Find what you’re looking for
O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing,
I adore you, I love you and will a lively sorrow for my sins.
I offer you this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will.
Stefania Proietti is the mayor of Assisi, Italy. The following Easter letter is to the residents of Assisi, and she wanted to share it with us. In turn, we wanted to share her beautiful message of hope with you.
READ
JN 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,
The first followers of Jesus witness that he was risen; they had experienced him alive in their midst. Today our Easter Gospel is a story of living faith in which we are participants, and to which we are now witnesses.
Mary Magdalene is one of the main characters in the story of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.
The moment in which we lose connection with Jesus and with the Church, we are no longer ourselves and we do not have any understanding of who we will be. For Peter at that moment, the cock crows and his crowing becomes an echo of Jesus’s words during the Last Supper. Peter, now smitten and dejected, is brought back to self-awareness. The Lord, turning his head, looks at Peter. Once more it is the gaze of Jesus that conquers a person, that moves him to compassion.
“No mother should bear the death of her son.” I heard that sentiment expressed in my family as a teenager, when my favorite uncle died of cancer in his forties.
The Gospel says Jesus arrives at Gethsemane with his disciples but then distances himself a bit. This is a battle that Jesus needs to face by himself. He asks his companions to keep watch with him and to pray not to enter into temptation, but he needs to face this hour in solitude. The disciples do not hold up; they are not capable of keeping vigil and they fall asleep. But this sleep is certainly not a sign of weariness. So what kind of sleep is this? It is a way of escape. Sleep is the thing in life that most resembles death; it can be a way of escape.
Saint John Paul II in his life, his ministry as pope, and especially his dying, lived that mystery.
The Cenacle, the room on the second floor spoken of by the Gospel, is one of the most treasured and beautiful places connected to our faith. The current walls of this cross-shaped room are thus not exactly the walls of the room Jesus was in. However, we do know that the uninterrupted tradition of the Church has recognized this place in which Jesus was together with his disciples on the last night of his earthly life for what we call the Last Supper.
28 W. Liberty Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-241-5615
info@franciscanmedia.org
Customer Service:
cservice@franciscanmedia.org
Technical Questions:
support@franciscanmedia.org
Writer’s Guidelines
Privacy Policy
Post a Prayer Request
Webmaster Login