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“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20)

These are the words You, as the Risen Lord, spoke to the eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee. They remain true forever.

These are the holy words that moved the missionaries to go to the ends of the earth and joyfully serve Your holy mission amid the greatest hardships and sufferings.

These are the words that the Holy Spirit continually brings to our remembrance, so that they may never be lost and Your people may not forget their mission. Read More

 

“Peace be to you (…). Why are you troubled? (…) it is I myself” (Lk 24:36, 38–39).

This is how the Risen Lord addressed His disciples when He appeared among them. They still could not quite believe it and were filled with dread and fear (Lk 24:37). Who was this who spoke to them? Their eyes had not yet been opened; they could not recognize the Risen One.

Was He perhaps a spirit? No, it was the Lord! It was the very One with whom they had journeyed and whom they had followed for three years, with whom they had eaten and drunk; the One who had performed miracles before their eyes and had instructed them with the fullness of wisdom. Yet now they could not recognize Him. Could He perhaps be a ghost?

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NOTE: Throughout Easter Week, the daily meditations will take on a more contemplative tone, to help us delve deeper into the great event of our faith: the Resurrection of the Lord. The “3 Minutes for Abba” will continue as usual (https://en.elijamission.net/category/3-minutes-for-god-the-father/).

Just as You foretold, beloved Jesus, it has come to pass. You have truly risen!

You rose from the dead, and the good news has reached us. The first to announce it were the angels at the tomb: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” (Lk 24:5). Then came Mary Magdalene; she had the grace to see You first, and then the apostles. There is no doubt! Not even the hostile Jews and the bribed soldiers could hide the truth. Alleluia!

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Mary Magdalene, wanting to show her love for the Lord even in death, runs to the tomb before daybreak.

“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put Him” (Jn 20:2) – she exclaims in pain, when she discovers that the stone of the tomb has been removed. Are the dead not even left in peace? Where is her Lord?

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Mourning for the Lord; grief for men, who have not recognised their Redeemer and have crucified Him… Mourning of the Mother for the beloved Son; mourning and bewilderment among the disciples, who say to each other in confusion: “Our own hope had been that He would be the one to set Israel free…” (Lk 24:21)

But the Lord descended into hell, to those who were still waiting for the Redemption, and He filled them also with His love.

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Judas consummated his betrayal and Jesus is apprehended. This happens after the Lord had accepted in Gethsemane the suffering from the hands of his Father and had given his ‘yes’ to all that was before him.

A YES that had to go through anguish and agony; a YES, after having asked his Father that, if possible, that cup might pass without his having to drink it (cf. Mt 26:39-44); a YES that expresses unconditional surrender to the Father; a YES out of love for us men.

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“During supper, Jesus got up from table, removed His outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.” (Jn 13:4-5)

What great love is manifested to us on this day, what extraordinary gestures do we encounter! The Lord of heaven and earth washes the feet of His disciples, thus revealing to them more deeply what their discipleship is all about: it is about service. God Himself, in His infinite love, serves man; and He calls us to live in this same service.

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Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you prepared to give me if I hand Him over to you?’ They paid him thirty silver pieces. (Mt 26:14-15)

The betrayal of God in exchange for unjust money… How often this story is repeated! How often people sell themselves at the price of money, of honour, of disorderly pleasures, of power!

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“In all truth I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”  (Jn 13:21b)

Betrayal! Here the most terrible depths of the human heart are revealed. Betraying a friend, betraying the Master and Lord, betraying love…

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“Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair.” (Jn 12:3)

What a tender gesture on Mary’s part this Gospel passage tells us! It is a tenderness that corresponds to the being of a woman, and which reflects something of her beauty and her capacity for self-giving. Mary has given her whole heart to Jesus, and what a consolation that loving soul must have been for Him in the midst of so much hostility. Something similar will happen to Him on the Way of the Cross, when Veronica wipes His face.

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