Reading: Lk24:1-12

Reflection:

Jesus Christ conquered sin and death by rising from the dead. He is the One who rose form the dead. We did not!

Today we are reminded of a very powerful reality. We cannot heal the brokenness or imperfected state of being human. We cannot restore our wounded nature so as to give ourselves immorality. We need to accept ourselves as we really are, and to accept a God who has revealed himself as One who can do for us what we are called to. Such acceptance is what we as Christians are about on this day.

As this evening draws to a close we will come together with our elect. We will all participate in the sacramental celebrations which allow us to actually enter into the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The liturgical actions taking place this evening are what our Lenten journey has been focused on. Together with our newly received members, we will celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death, a victory which we share in because the Master has made us one with himself.

The victory which we now have is a gift. It is not ours by merit or right. It is ours because of what God in Jesus Chris is doing for us.

The acceptance of the "victorious gift" is sometimes difficult. We live in a society that glorifies its own accomplishments. We live in a society that constantly reminds us of our abilities to excel and overcome. In such a society it is easy to forget about God and our intrinsic need for him. However, if we are willing to view our accomplishments as signs of God's presence with us, and if we are willing to view our desire to overcome obstacles as signs of the resurrection, then perhaps the acceptance of our need for God can be possible. Perhaps we will even discover the One we seek in our efforts at such acceptance.

Prayer

Father, through the resurrection of your Son, you are doing for me what I cannot do for myself. Help me to accept my limitations and imperfections, so that through such acceptance I can experience the victory of the Risen One in my life. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Lord.

Remembrance

Today I will remember how important it is to honestly accept myself.

Taken from the book Walking in the Kingdom of God:
A Lenten Meditation for the Busy Christian
Published by Liturgical Press
Distributed by Claretian Publications, Philippines