Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

A few days ago, I thought of a good way to meditate on the Lord’s Resurrection.  I decided it would be fun to read the different gospel accounts of the appearances of the Risen Christ with the goal of figuring out which of those appearances is my favorite.  In order to choose my favorite, I would have to read about all of them and consider what it was that I liked about each one. 

Just in case you would like to try this with me, here are the chapters of the gospels that you would need to read: Matthew, chapter 28; Mark, chapter 16; Luke, chapter 24; and John, chapters 20 and 21.  Of course, there are some duplicates in there; you know, appearances that are described by more than one gospel.  That’s okay, because the different evangelists often give different details about the same event.  I also realize that there’s another appearance that is not in the gospels: the one mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians,15:6.  I don’t think he gives enough detail for it to become your favorite appearance, but feel free to include it in your meditation if you want to.

The cool thing about this meditation is that the appearances of the Risen Lord contain some interesting features.  Jesus appears on a mountain, in a garden, on the seashore, in a locked room, and on a street.  He invites his apostles to breakfast, and he is mistaken for a gardener.  Four times he says, “Peace be with you.”  And, of course, there are more substantial and thought-provoking details in the Scriptural accounts.  I think you would enjoy reading them; I know I have.

Which one is my favorite, and why?  I’ll be honest with you; I’ve narrowed down my choices, but I haven’t been able to single out one of them as my favorite.  I’ve got to meditate some more.  (Meditation is the important thing about this entire exercise in the first place.)

On a different topic, I’d like to thank those of you who participated in our special Mass for Pope Francis last Monday.  We had a good turnout, and I think everyone will agree that it was a good opportunity for us to pray for the Pope as a community, to ponder our memories of him and his wonderful legacy, and to thank God for giving us such an extraordinary shepherd for the last 12 years.  How blessed we are to have lived during his papacy!

And now, this Wednesday a new Conclave will begin.  Let’s pray for the Cardinal electors, and let’s pray for our next Pope.  God already knows who he is, and soon we will know as well.  He deserves our prayers!

Blessings,

Fr. Philip