Saturday, April 23, 2011
HOLY SATURDAY - A
HOLY SATURDAY - A
Readings for the Easter Vigil, which is an Easter Sunday Mass: Gn 1:1—
2:2 or 1:1, 26-31 / Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35, or Ps
33:4-5, 6- 7, 12-13, 20-22 / Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18 /
Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 / Ex 14:15—15:1 / Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 / Is
54:5-14 / Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13 / Is 55:1-11 / Is 12:2-3, 4,
5-6 / Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4 / Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 / Ez 36:16-28 / Ps 42:3,
5; 43:3, 4, or Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6, or Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19 /
Epistle: Rom 6:3-11 / Ps 118:1-2, 16, 17, 22-23 / Mt 28:1-10
GENESIS 1:1—2:2 OR 1:1, 26-31
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. God said, `Let us make
man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be
masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all
the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.'
God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he
created him, male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying
to them, `Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be
masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living
creatures that move on earth.' God also said, `Look, to you I give all
the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the sur face of the earth, and
all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food. And to
all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living
creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the
plants as their food.' And so it was. God saw all he had made, and
indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the six th
day.
ROMANS 6:3-11
You cannot have forgot ten that all of us, when we were baptized into
Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death. So by our baptism into his
death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead by the Father's glorious power, we too should begin living a new
life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we
shall be by a resurrection like his; realizing that our former self
was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should
be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin. Someone
who has died, of course, no longer has to answer for sin. But we
believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too.
We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die
again. Death has no power over him anymore. For by dying, he is dead
to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with
God. In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but
alive for God in Christ Jesus.
MATTHEW 28:1-10
After the sabbath, at the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb. Suddenly there
was a violent earthquake: an angel of the Lord descending from heaven,
came to the stone, rolled it from the entrance of the tomb, and sat on
it. His appearance was like lightning and his garment white as snow.
The guards trembled in fear and became like dead men when they saw the
angel. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that
you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is
risen as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him; then go at
once and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and is
going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. This is my
message for you." They left the tomb at once in holy fear, yet with
great joy, and they ran to tell the news to the disciples. Suddenly,
Jesus met them on the way and said, "Peace." The women approached him,
embraced his feet and worshiped him. But Jesus said to them, "Do not
be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to set out for Galilee; there they
will see me."
REFLECTION
The introduction of the Roman missal for Holy Saturday states that "on
Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his
suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the
mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night,
held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration
begin, with a spirit of joy that over flows into the following period
of fifty days."
The liturgy for the Easter Vigil unfolds from darkness to the
brightness of the resurrection of Jesus depicting the triumph of love
over sin and death.
Whereas the practice in the Jewish synagogues (as described by Henri
Daniel-Rops in the book Daily Life in Palestine at the Time of Christ)
was that "after the prayers came the essence of the service, the
reading of the law, the Hazzan took the holy scroll first from the ark
and then from its two wrappings, and offered it to the first of seven
readers. True reading was required, and it was forbidden to utter more
than one verse by hear t."
In our Catholic liturgy readings, we have seven readings recounting
God's intervention in our salvation history and then the Epistle
before the proclamation of the gospel. It is here that the Christian
tradition had recognized the coming of the Messiah, his revelations
and His saving act to bring us hope.
In our Gospel, after the scene at the tomb, the women who saw Jesus
alive were told: "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they
must leave for Galilee; they will see me there." What does Galilee
mean? It means that they were reminded of the beginnings of their
encounter with Jesus and how he touched them. Our liturgies help us to
remember our encounters as well where we will see Jesus. Lately, how
important are our own histories of encounters?
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Angeli
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Allen P.
- Leah Magcamit and Ginny Belardo
- Wendy
… for the personal intentions of:
- Josheil Dapo
- Edu and Andrea
- Dali Sotelo and her husband
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Catalina S. de Leon. Eternal
rest grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she
and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Melinda P. Yu
- Birthday: Linda Barola
- Wedding Anniversary: Errol & Tessie Perez
- Wedding Anniversary: Rommel & Betty Go
- Prayer Intention: Mauricio & Naty De Jesus & Family
- Prayer Intention: William Lim & Family
- In Memoriam (+): Manuel Borja
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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