The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Scripture from Tuesday's Liturgy of the Word:
Acts 4:32-37
Psalm 93:1ab,1cd-2,5
John 3:7b-15

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Easter Sunday has come and gone, though rejoicing permeates the liturgy for weeks to come. We eat the leftover jellybeans, wash and put away the best dining room linens and return to our everyday routines. But today’s First Reading reminds us clearly of the main message of Christ, namely to look after the needs of our brothers and sisters.

In today’s Gospel of John, Christ comments to Nicodemus that if we don’t understand His message about earthly affairs, how will we understand about heavenly things. In other words....all the “alleluias” of Easter are empty if we then leave our brothers and sisters physically and spiritually hungry and outside in the cold. We cannot view Easter as only an historical event when the work of building up the kingdom of God is yet unfinished. How are we using our hands, our feet, our eyes, our ears, our hearts, our minds to do so? The task is ours now, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

- Joan of Jesus, ocds
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)

____________________

These meditations are also available by email subscription
©1986-2004 The Way, The Truth, The Life

posted by joachim at 4:20 AM