Weekdays of 2nd Week of Easter

 LIFE WITH THE RISEN CHRIST 

Meeting Christ Jesus through the Gospel

Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Give him time. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. (This is a very important part of prayer). Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Put yourself in the scene in your imagination. See Jesus there, see the other people, look at how they are, and see yourself there too. Just where are you, with whom are you, what is your attitude to everything going on, what are you doing?

5. Realise that Jesus is now with you. He is speaking and acting now with you.

 April 12th 2010  Monday of 2^nd Week of Easter

John 3:1-8

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode’mus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicode’mus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.”

Our body is fit for this world.  But it gets old and ultimately dies. Who knew what happened after death. Men imagined the spirit living on in some land of shades. Death was the end of life with quality. Jesus brought Good News. We can live forever and not in ‘the land of shades’ either.  We can be recreated and given the nature of God. We will see God face to face and live with the Trinity for ever. God will live with human beings. To receive this gift we must believe in Jesus. He gives the Holy Spirit who recreates and transforms us. We are born again. How do we know? The Spirit lives within us and we experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, and self control. This experience of the Spirit is the guarantee that Jesus in whom we believe is true

Tuesday13^th April 2010

John 3:7b-15

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicode’mus said to him, “How can this be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

We are born again of the Holy Spirit. As Spirit he can fill the whole universe and be in each person. He is the Love and Power of God, God’s Spirit. He makes believers in Jesus into the children of God. The life of God which is the life of heaven is already ours. We are already what we will be when with God. We must become true children of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus. Jesus won this life for us when he was lifted up on the Cross. The Holy Spirit makes us grow in the nature and likeness of God. Do you experience yourself as the child of God? Do you invite the Spirit to bring to perfection God’s nature in you? Through the Holy Spirit we become ‘a new person’. Can people see the Holy Spirit at work in you?

Wednesday 14^th April 2010

John 3:16-21

' Men loved darkness rather than light'

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.

Each human being is so precious to the Father. Like the father in the parable he longs for each one to come home and live with him. But all had left the right path and gone astray. There was not a good man left, not even one. And what was God’s response? He sent his only Son to call us back to friendship and by his life and death to reconcile us with himself. We are saved by accepting Jesus with all our hearts and by surrendering to the Spirit so that we have a faith that produces the works of love. Holiness and sanctity are free gifts given in proportion to how we surrender to Jesus. Everything is the work of the Spirit in us. Are you willing to open yourself to Jesus or do you prefer to stay in the darkness of your own cell.   

Thursday 15^th April 2010

John 3:31-36

31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; 33 he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; 35 the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

There is no life without Jesus. We may not realize this but it is true. The power to live forever with God is his gift. We are free to accept or reject it. We receive it by believing in Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to accept his invitation to intimate friendship. He will reveal the secrets of God. We receive eternal life now and not only after death. Those who truly believe in Jesus are already the children of God through the Spirit. Jesus is their Brother. If we reject Jesus, we reject life. The Father then accepts our free decision and we go to the place we have chosen. This is called the ‘wrath of God’. To bring others to experience eternal life we need to bear witness to Jesus by our lives and words. Have you accepted Jesus with all your heart?  Do you bear witness?

Friday 16^th April 2010

John 6:1-15

1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiber’i-as. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as  they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Moses foretold that God would raise up a prophet like himself. Like Moses, Jesus goes up a mountain. People had seen the signs he had done and they flocked to him. The Passover was near – the time for the lamb to be sacrificed. Jesus saw the crowds. There were more than five thousand. The disciples express their total inability to feed them, but they give Jesus what they have – five loaves and two fish..  Jesus takes it, blesses it and like Moses feeds all the people.  This is a sign of the Bread of Life that he will give. Do you see in the Eucharist the Bread of Life, the Food that gives eternal life? The Bread does not become us. We become the Bread, namely the Body of Jesus. Do you see only the miraculous signs in the Gospel, or do you experience Jesus as the Food for Life   

         

Saturday 17^th April 2010

John 6:16-21

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caper’na-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, 20 but he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Life is hard for everyone. Death too is the ultimate enemy and no one can escape it. Without Jesus it is dark and the wind blows against us and we struggle as we cross the sea of life. Many of us are frightened to let him into our lives. What will he ask of me?  But Jesus loves us with a love that makes him walk on water to come to us. To welcome him personally into our life is to have all fear banished. “Do not be afraid, it is I”.  To give our life to Jesus is our salvation.   Why do you wait for Jesus to come? By your daily time with him as you experience his presence through prayer, he will always be with you to protect you in any storm.  Is Jesus someone who is always with you? Do you meet him each day?

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