Our Easter Joy Continues: A Scriptural Reflection
In her wisdom the Church has given us not just one great feast, or even one great octave of feasts, to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Instead, we are invited to an entire fifty-day season of alleluias! One way we can help our human selves enter this joy of all joys is by meditating […]
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In her wisdom the Church has given us not just one great feast, or even one great octave of feasts, to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Instead, we are invited to an entire fifty-day season of alleluias! One way we can help our human selves enter this joy of all joys is by meditating on the readings for daily Mass. Often we hear people say that they would have an easier time believing, or have a deeper faith, if only they had been there with the Apostles and touched Jesus and His wounds, like St. Thomas did. While we cannot time travel back to the first century Holy Land, we can contemplate these scenes in prayer. St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” This implies that we, mere Christians, can get to know Jesus better, more personally, by spending time with Scripture. We don’t have to time travel when Jesus is with us here and now, waiting to meet us in the pages of our Bibles.
Because this can seem a very daunting endeavor to someone who has never done it, it can be helpful to go with a guide. For the scholarly soul, Divine Intimacy, by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, is sure to fulfill that hunger to go deeper with Scripture. Divine Intimacy is not for those interested in an “easy read”—it will require some effort. But once the reader has fallen into the rhythm of its pages, there will be no going back. Divine Intimacy follows the readings for the entire liturgical year in one volume, so admittedly, the book is somewhat of a financial investment. But for those ready to receive the heavy-duty wisdom that Fr. Gabriel draws from Scripture, it is well worth it. Fr. Gabriel’s approach is to begin each day with a “Meditation” on the Gospel followed by a “Colloquy,” or prayer response. Fr. Gabriel writes: “To be able to recognize and meet God in every creature, even in the ones that hurt us, offend us, or make us suffer, and in every happening, even the most disagreeable, painful, and disturbing ones—this is a great secret of the interior life.”
Another wonderful guide to the liturgical readings is Francis Fernandez, author of In Conversation with God. Fernandez’s writings also address the daily readings, but unlike Divine Intimacy, In Conversation with God is divided into separate volumes, so for those who are interested in beginning with one particular liturgical season such as Lent or Easter, his work might be the way to go. In Conversation with God is also rich in wisdom drawn from the daily readings and offers insights that are relatable and easy to understand. Carvajal has this to say on Monday, fifth week of Easter: “We mortify our imagination by putting aside useless thoughts; our memory, by not entertaining memories which don’t bring us closer to God; our will, by fulfilling our timetable of work and our duties, however small they may be.”
Finally, another guide to the liturgical readings is one for our day and time: MC Holbrook, author of the series, The Safe Haven: Scriptural Reflections for the Heart and Home. Like Fernandez, Holbrook’s reflections are separated into volumes; so far, the Lent and Easter editions have been published, with Advent/Christmas scheduled to be released this summer, and the rest of the liturgical year to follow. Though both of her volumes have received the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, Holbrook does not write as a theologian, but rather, as an ordinary Catholic. Her writings are relatable, easy to read, and chock full of Scriptural wisdom. She writes in the tradition of “Lectio Divina,” the practice of using one’s spiritual imagination to place oneself in the scene—a practice all Catholics are encouraged to follow. In her Easter volume, Holbrook writes:
It is Easter morning. A man, falsely accused of crimes he did not commit, punished by torture and crucifixion at the hands of the enraged and jealous authorities who had incited the crowds into a mob frenzy – as the distraught and despairing disciples hid, cowering in fear, disbelief, and unfathomable grief – has now disappeared from his tomb. How is this explained? How can this be? Did someone roll back the heavy stone in the thick of the night, stealing the body in an attempt to perpetuate a false narrative of a revolutionary new religion, one designed to distort and taint the precious faith and traditions that for centuries, the Jews held dear? And this, all under the watchful eyes of the Roman soldiers who guarded that tomb without pause, to ensure that this very conspire plot did not take place? Impossible. There is just one explanation.
Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.
After this heart-racing introduction, Holbrook goes on to draw out a deeper meaning for our lives today:
Very often the Lord does not infuse us with instant peace, hope, and resolution, because, well … he wants us to come to him. And not just come to him with a please, please, please; he longs for us to “hang out” for a while. That is, he yearns for us to hang on to the refuge of his cloak where we will find our shelter from the storm. That is the whole purpose of the melancholy God allows to enter into our lives, and it differs vastly from depression and despair. Depression and despair cause us to withdraw into ourselves and prevent us from seeing anything beyond our own pain. Melancholy keeps us searching for Jesus in a quietude of heart and mind that has nowhere else to go.
This Easter, let us search our hearts and find our risen Lord in his word! The fifty days of the season is a perfect time to pick up our Bibles and ask Jesus to speak wisdom and peace into our lives, as He has into so many others’ throughout Church history. Let us begin with the assistance of an experienced guide—such as Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, Francis Fernandez, or MC Holbrook—and start meeting with the risen Lord in His word. As our friendship with Jesus deepens, may we be encouraged to pray with the Scriptures in our own way for the rest of Easter and for the rest of our lives.
Author’s Note: This article references the following scriptural meditations: Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen; In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez; and The Safe Haven: Scriptural Reflections for the Heart and Home: The Liturgical Season of Easter by MC Holbrook.
