COLLECT SERIES
The Mass: Collect Series Icon.
COLLECT
The Collect for 3rd Sunday of Eastertide reads as
follows:
May Your people exult for ever, O God in renewed
youthfulness of spirit,
So that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our
adoption,
We may look forward in confident hope to the
rejoicing of the day of Resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,
One, God, for ever and ever.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following
reflection questions emerged:
1.How will I exult in renewed youthfulness of spirit this coming week?
2. What does it mean to me to exult and praise God?
3. How often each day do I praise and exult God in my prayers and
throughout the day?
4.What are the areas of my life that needs to be renewed in youthfulness
of spirit?
5.What does it mean me to be an adopted son/daughter of God?
6.Why is the resurrection of Jesus central to my Catholic faith?
7.When I experience difficult seasons or times, how will I live in
confident hope this coming week?
GOSPEL REFLECTION
There are many aspects to the Gospel of
the Disciples on the way to Emmaus.
Some of these may be:
- The grief and downheartedness of these disciples and their expectations of Jesus.
- Importance of sharing grief/emotions with others who understand and listen.
- Importance of sharing our life with Jesus- every aspect not just the big things in our lives.
- The role of scripture in our lives- Scripture is God’s love letter to us. How often do we read it and understand it?
- What happens when scripture comes alive in us’ How often can we say’’ did our hearts not burn as He explained the scripture to us?’
- The importance of recognising Jesus as we listen and converse with Him in prayer and also, recognising Him in other people in the circumstances of our lives.
If we are to recognise Jesus, we need to spend time with
Him to converse, to listen, to share our lives, hopes,
disappointments and daily up and downs. We need also to spend time
to read the scripture- our hearts cant burn within us like the disciples on the
road to Emmaus if we do not spend time with Jesus in the scripture. He alone
can explain it to us in the best possible way for each of us individually. We
too can experience our hearts burning as Jesus speaks to us.
In this time of world uncertainty, we need to re-evaluate our lives on
all levels- the physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, social. We need to
take stock and change where necessary our habits, behaviours,
attitudes and mindset. We need to set appropriate goals too so that
each day we continue to live in hope in the light of the risen Lord.
Remember, regardless of the current world difficulties, the decision to
place Jesus no 1 in our lives is a choice- a choice we need to continue to do
every day. However, if we truly love Jesus, then we will want to
spend some time with Him every day, we will want to hear Him speak to us and we
will want to listen to Him.
On this third Sunday of Easter when we are reminded of the importance of
God’s word for us and recognising Jesus too who also resides in other people,
let us recommit ourselves to knowing, loving and serving God this coming week
in whatever way we can. Every task done however small offered to God
and done cheerfully can be a gift from us to God, can provide for us more
graces we need and ultimately shows our faith in action. We too can be like the
disciples from Emmaus, turning back to share the Good News with others of the
Risen Lord. We too can experience a watershed moment
if we are open to God and His
grace in our lives.
May our hearts burn within us as we recognise Him
this coming week.
Alleluia.
