Easter Monday

Jesus appears to the women and sends them off with these words:

"Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." (Mt 28:15)

Jesus is always telling us not to be afraid. He sends the women to be his messengers and calls his disciples, "brothers", even though they had left him and fled and even now are behind locked doors.

I am sure that Jesus spent the first Easter morning giving joy. He must have gone to His Mother first of all. Then He rewards the women who had gone to the tomb early that morning. Later, He will appear to the two disciples who have left Jerusalem feeling discouraged because they thought Jesus was dead and they had lost hope. He appears to Peter and that must have been a tender and forgiving Jesus embracing a humbled, contrite Peter. Finally, he appears to the disciples on Easter Sunday evening and gives them His peace and also gives us His peace by instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Now, we will continue to stay with Jesus as He encounters His friends and count on encountering Him in our lives this week as we ponder His words and actions.