EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD.

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD 

"For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead." (John 20: 9).

Sunday MARCH 31st 2024, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The disciples of Jesus did not yet understand the testimony of Scripture that Jesus would be crucified, die and rise from the dead. Eye had never seen, nor ear heard nor did it ever enter their minds that such a thing is possible.

My brothers and my sisters, Happy Easter and welcome to the plan of God for our salvation and eternal life. Now what does it mean that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead?

#1 Jesus has conquered Sin.

#2 Jesus has conquered Fear.

#3 Jesus has conquered Death.

#4 Jesus is Lord and not Caesar.

#5 Abba Father has appointed Jesus the Judge of the Living and the Dead.

My brethren, this is the Good News. This is the cause of our Easter joy. To celebrate this great Feast, the Church decrees 50 days of continuous feasting till the Solemnity of Pentecost.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus Christ our Pascal Lamb is truly risen! Alleluia!

For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/devotion-to-st-joseph.html?m=1

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HOLY SATURDAY OF THE HOLY EASTER VIGIL.

HOLY SATURDAY AT THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT OF EASTER. 

"When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

"Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 

"When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. 

"Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’” (Mark 16: 1 - 7).

Saturday March 30th, Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter. 

My brothers and sisters, we celebrate tonight the Great Easter Vigil. The Church allover the world will be trembling with excitement and joy when the great Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) rings out. I want to offer for our reflection some key truths from the Easter Proclamation:

#1 "This is our Passover feast, when Christ, the true lamb is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers."

#2 "What good would life have been to us if Christ had not come as our Redeemer?"

#3 "The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride."

#4 "Therefore heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church's offering."

#5 "May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning:

Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen."

This is our Passover Feast.

“God raised up Jesus, freeing him from the pains of death” (Acts 2:24).

JESUS CHRIST HAS RISEN INDEED.  

For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/devotion-to-st-joseph.html?m=1

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GOOD FRIDAY OF THE LORD'S CRUCIFIXION & DEATH.

Good Friday of the Lord's Passion, 2024.

JESUS CHRIST WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR SINS. 

“Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.

And Pilate said to them,

“Behold, the man!”

"When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,

“Crucify him, crucify him!”

"Pilate said to them,

“Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” (The Passion of the Lord according to St John). 

Friday 29th March 2024, Good Friday of the Lord's Passion. 

The Jewish leaders see the death of Jesus on the Cross as the execution of a criminal.  “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”

"But he was pierced for our sins,

crushed for our iniquity.

He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed." (Isaiah 52: 5).

How do you see the death of Jesus on the Cross?

"It is love "to the end" that confers on Christ's sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." (CCC 616).

We adore You O Christ and worship You because of Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

St Joseph is the man chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of Jesus.

For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/devotion-to-st-joseph.html?m=1

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HOLY THURSDAY EVENING MASS.

HOLY THURSDAY. THE BEGINNING OF THE EASTER TRIDUUM. 

"Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. 

"The ­devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.

"So, during supper, ­fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured ­water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 

"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” 

"Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus ­answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no ­inheritance with me.”

"Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

"So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13: 14 - 15).

Thursday 28th March 2024, Holy Thursday, Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. The beginning of the Holy TRIDUUM. THE HOLIEST THREE DAYS IN THE YEAR. 

Jesus gives us a new commandment this evening:  "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13: 34). This new commandment is now enfleshed in an unforgettable Example. Consider for a moment the power of example, testimony and biography. The three which are synonymous are unparalleled way of teaching. It works for kids. It works for their parents.

Today is Holy Thursday.  According to ancient tradition, the Church celebrates this evening the Mass of the Last Supper. 

When Jesus celebrated the first Mass at the Last Supper, the Apostles did not understand what He was doing.  

The narrative of today's Gospel is dominated by the event of the washing of the feet of the apostles, an event so significant that it was incorporated into the Holy Thursday liturgy from ancient times.  What does this event mean for us?

Jesus the Lord and Teacher of the Apostles just washed the dirty feet of the astounded Apostles and then called it an example. 

Whose feet will you prefer to wash?

"If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."  (John 13: 14 - 15).

For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/devotion-to-st-joseph.html?m=1

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JESUS CHRIST THE SUFFERING SERVANT.

Wednesday in Holy Week - Betrayals Wednesday. 

"One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” 

"They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over....

"When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

"Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” 

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

He answered, “You have said so.” (Matthew 26: 14.... 25).

Wednesday 5th April 2023 in Holy Week.

Towards the end of His life, Jesus reveals more and more the testimony of Sacred Scripture about the gathering storm of His passion and death.

About Judas, he said, "The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed." (Matthew 26: 24).

The Gospel of today presents for our reflection: Sin, Betrayal and Repentance.

The word "Betrayal" is used in today's Gospel, Matthew 26: 14 - 25 six times.  You may call it:  Betrayal Wednesday in Holy Week. 

So what do you think of the mystery of sin and betrayal?

Every single sin is a betrayal of someone.  

The price of Judas to betray Jesus is 30 pieces of silver. 

What is your price? What is it that you love and prefer to Jesus? That is the price you ask for your sin or betrayal.

Jesus' ministry is framed around "appointed time," "fullness of time." There may be a number of reasons why Jesus at this time wants to anchor His disciples on the testimony of Scripture about Him and His mission.

#1. His death would shatter whatever faith the disciples had in Him. It therefore became necessary that they learn that He is the Lord of history and knew everything that would happen in His passion.

#2. The disciples would see too that He entered His passion and death freely of His own accord. He was not trapped in Gethsemane and arrested as a helpless fugitive from justice.

Paul wrote that Christ died and rose from the dead according to the Scriptures, that is, according to the plan of God predicted in the Scriptures.

As we approach the Easter Triduum, our faith in Jesus as both God who knows the past and future and as Man who manifested fear in Gethsemane of His suffering should grow.

"There are graces destined for My priests in this the night of My agony and of My betrayal that are not given at any other time. I am bound tonight. I have already been taken, and My captors led Me away as a lamb to the Slaughter. I am silent but My Heart watches and waits for My priests. If only they would come to Me, I would undo the bonds that hold them in slavery. I would give them light in the spiritual darknesses that oppress them. I would speak to them words of comfort and of compassion." (IN SINU JESU, Maundy Thursday Night March 20, 2008).

St Joseph is the man chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of Jesus.

For Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/devotion-to-st-joseph.html?m=1

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Daily Bible Verse @ 

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com

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Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity