Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

You will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.

Pope St. Paul VI, in his exhortation on Joy, gave the Church a practical way to work at turning grief to joy.

Here are his words at the end of his exhortation.

              In His passion, death and resurrection, Christ summarizes the history of each human being and of all people, with their weight of sufferings and sins, with their capacities for progress and holiness. This is why our last word … is a pressing appeal to all the leaders and animators of the Christian communities: let them not be afraid to insist time and time again on the need for baptized Christians to be faithful to the Sunday celebration, in joy, of the Eucharist. How could they neglect this encounter, this banquet which Christ prepares for us in His love? Let participation in this celebration be at the same time very dignified and festive! It is the crucified and glorious Christ who passes among His disciples to bring them together into the renewal of His resurrection. This is the culmination here below of the alliance of love between God and His people: the sign and source of Christian joy, the preparation for the eternal feast.

“The need for baptized Christians to be faithful to the Sunday celebration, in joy, of the Eucharist.”
Really, it is not all that difficult to do for most of us, if we simply put our hearts and minds to it!

Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB