Easter Readings
The time of Lent is precious, a time to slow down, restrain ourselves, and prepare our hearts for Good Friday and the remembrance of Jesus' death. It is a time to return to the desert where Jesus spent forty trying days readying for his ministry. He allowed himself to be tested, and if we are serious about following him, we will do the same. We hope these stories and readings will help your time of preparation, and lead you to the joy of springtime, of Easter morning and Christ's victory.
Lent and Easter Readings
An Easter Reading: Turning
A meditation on repentance from Peter's denial of Christ. "...we feel an almost unconscious sympathy with Peter, as if his story has happened in our own lives. And we know, as we follow the dreary stages of his fall, these same well-worn steps have been traced ever since then by every human foot."
Roll the Stone Away
A young pastor tries to counsel a college student who is trapped by guilt and fear. "It was evident that despite her intelligence and pretty smile, Christine was in some kind of prison and had come to tell me about it. But there she sat, motionless..."
The Challenge of Easter Week
We don’t always see Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection as a life-and-death question for each one of us. But it is. Jesus suffering and death on the cross, followed by his renewal of life and hope for his followers, poses the real question of our own life and death to each one of us. The fundamental question is, “Which side are you on, the side of death and destruction or the side of life and creation?”
The Everlasting Mercy
An Easter Reading of excerpts from The Final Verses by John Masefield. "O wet red swathe of earth laid bare, O truth, O strength, O gleaming share, O patient eyes that watch the goal, O ploughman of the sinner’s soul..."
Merchandising Truth
An Easter reading from a 13th century mystic. "We read in the Gospel how Holy Week began with Jesus entering the temple and driving out all those that bought and sold. ...What does this have to say to us? The temple God wants to be master of is the human soul, which he created and fashioned..."
Resurrection: Life After Death
Across all cultures, men and women have found consolation and courage in the belief that death is not the end, but that it is followed by another, better life to come. How this next life will come about and what form it will take are questions that have occupied the human race down the centuries. Also in Spanish
Reflections for Lent
During his three years as archbishop of San Salvador, Óscar Romero became known as a fearless defender of the poor and suffering. His work on behalf of the oppressed earned him the admiration and love of the peasants he served and, finally, an assassin's bullet. Also in Spanish
This article is composed of excerpts from his homilies compiled in "The Violence of Love," a free ebook.
Living Lent
When did the collision between our appetites and the needs of our souls happen? Was there a heart attack? Did we get laid off from work, one of the thousands certified as extraneous? Did a beloved child become a bored stranger, a marriage fall silent and cold? Or, by some exquisite working of God's grace, did we just find the courage to look the truth in the eye and, for once, not blink?
Easter Questions
The Jesus who is betrayed, suffers, dies, and rises again offers little in the way of easy answers. In terms of questions, however, he has plenty. Questions he may well still be asking us.
Let Your Heart Be Moved: an Easter Reading
When we start looking to this Father for answers, instead of relying on our own strength, the Easter message - the promise of resurrection-will become alive for each one of us.
From Genocide to Easter
How can such suffering ever be reconciled? Can good intentions or a UN intervention really help? A few weeks of reflection and soul-searching confirm that the Easter story – the story of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection – can point us to the answer.
The Life of Charles Sinay
Charles Sinay died just twelve hours before Easter in a time of waiting, between the pain of Good Friday and the joy of the Resurrection – a fitting passage for a man who spent his entire life waiting, searching, and hungering for a way to live out his love for Christ more fully.
Easter Stories for Family Reading
An Easter Story: The Three Trees
A short story for Easter reading about three trees and how they were used by God. Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world..."
The Legend of Christopherus
Opherus was simply too strong. One day his father sent him to the fields to plough. Since the horses were too slow for Opherus, he set them loose and pushed the plough through the field himself at great speed. After a few hours, the plough fell to pieces. So he set out to find a stronger master to serve...
The Legend of Heliopher
An Easter Story of the search for light and life suitable for family reading this Easter: "Continuous black darkness had strangled all the light in their hearts. They could not love one another any more. They even hated and murdered one another in their rage. Yet they were forced to remain together, for it was impossible for any single man to defend himself against the attacks of the wild beasts. They had lost all hope of ever finding their way out of the forest...."