"They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” – John 20:2
ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN
I spent more than half of my life doing bad things. I grew up as a spoiled brat and a battered child. I spent my adolescent years as a problem teenager. A few years later, I focused my attention on doing bigger sins.
I married at the early age of 20 and soon started womanizing. I got into pornography and sex addiction. That was also the time I started beating my wife. But after many years, she finally left me and took our children with her.
During those days, I felt that my soul was already dead. But one time, while riding my motorcycle on the way home, I prayed to God and asked Him to bring me back to life. After having uttered that prayer, my life started to change day by day. I rose from the dead. I reconciled with my wife and family and asked them for their forgiveness.
Today, I am a changed man. God gave me a brand new life for Jesus has resurrected in me. Monty Mendigoria
1ST READING
The
Apostle John was the only one to die a natural death, if dying in exile
can be considered natural. He was not martyred. Nonetheless, his
reflections on the nature of love should be studied regularly and with
passion, as we all have much to discover and learn from them. The nature
of true love is rarely seen in today’s world in an obvious and explicit
fashion. This is a great tragedy as we are all called to exhibit it as
part of our proclamation of the Gospel. The world today is too focused
on the self to readily exhibit the true nature of love.
1 John 1:1-4
1 Beloved:
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with
our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the
Word of life — 2 for
the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and
proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made
visible to us — 3 what
we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have
fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
P S A L M
Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
R: Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad. 2 Clouds and darkness are around him, justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne. (R) 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his justice, and all peoples see his glory. (R) 11 Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright of heart. 12 Be glad in the Lord, you just, and give thanks to his holy name. (R)
GOSPEL
There
are a number of times in the Gospel that John is better able to
recognize Jesus than the other disciples. Perhaps this is because he has
opened his life more fully to the love God has for him and allowed its
power to have a formative effect upon his consciousness.
John 20:1, 2-8
1 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene 2 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 do not know where they put him.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
REFLECTION
BELOVED DISCIPLE
You
can be excused if you are thinking about the Resurrection at this time
of Christmas. The Gospel of today is a story found in the Easter season.
As we celebrate these days of Christmas, we are being introduced to a
whole range of people — Stephen, St. John and the Holy Innocents. We are
given a glimpse beyond the manger as to what characters will enfold in
the life of Jesus. We will see in the life of Jesus many who are touched
by His ministry of love and reconciliation.
Today, we read about Mary running from the tomb, just before she has
seen the Risen Lord. Mary is in a desperate state because someone has
stolen the body of Jesus. In confusion, the disciples are startled: they
have taken the Lord out of the tomb. John reports in his Gospel that
the two run to the tomb. They confirm what Mary has spoken. The tomb is empty and only the
burial cloths remain. They found it as she had said. Note that there
are two responses — Peter is bewildered at seeing the cloths and empty
tomb. The beloved disciple sees the same thing and believes.
As we contemplate the Child in the manger, we, too, are called to see
and believe. This Child is none other than the Son of God, the Savior of
humanity.
The beloved sees and believes. Are you the beloved disciple? The
beloved disciple sees and believes because his heart is pure. Many years
from the Nativity, Jesus Himself will declare how blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God. For John, in his Gospel, believing is
seeing. “Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe” will be the final statement of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL
St. John, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of St. James the Great, was called to be an Apostle by our Lord in the first year of His public ministry. He became the "beloved disciple" and the only one of the Twelve who did not forsake the Savior in the hour of His Passion. He stood faithfully at the cross when the Savior made him the guardian of His Mother.
His later life was passed chiefly in Jerusalem and at Ephesus. He founded many churches in Asia Minor. He wrote the fourth Gospel, and three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation is also attributed to him. Brought to Rome, tradition relates that he was by order of Emperor Dometian cast into a cauldron of boiling oil but came forth unhurt and was banished to the island of Pathmos for a year. He lived to an extreme old age, surviving all his fellow apostles, and died at Ephesus about the year 100.
St. John is called the Apostle of Charity, a virtue he had learned from his Divine Master, and which he constantly inculcated by word and example. The "beloved disciple" died at Ephesus, where a stately church was erected over his tomb. It was afterwards converted into a Mohammedan mosque.
John is credited with the authorship of three epistles and one Gospel, although many scholars believe that the final editing of the Gospel was done by others shortly after his death. He is also supposed by many to be the author of the book of Revelation, also called the Apocalypse, although this identification is less certain.
— in Vatican City.His later life was passed chiefly in Jerusalem and at Ephesus. He founded many churches in Asia Minor. He wrote the fourth Gospel, and three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation is also attributed to him. Brought to Rome, tradition relates that he was by order of Emperor Dometian cast into a cauldron of boiling oil but came forth unhurt and was banished to the island of Pathmos for a year. He lived to an extreme old age, surviving all his fellow apostles, and died at Ephesus about the year 100.
St. John is called the Apostle of Charity, a virtue he had learned from his Divine Master, and which he constantly inculcated by word and example. The "beloved disciple" died at Ephesus, where a stately church was erected over his tomb. It was afterwards converted into a Mohammedan mosque.
John is credited with the authorship of three epistles and one Gospel, although many scholars believe that the final editing of the Gospel was done by others shortly after his death. He is also supposed by many to be the author of the book of Revelation, also called the Apocalypse, although this identification is less certain.
"Dear Lord, I’m so grateful
with what You have done in my life. Your resurrection gave me hope to
live my life according to Your will.
Lord, I love You, teach me to be Your beloved disciple. Amen."
No comments:
Post a Comment