lord, I want to be saved – help me embrace Your truth!

Lord, please help me along the way back to You;

help me stay focused on You and embrace Your truth

until that day comes when I will see You face to face

and be with You forever.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Because You answer prayers

people everywhere will come to You

on account of their sins.

Our faults defeat us,

but You forgive them.

– Psalm 65:2-3

REFLECTION…

Sin eventually chokes us. The unrepented sin, like poison, eats away at our mind, soul and, yes, even our body. Jesus showed us how God loves – He never refused a contrite heart. He compassionately tells us, “Your sins are forgiven…go and sin no more.”

It is said, “No one is a good judge in his own case” and because Jesus always seeks our perfect contrition, He gave His apostles and their successors the power to forgive or retain sins on His behalf. (Jn. 20:21-23) The Sacrament of Reconciliation, therefore, provides us is with the great comfort of knowing that we have been truly forgiven, and fills us with the joy which comes from having received God’s grace.

QUOTES…

“When you go to confession you un-nail Our Lord.”  – St. John Vianney

“In confession you not only receive absolution from the sins you confess, but also great strength to avoid them in the future, light to see them clearly, and abundant grace to repair whatever damage you have incurred. You will also practice the virtues of humility, obedience, simplicity, and charity.

In the single act of confession you will exercise more virtues than in any other act whatsoever.”   – St. Francis de Sales

PRAYER…

Most gracious Lord, lead me to true repentance.

Most loving Lord, give me a contrite heart,

and fill me with humility and a yearning to cleanse my soul.

Most compassionate Lord, I seek the grace of Your full pardon,

the renewal of my spirit, and the blessing of Your friendship

– lead me, I pray, to frequent confession.

Amen.