BIG C CATHOLICS

Father Lance Harlow There is one word to describe the impact that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead has had on those who believe. That one word is joy. In the Gospel of Matthew, which is read at the Easter Vigil Mass (Mt 28:1-10), Mary Magdalene and the other women who go to the tomb on Easter Sunday are “overjoyed” at the news from the angels that Jesus has been raised from the dead. The angels tell the women to go quickly to inform the apostles and to go to Galilee where they will see Jesus with their very own eyes. This sequence of events might remind you of what happened 33 years earlier to some shepherds who were tending their flocks at night, when angels appeared to them and told them to go to Bethlehem to see the newborn King of the Jews. Joy, then, is the proper human response to contact with the realm of angels and the glory of God. It is the disposition of a heavenly life — a Christian life. Joy breaks forth into our human experience like the sunshine breaking

April 23rd, is the optional memorial of Saint George. This year it is superseded by the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Some of the more colorful stories about this patron of England are not substantiated by fact, but that doesn’t mean that the legends surrounding St. George have any less power on the imagination. The most common depiction of the saint, in which he is slaying a dragon, persists, even though it first derived from a 12th century Italian fable. What we can be fairly certain of is that George was a Christian, and a soldier, who was martyred on April 23, 303 AD, during the Emperor Diocletian's reign. The tradition which grew up about him revolves around his standing as a man-of-arms; the story of the dragon, for instance, comes from a tale in which St. George supposedly rescued a king’s daughter from being slain by a serpent. As an example of the ideal of medieval knighthood, St. George became the patron of the Knights of the Garter, more properly k

Here is the twelfth and final lesson in the Saint Paul Center for Catholic Biblical Theology 's Lenten Scripture study, Genesis to Jesus. In this Easter Monday instalment we will learn how every one of us is standing in the stream of salvation history right now, and how each of us has an opportunity to become a member of the covenant family of God for all eternity. _____________________________________________ In our study thus far, we have seen how God’s loving plan of salvation has unfolded over the course of human events and across time – finally culminating with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We can now begin to understand just how deeply God loves us. This is the very essence of salvation history. The story of our salvation is really a love story between God and humanity. Over the past eleven lessons, we’ve seen how that story has shown God’s covenant with humanity progressing from a marriage, to a household, to a tribe, to

Easter Sunday - April 21, 2019 The Resurrection of Jesus "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised."   At daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. — Luke 24: 1-9 ________________________________________

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) We have come here to this sacred place, in this holy time, both of which are set apart from the rest of the world around us, in order to hear what God is saying to us. We are here, hopefully, to respond to God’s call, to surrender to God’s love, and to receive the Bread of Life Jesus won for us on His Cross. May you, and I with you, now yield to God’s love and respond to the gift He offers us here in this the most important celebration in our Church. As Catholics, we hold a sacred trust. It is our calling to remain integral with the Church of the eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Catholics, our integration with the Church of the Apostles is something that we hold precious. May we receive and always treasure what they have handed on to us. More people come to Mass on Easter than on any other Sunday of the year, some making the effort only this one time each

Holy Saturday is a day to keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior, when He descended into the dead to bring up with Him those righteous souls who died before His coming. According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin represents the entire Church waiting in faith for the triumph of Christ over sin and death. On this night, the Easter Vigil is celebrated and persons who have been preparing to become Catholics receive the sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation) and join the Church in renewing our baptismal promises. The Burial of Jesus When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalene and th

Here is the eleventh lesson in the Saint Paul Center for Catholic Biblical Theology 's Lenten Scripture study, Genesis to Jesus. By the end of Lent, you'll understand the importance of Easter in light of God's plan for our salvation and his unfathomable love for us. In this Holy Saturday instalment we will see how Christ was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification. _________________________________________________ Over the course of this study, we have been moving through God’s covenant plan for humanity. This has taken us through the covenants of the Old Testament. Now we will illuminate more fully how those covenants find their end in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. We will see how Christ fulfills God’s plan for humanity through his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. We will also understand why Christ is described as the new Adam, the true son of Abraham, the new Moses. In our final lesson, we’ll see how Christ comes as the new so