COLLECT: “O GOD, WHO BY THE ABUNDANCE OF YOUR GRACE GIVE INCREASE TO THE PEOPLES WHO BELIEVE IN YOU, LOOK WITH FAVOUR ON THOSE YOU HAVE CHOSEN AND CLOTHE WITH BLESSED IMMORTALITY THOSE REBORN THROUGH THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Acts 4:13-21; Ps 117:1,14-21 and Mk 16:9-15.
Two things that are a serious challenge to our Christ-experience and make us doubt are:
(1) Hardened heart; When the heart is so hardened, it is not able to receive the Word of God, let alone believe it. The Jewish religious leaders had hardened hearts, thus, they never believed in Jesus as the Messiah, despite the wonders and miracles he performed.
(2) Fear; it is a very serious challenge to our faith, belief, and Christ-experience. Fear will always make us doubt. The apostles of Jesus were afraid and a few times, people reported to them that they saw and encountered the Risen Lord, but they did not believe.
When you have a true Christ-experience, nothing can make you compromise or sacrifice that experience together with the word of God on the altar of anything. Rather, you will be happy to even go through persecutions, suffering or even death for the sake of the Lord (Cf. Acts 4:13-21). It took the apostles some time to recognise the Risen Lord through the gift of the Holy Spirit: ‘The sorrowing disciples twice rebuffed witnesses to the resurrection. Mary Magdalene and the disciples from Emmaus came with the exciting news that the Lord was truly alive. The apostles refused to believe until Christ came and rebuked them. From then on it was impossible for them not to speak about what they had seen, heard and experienced’ (Cf. Mk 16:9-15). After this, nothing, and no one could deter them from sharing their Christ-experience with others through their preaching and witnessing.
Today we are the representatives of the apostles, Mary Magdalene and the rest of the disciples of Jesus. Through our baptism and confirmation, as well as the annual commemoration of Easter, when we usually celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord, which took place over two thousand years ago, we should also always have a true Christ-experience in our lives. For that matter, like the apostles, nothing should also deter us from sharing this experience with the world either through preaching or life witnessing (very important). Once we have this Christ-experience through the Holy Spirit, nothing should separate us from the love of Christ (Cf. Rom 8).
Sometimes we go through baptism and confirmation, as well as the annual commemoration of Easter, without any true Christ-experience due to pride, selfishness, fear and ignorance. The Priests and elders of the Jews could not have any true experience of Christ because of these attitudes. Let us pray that we may be ready to roll away our pride, selfishness, fear and ignorance from our lives and co-operate with the Holy Spirit to open our eyes of faith to see God always in our midst and then, endeavour to bring him to others. Stay blessed.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, SATURDAY, ON THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES: ‘THE ANNUNCIATION, THE VISITATION, THE BIRTH OF JESUS, THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE AND THE FINDING OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE’. (LET US PRAY FOR HUMILITY, LOVE OF NEIGHBOUR, POVERTY IN SPIRIT, OBEDIENCE AND JOY IN FINDING JESUS) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “LOOK WITH KINDNESS UPON YOUR PEOPLE, O LORD, AND GRANT, WE PRAY, THAT THOSE YOU WERE PLEASED TO RENEW BY ETERNAL MYSTERIES MAY ATTAIN IN THEIR FLESH THE INCORRUPTIBLE GLORY OF THE RESURRECTION. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com
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