Monday in the Second Week of Easter

We pray the start of Monday in the second week of Easter and offer our day to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We then hear an ancient Easter homily that calls us to live the true Passover of Christ with real conversion and joy.
• Opening prayers and the Morning Offering for the day’s work, joys, and sufferings
• The true Passover fulfilled in Christ rather than symbols and images
• The destroying angel passing over as a sign of Christ raising us to eternal life
• Easter as the beginning of a new life that never ends
• Baptism as regenerating waters that unite us to Christ’s death and resurrection
• A call to die to sin and purge the old leaven of corruption
• Prayers for transformation into the image of our heavenly Maker
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Ancient Homily On The True Passover

Living The New Life In Christ

Closing Prayer And Transformation

Final Devotions And Invitation To Join

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Monday, in the second week of Easter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From an ancient Easter homily by Pseudo Chrysostom. The Passover we celebrate brings salvation to the whole human race, beginning with the first man, who, together with all the others, is saved and given life. In an imperfect and transitory way, the types and images of the past prefigured the perfect and eternal reality which has now been revealed. The presence of what is represented makes the symbol obsolete. When the king appears in person, no one pays reverence to his statue. How far the symbol falls short of the reality is seen from the fact that the symbolic Passover celebrated the brief life of the firstborn of the Jews, whereas the real Passover celebrates the eternal life of all mankind. It is a small gain to escape death for a short time, only to die soon afterwards. It is a very different thing to escape death altogether, as we do through the sacrifice of Christ, our Passover. Correctly understood, its very name shows why this is our greatest feast. It is called the Passover, because when he was striking down the firstborn, the destroying angel passed over the houses of the Hebrews. But it is even more true to say that he passes over us, for he does so once and for all when we are raised up by Christ to eternal life. If we think only of the true Passover and ask why it is that the time of the Passover and the salvation of the firstborn is taken to be the beginning of the year, the answer must surely be that the sacrifice of the true Passover is for us the beginning of eternal life, because it revolves in cycles and never comes to an end. The year is a symbol of eternity. Christ, the sacrifice that was offered up for us, is the Father of the world to come. He puts an end to our former life, and through the regenerating waters of baptism, in which we imitate his death and resurrection, he gives us the beginning of a new life. The knowledge that Christ is the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed for us should make us regard the moment of his immolation as the beginning of our own lives. As far as we are concerned, Christ's immolation on our behalf takes place when we have become aware of this grace and understand the life conferred on us by this sacrifice. Having once understood it, we should enter upon this new life with all eagerness and never return to the old one, which is now at an end. As Scripture says, we have died to sin. How then can we continue to live in it? Purge out the old leaven of corruption, then you will be bred of a new baking. Christ has become our paschal sacrifice. Let us then keep festival with joy in the Lord. He was put to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification. Let us then keep festival with joy in the Lord. Grant we pray, Almighty God, that we who have been renewed by paschal remedies, transcending the likeness of our earthly parentage, may be transformed in the image of our heavenly Maker, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give Him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cruceros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cruceros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cruceros can be found at theChrusteros.org.