He appeared first to Mary Magdalene

Saturday within the Octave of Easter

The Scripture Readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/042217.cfm.

In this Resurrection gospel of Christ first appearing to Mary Magdalene we can learn a lot about ourselves and how we are to approach our encounter with Christ.

Mary was met with disbelieve when she went to the disciples with the news of Christ being alive. After he appeared to Mary, he appeared to two others, who in turn went to the disciples.  They, too, were met with disbelief. It wasn't until the disciples encountered the risen Christ that they came to believe that Christ has indeed risen from the dead.

Then Christ gave them the command to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) We, too, are given the command to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. But do we follow out this command of Jesus? We encounter the Risen Jesus every time we go to Church and receive him in the Eucharist. But then we leave him at the doors of the church to wait for us to return to Eucharist the following Sunday.

We are called to go into the world where we live to share the good news that Christ has indeed risen from the dead and we are called to live a life of love of God and love of neighbor.

All too often, though, when we get home from Church on Sunday, we get into the regular routine of our lives and problems. Instead of making Christ part of our family life, He's left out of it.

Then on Monday morning, when we return to work, do we share the positive experience we had at Church, or do we talk about the baseball or football game that occurred on Sunday afternoon? We are quick to idolize those sports hero that we see in those sports, but yet we ignore the One that should be most important in our lives: Jesus Christ!

Too often we are afraid of being criticized for our faith in Christ. We should be proud to acknowledge that Christ is the center of our lives and how we live. We are called to live a life of love towards God and those around us. This is how we are to proclaim the Gospel to every Creature!

When you next attend Mass and receive Him in Holy Communion, ask Him for the strength to share your faith in Him with others. This way this world will be a little bit better by the loving example of who you are as you share the news that Christ has indeed risen from the dead.