Easter 2011

We keep Easter, just as the fifth-century

saint John Chrysostom enjoined

us:

“Come you all: Enter into the joy of our Lord.

You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward;

You rich and you poor, dance together;

you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day;

you who have kept the fast and you who have not,

rejoice today.

The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet.

The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry.

All of you enjoy the banquet of faith;

all of you receive the riches of his goodness.”

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Melissa Musick Nussbaum lives in Colorado

Springs, Colo. Her e-mail address is

mmnussbaum@comcast.net.

In CELEBRATION Publications

March/April 2008

The resurrection of Christ is not something that happened once upon a time.

It is the Light that shines in

the darkness;

 it is the victory of gratitude and love,

 grounded in faithfulness.

It is living each moment of our daily lives mindful of the presence of Jesus, “firm and immovable,

always

abounding in energy for the Lord’s work,

 being sure that in the Lord none of [our] labours is wasted.”

                                                                      (Brian J. Pierce )

The Resurrection of the Lord speaks to the dead parts of us

and calls us to stand up and walk joyfully once again.

We are Easter people, says St Augustine ,

and ,Alleluia is our song.

To whatever part of you is dead, today the risen

Jesus says,

 “Rise and live.”

To whatever part of you is in despair or depressed or sad or ill,today

the risen Jesus says,

“Rise and take on hope.”

To whatever part of you is stuck in fear or anger

or resentment or revenge

or hurts or apathy or indifference,

today the risen Jesus says,

 “Rise and receive my love and

     live in my compassionate love.”

To whatever part of you is stuck in lies or cynicism

or gossip or putting others down

or heavy burdens or greed

or the culture of death or violence or empty patriotism,

 today the risen Jesus says,\

 “Rise and welcome my reign of love and nonviolence and truth.”

To whatever part of you is stuck in doubt or worry or anxiety or loneliness or grief or sorrow,

today,

the risen Jesus says, “Rise and from now on,

 live in the new life of resurrection

and receive

my Easter gift of peace and joy.”

Happy Easter!

(Fr John Dear)

For Prayer

The resurrection means that love is stronger than death.

How do I experience that ?


The more we are like Jesus the more free we are.

Am I growing in freedom, free from greed for possessions, free to transform the world for God ?


There is no place where Jesus is absent.

Am I aware of that?

Bishop Martin Drennan , Galway diocese