Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Karen Dietz
Opening Prayer
This is the day our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad! Alleluia!
Reading
John 20: 1 – 9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
Reflection
Many of us have been in a situation like Mary of Magdala. We have walked with a loved one through sickness or struggle to the point of death. We most likely recall the feelings in days following the death of a loved one. There is grief and often exhaustion. I think this is what Mary must have been feeling. So to arrive at the tomb after probably not much rest, anticipating finishing the anointing of her beloved friend’s body in preparation for burial. And so to find the tomb empty had to be quite a shock.
I believe the same can be said for us – even though we have celebrated many Easter feasts. We remember Jesus’ passion and death and then on Easter morning we are awakened to the surprise of resurrection. And if you are like me, each year Easter is a little different. We bring all the experiences and memories of the past year to our reception of the resurrection mystery. What is that you bring to Easter this year? What do you need from our loving God and from our risen Lord? Are you looking for comfort or in a space where you gaze on the empty tomb in wonder at the amazing gift that has been given? Perhaps you are entering this Easter time with a little of both.
Whatever your disposition, let us pray for one another. Let us approach the empty tomb hand in hand and lay our spirits before the God who loves us beyond our imagining. And if you are slow to wake to the Easter mystery – have no fear. We have 50 days of Easter to allow the reality to settle into our hearts. Happy Easter!
Closing Prayer
The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By our God has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad! Alleluia!