GOSPEL MEDITATION~ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

April 17, 2022
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

There are many stones in our paths that keep us from truly living and being free. Some of these boulders have been there for a very long time. They have been there so long that they have even settled into the soil of our lives with other weeds, vines, and compacted soil keeping them firmly in place. We find them hard to move and trying to do so can be exhausting. What are these suffocating albatrosses that keep us so tethered and immobile? They are many things.

They are past childhood wounds and hurts that stem from disappointment, rejection, or abuse. People may have told us we were unwanted, that the world is frightening, that there are only some acceptable feelings you can have and others you cannot. We may have tried to love someone or struggled to figure out how and were met with rejection. Maybe we trusted someone completely and were betrayed. We come to life collecting barnacles that begin to attach to other barnacles and before you know it, we have a mass of solid matter blocking our vision and keeping us from moving. We live in fear. We are afraid of losing what we have, afraid that the future will be empty, afraid that we won’t succeed and even more afraid that we will not be loved. There is so much fear. Didn’t Jesus tell us not to worry and to not be afraid? Either we believe in the message of Easter, or we don’t!

Go confidently into the night. Walking with God you will find the light and strength you need. Often without even knowing, God will move those boulders and stumbling blocks that bind us and, with putting one foot in front of the other and looking forward, we will move. The resurrection of Christ is really all about receiving the gifts of trust and faith and doing new things. The rocks that bind us keep us spinning the same wheels and doing the same things. When was the last time you threw caution to the wind and actually did something totally out of character and different? This is where we find God, in the spontaneous, the adventurous, the fun, and the creative choices we make! God is not boring and stuck. God is exciting and engaging. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Find a way to trust that this is true and live.

©LPi

MEDITACIÓN EVANGÉLICO~ALENTAR ENTENDIMIENTO MÁS PROFUNDO DE LA ESCRITURA (Gospel Meditation)

17 de abril de 2022
Domingo de Pascua

“Dios nuestro, que por medio de tu Hijo venciste a la muerte y nos has abierto las puertas de la vida eterna, concede, a quienes celebramos hoy la Pascua de Resurrección, resucitar también a una nueva vida. Renovados por la gracia del Espíritu Santo. Por nuestro Señor Jesucristo…” (Oración Colecta). El Mensaje de la Pascua resuena y se repite en cada una de las lecturas de la Eucaristía del día hoy.Hoy celebramos con gozo el día más grande del Calendario Litúrgico. Hoy cantamos alegres el Gloria y el Aleluya, porque Cristo, muerto y sepultado el Viernes Santo, ha Resucitado.

Pongamos mucha atención en la secuencia que se proclama en este día y busquemos como María Magdalena al Señor: “¿Qué has visto en la mañana, María, en la mañana?”. “A mi Señor glorioso, la tumba abandonada, los ángeles testigos, sudarios y mortajas. ¡Resucitó de veras mi amor y mi esperanza!”. Corramos presurosos a buscarlo resucitado en la familia, en la escuela, en el trabajo, en los inmigrantes, en los enfermos, y lo más importante, en nuestro propio corazón.  El Ángel también anima a las mujeres al llegar a la tumba: “Ustedes no tienen por qué temer. Yo sé que buscan a Jesús, que fue crucificado. No está aquí, pues ha resucitado, tal como lo había anunciado” (Mateo 28:5-6). “Esta es la culminación del Evangelio, es la Buena Noticia por excelencia: Jesús, el crucificado ha resucitado. Este acontecimiento es la base de nuestra fe y de nuestra esperanza. Jesús, el Amor encarnado, murió en la cruz por nuestros pecados, pero Dios lo resucitó y lo ha constituido Señor de la vida y de la muerte” (Papa Francisco). ¡Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya!

©LPi