Released from prison, Peter and John rejoin the disciples in a moment of prayer and praise to God. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Mary’s Magnificat becomes a model for our prayer and praise to God. May these words inspire us to keep our focus upon the Lord as we draw strength from the one who saves us.
Mary proclaims her great Magnificat in Luke’s Gospel, giving praise to God who does mighty things through our lowly lives. May her words inspire us to offer our lives to the Lord!
The Psalm Response offers a beautiful proclamation in the context of the two feeding miracles from the first reading and the Gospel. May our hearts give joyful praise to God as we count our blessings this day!
The Psalm response reminds us to take a moment each day for praise and thanksgiving to God for all that we have received. May all the nations praise the Lord!
The readings today give us a snapshot of some key points that surfaced shortly after the Lord’s resurrection:
1st Reading – Thankful praise and sharing in community life
Psalm – “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, His love is everlasting.”
2nd Reading – Christ’s resurrection lets us rejoice in the midst of trials
Gospel – Doubting Thomas
What do we see? Praise, gratitude, thankfulness, sharing, community life, overcoming doubt, facing trials, and rejoicing! In other words, this is what happens to a group of people who have been transformed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And I want to live like this.
Frankly, I want all of us to live like this. Filled with God’s grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit, engaging life at full throttle, dealing with difficulty through the power of faith….is there any other way to live?
So…in the light of these concepts that emerged from the fledgling Church…what’s keeping us from this? Has the resurrection of the Lord “sunk in” and touched our hearts? Do we understand what it means to say “The Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed!” as followers of Jesus Christ?
Do we get it?
We all have obstacles, challenges, and the reality of temptation and sin in our lives. That was true for the Early Church as well. But note this: they changed. In the light of the Risen Lord their lives were forever altered: praising God, facing hardship, working together, filled with joy.
This is our invitation today, and it works in three simple steps:
Accept the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Bring the Lord’s power into your heart
Change whatever is not worthy of Heaven and live in his Light
There is no better way to journey through this life!
The Psalm Response invites us to praise God each day. Through our prayer, service and personal enrichment we acknowledge what the Lord has done for us as we share our lives with one another.