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Spiritual Reflection
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March 31, 2010 | | | |  | Easter Sunday April 4, 2010
A Resurrection Homily by St. John Chrysostom
Let all pious men and women and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to the one who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to the one who has toiled since the first. Yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; He repays the deed and praises the effort. Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one; let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the richess of God's goodness. Let no one grieve over one's poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep over one's sins, for pardon has shone from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He has spoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom. He has angered it by allowing it to taste his flesh...Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied. Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Revivier of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. | | | | | |
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 Our Lady of Lourdes - In 1858, in a grotto, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto. When Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify. Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady. |
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