These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (Jn 20:1-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040923.cfm
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia, Alleluia!!! ¡FELICES PASCUAS!
Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Mt 28:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040823.cfm
O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!—Exultet (The Easter Proclamation)
In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him . . . So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace. (Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040723.cfm
Standing before the mystery of the Cross only love remains.
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (1 Cor 11:23-26
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040623-Supper.cfm
The oldest account of the institution of the Eucharist is this passage from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. The Eucharist comes not just from the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples but from all the meals that Jesus shared with his disciples.
I gave my back to those who beat me; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. (Is 50:4-9a)
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?" (Mt 26:14-25)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040523.cfm
As we enter more deeply into Holy Week, it is important that we remember the words of the Second Vatican Council (1965): “What happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.” The Council cautioned that “the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God.” Finally, the Council added: in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone” (Nostra Aetate, 4).
