The Fifth Sunday of Easter

We pray the Fifth Sunday of Easter with a morning offering and a powerful reading from Saint Maximus of Turin proclaiming Christ’s resurrection as the turning of the world toward life. We sit with the claim that the light of Christ cannot be overcome and hear a direct invitation to approach prayer and forgiveness without despair. 
• Opening prayers and a morning offering of the whole day in union with the Mass 
• Saint Maximus on Christ breaking hell’s gates and raising creation upward 
• Baptism and rebirth as the start of a new life that bears fruit 
• The light of Christ as an endless day that drives out sin’s darkness 
• An Easter call to rejoice and not withdraw from prayer because of guilt 
• Hope of pardon grounded in mercy shown even to the thief 
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

Sermon On The Resurrection’s Power

Prayer To Live The Paschal Mystery

Closing Prayers And Join The Cristeros

SPEAKER_00 0:02

The fifth Sunday 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 my 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 a sermon by Saint Maximus of Turin, Bishop. Christ is risen. He has burst open the gates of hell and let the dead go free. He has renewed the earth through the members of his church now born again in baptism, and has made it blossom afresh, with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth. Because of Christ's resurrection, the thief ascends to paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city, and the dead are restored to the company of the living. There is an upward movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something higher. We see hell restoring its victims to upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to heaven, and heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same movement, our Savior's passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights. Christ is risen, his rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to the sinners, and glory to the saints. And so David the Prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Easter festival. Rejoice and be glad, he cries, on this day which the Lord has made. The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night. Christ is this day, says the Apostle. Such is the meaning of his words night is almost over. Day is at hand. He tells us that night is almost over, not that it is about to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the coming of Christ's light puts Satan's darkness to flight, leaving no place for any shadow of sin. His everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past and checks the hidden growth of vice. The Son is that day to whom the day, which is the Father, communicates the mystery of his divinity. He is the day who says through the mouth of Solomon, I have caused an unfailing light to rise in heaven, and as in heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow the justice of Christ. The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with brilliant light. Clouds can never darken its skies. In the same way, the light of Christ is eternally glowing with luminous radiance, and can never be extinguished by the darkness of sin. This is why John the Evangelist says, The light shines in the darkness, the darkness has never been able to overpower it. And so, my brothers, each of us ought surely to rejoice on this holy day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness, withdraw from our common celebration, nor let any one be kept away from our public prayer by the burden of his guilt. Sinner he may indeed be, but he must not despair of pardon on this day which is so highly privileged. For if a thief could receive the grace of paradise, how could a Christian be refused forgiveness? The Lord in all his beauty has been raised above the stars, and his splendor shines forth among the clouds of heaven, where his name shall be praised forever. Alleluia. From the heights of heaven he goes forth, and to those heights he returns, where his name shall be praised forever. Alleluia. Almighty, ever living God, constantly accomplish the paschal mystery within us, that those you were pleased to make new in holy baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal, 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 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.