April 2, 2013

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Tuesday in the Octave of Easter 
Lectionary: 262

Reading 1ACTS 2:36-41

On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people,
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Pentecost means "fiftieth day".  It is a Jewish feast which celebrates the fifty days of the harvest.  It is on this day that the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles.  St. Peter is informing the Jews, that they killed the Messiah.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other Apostles,
“What are we to do, my brothers?”

Unlike at the Crucifixion, the Jews then were hard hearted and would not relent in their desire to kill Jesus, but now, they were quickly sorry for what they had done and asked the Apostles how they could remedy their sins.

Peter said to them,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

St. Peter said to them that they should wash their sins away in Baptism, calling on the name of Jesus Christ and they would be given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The gift of the Holy Spirit refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and also to the outpouring of sanctifying grace which washes the soul of the Baptized.

For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call.”

And this promise is not only to us, but to our children and our children's children (i.e.  those far off).  Although, I think "those far off" could also refer to those who do not believe in God now but who convert n the future.

He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.

St. Peter, and the rest of the Apostles also, preached and testified and converted about three thousand people.  They all were baptized and added to the Church, that day.

Responsorial PsalmPS 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 AND 22

R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.or:
R. Alleluia.Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.or:
R. Alleluia.

God is kind and merciful and faithful to His Word.  We can always depend on Him.  For God is righteous.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.or:
R. Alleluia.

God protects all those who love Him.  He saves us for Himself that we will be united to Him in eternity.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.or:
R. Alleluia.

We were made for God and our spirit yearns to be united to Him.  God, please be kind and merciful to us, for we are sinners.  Amen,  

GospelJN 20:11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.

St. Mary Magdalen, also known as Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha, remained at the tomb of our Lord,crying.
From the description in St. John's Gospel, the Tomb must have been somewhat lower than ground level  Its as though they had to go down into it, either a hole in the ground or a cave which descended downward.  As she bent over to look down into the Tomb, she saw two Angels inside, sitting at the head and feet of where Jesus would have been laying.

And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”

They asked her, "why are you crying?"  And she responded, "Because they have taken the body of my Lord, Jesus and I don't know where they have buried Him."

At this point, Mary has already been to the Tomb earlier and found the stone rolled away and Jesus' body missing.  She ran to inform the Apostles and they have come to verify the truth.  But no one yet knew that Jesus had risen from the dead.

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”

Then, Mary turned around and saw Our Lord, but didn't recognize Him.  She thought He must be the gardner.  So, she asked Him, "where have you taken the Body of my Lord?"

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

And then Jesus called her by name and she immediately recognized Him.  Then He said, "stop holding on to me, because I must ascend to the Father.  But run and tell my brethren, (i.e. the Apostles and Disciples) that I am ascending to Our Father, Our God."  And Mary did as He commanded.