Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

We are Responsible for Christ’s Death.

Peter repeats in this continuation of his Pentecost speech the accusation that his listeners have crucified the person whom God made both Lord and Christ. Peter knows full well that he denied Jesus and is as responsible for his death as any of his listeners. And so are we, who have denied him and disobeyed his commandments.

This is a necessary chapter in the story of salvation. It means that we all need God’s forgiveness and salvation. We are not only among the blind, sick, and lame who need his healing; we are also sinners who need his forgiveness. May we be like Mary Magdalen, who washed Jesus’ feet with tears of grief for her sin in hope of forgiveness, and continues to reverence him in his apparent death and absence. We, too, experience God’s apparent absence and do not understand how our suffering, like his, fits somehow into God’s plan for our redemption.

Our sins and faults have certainly separated us from God and one another, but that is not the end of the story. If we continue to seek our savior even in those dark times, he will reveal himself, call us by name, and send us out to tell others, “I have seen the Lord.”

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and absorbed his wisdom and love. Now he made her his messenger, a teacher in her own right. May we who have been loved by the Lord, never cease to pass on that love, filled with gratitude and faith.

Reflection by Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB