Reflection:
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The Second Week of Easter
This Second Week of Easter continues our celebration of Easter with the rest of the powerful story of Jesus' appearance to the group gathered in the Upper Room, and this time Thomas was with them. He gives them his own peace and sends them to forgive sin. John Paul II has named this Sunday, "Divine Mercy Sunday."
Monday we celebrate the transferred Solemnity of the Annunciation, which was moved from March 25th to today. It is a wonderful reminder of the gift of the Incarnation and the powerful openness of Mary.
For the rest of this week we continue to have the Acts of the Apostles as our guide for the first reading. Here we see the disciples on fire with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We see that their acts now mirror the acts and power of Jesus.
The gospels this week take us back into the life of Jesus, through the powerful faith of the Fourth Gospel. For the first four days, we read about Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, John, chapter 3. [Because we won't celebrate Monday of the Second Week of Easter, due to the Annunciation celebration, it would be good to go back to the beginning of chapter 3 and start there.]
Beginning on Friday of this week we begin to reflect on the 6th chapter of the Fourth Gospel on Jesus' gift of himself to us as the Bread that gives Life. After the miracle of the loaves, Jesus encounters his disciples on the stormy sea and encourages them: "It is I. Do not be afraid!"
Notice two powerful Psalms this week:
Psalm 34: "The Lord hears the cry of the poor."
Psalm 27: "One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord."
And, all this week prepares us for the Third Sunday of Easter on which we will reflect on the Resurrection story about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We are prepared to encounter the same pattern: they don't recognize Jesus, but he opens their eyes in the "breaking of bread."
Daily Prayer This Week
Each of us will be in a different place this week, as we approach the same Second week of Easter and these same readings. Each of us can enter into prayer this week in the following ways. Getting in touch with our desires. Most of the time, it is difficult to know what we wish to ask of the Lord in a given day. Not big things, e.g., happiness in life, but concrete things, e.g., the ability to be less fearful about being attentive to and loving my family when I come home from work. The first movement to daily prayer is to grow in a sense of what I wish to ask of the Lord, each day this week.
The Liturgy is a wonderful way to "listen" to what our Lord might be suggesting to us -- planting in our hearts as a desire. So, we let the readings and the Daily Reflections for each day help stir our desires.
We can ask: "What is being touched in me? What questions are arising in me? What more do I need from the Lord this day?"
This kind of daily praying is not about taking time for meditation, though there is nothing wrong with that, if we have the time. The beauty of this type of prayer is that it is about "focus" in the midst of our busy days. It is taking advantage of our "background times" to connect with the Lord, speak words in our hearts, let ideas and desires interact with the concrete experiences each day. This can happen while I'm showering, getting dressed, travelling to work, walking to a meeting, doing laundry, shopping, etc. "Lord, I repeat my desire to be a disciple today with much less fear, with more trust in the gift of new life you give me this second week of Easter." "Lord, my husband seems so tense and tight these days. Let me comfort and strengthen him the way you did with your disciples."
At the end of each day we will want to take a few moments to "re-collect" the gifts of the day and to give thanks to the Giver.
And, it is so good to keep track of the "movements" going on in us. What have I been asking for? What have I been receiving? What patterns do I see there? What deeper desires are being uncovered?
Lord, may all that I am today, all that I try to do today,
may all my encounters, reflections, even the frustrations and failings
all place my life in your hands.
Lord, my life is in your hands.
Please, let this day give you praise.
