Presence

Lord God, give me a quiet, gentle and receptive spirit as I spend these few moments in prayer with You today.

Freedom

Lord, You granted me the great gift of freedom.
In these times, O Lord, grant that I may be free
from any form of racism or intolerance.
Remind me, Lord, that we are all equal
in Your loving eyes.

Consciousness

I exist in a web of relationships – links to nature, people, God.
I trace out these links, giving thanks for the life that flows through them.
Some links are twisted or broken: I may feel regret, anger, disappointment.
I pray for the gift of acceptance and forgiveness.

The Word of God

¹After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. ⁴For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” ⁸So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Inspiration

It’s very noticeable during these days in the various accounts of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection that men seem to figure prominently during your trial, death and crucifixion, whereas women appear much more regularly in the story as soon as your resurrection began to take place. The men do not come out of it looking like knights in shining armour. As a general rule, when trouble came, they all ran away, while the women let their hearts speak for them. They proved to be the ones capable of giving life to those around them.

Conversation

On reflecting on today’s Gospel, is there anything I believe God wants me to hear or know at this time? What truth does He want to speak into my life today?

Conclusion

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Amen