Tuesday of the First Week of Easter
(Acts 2:36-41; John 20:11-18)
One might think that with the passage of time, youth would
have greater self-understanding and peace. Reports, however, are to the
contrary. Youth today live in
anxiety. Perhaps a cursory review of our
world may reveal why. The world today
glorifies the individual but leaves behind the family. Traditionally, it was the family that taught
values; today, they are often conveyed in schools and broadcasted through the
media. What is more, these values are
often mistaken. Certainly the license to
have sex before marriage is an aberration of virtue. Even more troublesome, the view of
institutions as essentially corrupt has left many wandering in a storm without
shelter. People feel like Mary Magdalene
in today’s gospel.
Mary’s world has been turned upside down with the news the
Jesus’ body is not where it was laid after his death. She jumps to the conclusion that it was a
conspiracy: “’…I do not know where they laid him.’” She is so distraught that
she cannot identify Jesus when looking at him.
Then Jesus calls her by name. Her
world stops spinning as she focuses on her beloved. She wants to hold him forever – not in a
sexual way but in adoration.
We should hear the Lord calling each of us by name. He comes to us in the sacraments and through
meditation on the gospels. He tells us
not to worry for he, who has conquered sin and death, loves us. Despite the challenges of contemporary times,
we will be all right if we follow him.
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