Dazzling Dawn
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Easter Vigil, The Resurrection of the Lord
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Liturgical note: There is no liturgy for Holy Saturday. Christian
tradition has the Church waiting at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his
suffering and death. Today’s meditation is taken from the Gospel reading for
Easter Sunday at the Easter Vigil.
Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And 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. His appearance was like lightning, and
his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like
dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know
that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has
been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then 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." So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran
to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said,
"Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and
worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell
my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Introductory Prayer: Jesus, You are my faithful friend in
life and in death. May I discover in Your rising my guarantee and hope of
everlasting life. After such a show of love You deserve all my faith, all my
hope and all my love. I offer these to You humbly and gratefully. You alone are
the Lord of my life. You are the true purpose of my life. I long to see Your
loving face, Lord, but I must wait in hope to see You in eternity.
Petition: Lord, renew me by your Resurrection.
1. The Dawn of the New Creation: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
head to the tomb on the “first day” of the week, as day is dawning. But
today holds a new beginning. On the original “first day” God had said,
“Let there be light.” Now a new light is dawning. Easter is the
dawn of a New Creation. Nature is restored and elevated by the grace of
Christ’s Resurrection. There is an earthquake – not because nature
convulses as it did on Good Friday – but because an angel has descended from
heaven. No lightning strikes from the sky, yet the angel’s appearance
is like lightning. His clothing is white as snow, yet no blizzard
buries the disciples in desperation. Redemption from sin is won:
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though
they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Let my soul bathe in this Easter light; may I become dazzling white such
as no fuller on earth can bleach me.
2. Unafraid: The cause for fear has vanished: “I know
that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has
been raised, as he said.” The worst had been expected after the
devastation of Good Friday; instead, Easter unimaginably fulfills the
greatest hope. The place where Christ had lain is now empty.
Rather, the soldiers who had guarded the tomb are the ones who lie like
dead men on the ground. O Death, where is your sting? Death has
proven defenseless against the Resurrection. Fearless joy bids me to
run tell the disciples.
3. Greetings! Jesus does not delay long in encountering the
souls he has redeemed. He stops the two women who are running along
their way: “Greetings!” Only he has the words of everlasting
life. He is the Resurrection. He is to be worshipped as the
Source of Life itself. His light dispels every last shadow of fear.
He confirms his disciples in the faith. This is the Good News:
All of his brothers will witness the Risen Lord. And we shall be his
witnesses to the ends of the earth!
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I desire to encounter
you by Easter light. Wash my soul white as snow. Dispel all
darkness from my heart. Flood me with your joy. Allow me to be
your witness to the ends of the earth.
Resolution: After the Easter Vigil and before Easter Sunday is over, I will greet
someone by saying joyfully, “The Lord is Risen!”
Excerpts from
the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
205 +The Resurrection. Today, during the
[Mass of the] Resurrection, I saw the Lord Jesus in the midst of a great
light. He approached me and said, Peace be to you, My children, and He
lifted up His hand and gave His blessing. The wounds in His hands, feet and
side were indelible and shining. When He looked at me with such kindness and
love, my whole soul drowned itself in Him. And He said to me, You have
taken a great part in My Passion; therefore I now give you a great share in
My joy and glory. The whole time of the Resurrection [Mass] seemed like
only a minute to me. A wondrous recollection filled my soul and lasted
throughout the whole festal season. The kindness of Jesus is so great that I
cannot express it.
306 I asked the Lord to grant me the grace that my nature be immune
and resist the influences that sometimes try to draw me away from the spirit
of our rule and from the minor regulations. These minor transgressions are
like little moths that try to destroy the spiritual life within us, and they
surely will destroy it if the soul is aware of these minor transgressions and
yet disregards them as small things. I can see nothing that is small in the
religious life. Little matter if I am sometimes the object of vexation and
jeers, as long as my spirit remains in harmony with the spirit of the rules,
the vows and the religious statutes.
O my Jesus, delight of my heart, You know my desires. I should like to hide from people's sight so as to be like one alive and yet not living. I want to live pure as a wild flower; I want my love always to be turned to You, just as a flower that is always turning to the sun. I want the fragrance and the freshness of the flower of my heart to be always preserved for You alone. I want to live beneath Your divine gaze, for You alone are enough for me. When I am with You, Jesus, I fear nothing, for nothing can do me harm.
413 This morning I
heard these words: From today until the [celebration of the]
Resurrection, you
will not feel My presence, but your soul will be filled with great longing. And immediately a
great longing filled my soul; I felt a separation from my beloved Jesus,
and when the moment for Holy Communion came, I saw the suffering Face of
Jesus in every Host [contained] in the chalice. From that moment, I
felt a more intense yearning in my heart.
649 Mass of the
Resurrection. [April 12, 1936]. When I entered the chapel, my spirit was
immersed in God, its only treasure. His presence flooded me.
650 O my Jesus, my
Master and Director, strengthen and enlighten me in these difficult moments
of my life. I expect no help from people; all my hope is in You. I feel alone
in the face of Your demands, O Lord. Despite the fears and qualms of my
nature, I am fulfilling Your holy will and desire to fulfill it as faithfully
as possible throughout my life and in my death. Jesus, with You I can do all
things. Do with me as You please; only give me Your merciful Heart and that
is enough for me.
O Jesus my Lord,
help me. Let what You have planned before all ages happen to me. I am ready
at each beckoning of Your holy will. Enlighten my mind that I may know Your
will. O God, You who pervade my soul, You know that I desire nothing but Your
glory.
O Divine Will, You
are the delight of my heart, the food of my soul, the light of my intellect,
the omnipotent strength of my will; for when I unite myself with Your will, O
Lord, Your power works through me and takes the place of my feeble will. Each
day, I seek to carry out God's wishes.
697 Jesus, You know
that I love suffering and want to drain the cup of suffering to the last
drop; and yet, my nature experienced a slight shudder and fear. Quickly,
however, my trust in the infinite mercy of God was awakened in all its force,
and everything else had to give way before it, like a shadow retreating
before the sun's rays. O Jesus, how great is Your goodness! Your infinite
goodness, so well known to me, enables me to bravely look death itself in the
eye. I know that nothing will happen to me without God's permission. I desire
to glorify Your infinite mercy during my life, at the hour of death, in the
resurrection and
throughout
eternity.
+ My Jesus, my
strength, my peace, my repose; my soul bathes daily in the rays of Your
mercy. There is not a moment in my life when I do not experience Your mercy,
O God. I count on nothing in my whole life, but only on Your infinite mercy.
It is the guiding thread of my life, O Lord. My soul is filled with God's
mercy.
699 On
one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about
My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy [139] be a
refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that
day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of
graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that
will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete
forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates
through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me,
even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it
of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.
Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender
mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy
throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of
tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first
Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount
of My Mercy.
1067 March 28.
Resurrection. During the Mass of Resurrection, I saw the Lord in beauty and
splendor, and He said to me, My daughter, peace be with you. He
blessed me and disappeared, and my soul was filled with gladness and joy
beyond words. My heart was fortified for struggle and sufferings.
1141 In the
evening, He gave me to understand how fleeting all earthly things are, and
[how] everything that appears great disappears like smoke, and does not give
the soul freedom, but weariness. Happy the soul that understands these things
and with only one foot touches the earth. My repose is to be united with You;
everything else tires me. Oh, how much I feel I am in exile! I see that no
one understands my interior life. You alone understand me, You who are hidden
in my heart and yet are eternally alive.
1427 Hidden Jesus,
life of my soul,
Object of my ardent
desire,
Nothing will stifle
Your love in my heart.
The power of our
mutual love assures me of that.
Hidden Jesus,
glorious pledge of my resurrection,
All my life is
concentrated in You.
It is You, O Host,
who empower me to love forever,
And I know that You
will love me as Your child in return.
Hidden Jesus, my
purest love,
My life with You
has begun already here on earth,
And it will become
fully manifest in the eternity to come,
Because our mutual
love will never change.
Hidden Jesus, sole
desire of my soul,
You alone are to me
more than the delights of heaven.
My soul searches
for You only, who are above all gifts and graces,
You who come to me
under the form of bread.
Hidden Jesus, take
at last to Yourself my thirsting heart
Which burns for You
with the pure fire of the Seraphim.
I go through life
in Your footsteps, invincible,
With head held
high, like a knight, feeble maid though I be.
1668 The
Resurrection. Before the Mass of the Resurrection, I felt so weak that I lost
all hope of participating in the procession which takes place in the church;
and I said to the Lord, "Jesus, if my prayers are pleasing to You, give
me the strength for this moment that I may take part in the procession."
At that same instant, I felt strong and certain that I could go along with
the sisters in the procession.
1702 Towards the end of the Way of the
Cross which I was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the souls of
religious and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls. I will allow convents and churches
to be destroyed. I answered, "Jesus, but there are so
many souls praising You in convents." The Lord answered, That praise wounds My Heart, because
love has been banished from convents. Souls without love and without
devotion, souls full of egoism and self-love, souls full of pride and
arrogance, souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just
enough warmth to keep them alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces
that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot
stand them, because they are neither good or bad. I called convents into being
to sanctify the world through them. It is from them that a powerful flame of
love and sacrifice should burst forth. And if they do not repent and become
enkindled by their first love, I will deliver them over to the fate of this
world...
How can they sit on the promised throne of judgment to judge the world, when their guilt is greater than the guilt of the world? There is neither penance nor atonement. O heart, which received Me in the morning and at noon are all ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart specially chosen by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain? The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through...
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-205, 306, 413)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-649-650, 697, 699)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1067, 1141)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-V-1427)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1668, 1702) |
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