Roll Away Your Stone

March 2016 Volunteers Reflection
Scripture Reading
John 20
Additional Reading
I worked with a number of priests in my previous job at Unbound. They were ian interesting collection of men who had varied backgrounds and ways of living out their vocation as priests. Father Sam Lupico was one of the more unusual priests I worked with at Unbound. He was a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and he intentionally lived in one of Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods that was plagued by poverty, violence and drug abuse. He had great stories to tell because of the characters he would meet in his everyday life. However, it was his preaching style that made him more unusual. His preaching style was more commonly associated with Baptist or African-American churches. It was a jarring for white dominated suburban Catholic parishes to have him preach! One of the times I heard Father Sam preach he said “we are an Easter people living in a Good Friday world.”
Our world does have a lot of Good Fridays. There is division in our families and communities. Racism continues to be the original sin in our country that we just can’t overcome. Poverty maintains a stranglehold on people in cities, small towns and communities around the world. Violence holds an intractable place in our society. Some politicians advocate for building walls around us and for using torture and war to solve our problems. People find happiness in the deaths of others.
Are we really Easter people? If we are an Easter people we will look at our patients with the hope they will be healed. We will see the promise and potential of our students.002-jesus-alive We should know there are better ways to solve global problems than with war. We know and work to reconcile the divisions in our families and our communities. We can overcome our fears; fears of immigrants, fear of people different from ourselves, fear of being honest about our history. As Easter people we resist the temptation to lock ourselves in an upper room and resist calls to wall people out.
Father Sam’s point was that even though there is a lot of hopelessness and death around us it is not the end of the story. As a people who believe Jesus rolled away a stone and came out of the tomb lets us see the hopelessness and death differently. We believe that life overcomes death. We believe love will win out over violence. We believe hopelessness should be supplanted with hope. We believe the intractable divisions of our day and of the future can be reconciled through Jesus’ blood. We believe the world is redeemed by God’s sacrificial love. We believe God’s kingdom can be built here on earth as it is in heaven. We believe life can really spring out of the earth. We believe that when we go to the tombs in our lives they will be empty. We believe we can be better followers of Christ.

Tim Deveney is director of Precious Blood Volunteers. To learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers visit our website preciousbloodvolunteers.org

Easter Reflections: March 31, 2016 Easter Thursday

While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’
(Luke 24:41-42)
Breaking bread, baking fish. Luke’s foodophile Jesus pops up again. I’m on board with Luke here – especially as a Precious Blood candidate who connects eating and preparing food to hospitality. The peaks of experiences with folks in my life haven’t always been around food, but they’ve been with folks I’d eaten with too many times to count. Troubled hearts soul-full conversations are more easily entered into with some food around a table. A béchamel sauce doesn’t lessen the reality of suffering in our lives, but there is a radical equality around the table and an ability to subvert our cultural values which impede the Gospel in our world. How are we responding to Jesus at the tables of our lives, feeding and finding nourishment?
Mr. James Smith, CPPS (Cincinnati)
This reflection comes from the Easter Reflections, prepared by the Precious Blood Family of communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ (US Region)
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Atlantic, Cincinnati & Kansas City Provinces)
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, MO)
Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, OH)
Sisters of Saint Mary of Oregon
Easter Reflections is available for printing here.

Easter Reflections: March 30, 2016 Easter Wednesday

‘In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened… (Acts 3: 6-8)
Jesus has compassion for his people and provides healing. Through the action of the apostle Peter, Jesus cures the man with crippled feet and ankles which prevented him from walking.   The darkened, discouraged minds of the two disciples who felt betrayed by the death of Jesus are healed. They were giving up hope and now returning to their former way of life. However, with the presence of Jesus and his powerful word, they were able to face life with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.
Do I believe that Jesus can take my crippled moments and transform them? Can I slough off discouragement and frustration, when I realize that Jesus is always present with me? Will I rely on the mercy of Jesus and Precious Blood Spirituality to assist me in my walk through life? Merciful Jesus, grant me healing.
-Sr. Martha Bertke, CPPS (Dayton)
This reflection comes from the Easter Reflections, prepared by the Precious Blood Family of communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ (US Region)
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Atlantic, Cincinnati & Kansas City Provinces)
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, MO)
Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, OH)
Sisters of Saint Mary of Oregon
Easter Reflections is available for printing here.

Easter Reflections: March 29, 2016 Easter Tuesday

Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping…they have taken my Lord away…Jesus said, “Mary”. She knew him then…   (John 20:11-17)
Mary stood outside the tomb – afraid, upset, and sad because she had expected so much from Jesus. Now He was gone. She had just witnessed His greatest love but did not know it led to the Resurrection.
What was she to do? We give our lives to God. Am I sometimes blind to God’s presence in my life, like Mary was?
He didn’t leave Mary standing by the tomb. He called her by name to go and announce His Resurrection. Like Mary He calls me. He gives me the help I need to love and forgive. He taught me love and mercy by calling me – giving me Himself in the Eucharist, the Mass, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do I recognize Him in my daily life?
-Sr. Rita Watkins, SSMO
This reflection comes from the Easter Reflections, prepared by the Precious Blood Family of communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ (US Region)
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Atlantic, Cincinnati & Kansas City Provinces)
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, MO)
Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, OH)
Sisters of Saint Mary of Oregon
Easter Reflections is available for printing here.

Easter Reflections: March 28, 2016 Easter Monday

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

Resurrection_of_Christ_and_Women_at_the_Tomb_by_Fra_Angelico_(San_Marco_cell_8)

www.wga.hu, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7363033


Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news. . . (Matt 28:8)
Pope Francis challenges us during the Year of Mercy, “… to be vigilant and to reawaken in ourselves the capacity to see what is essential.” In today’s Gospel, Matthew contrasts the way two groups used their capacity to see what is essential. The guards experienced Jesus’ resurrection, were fearful and chose to take a bribe and hide, rather than announce, their experience. The two Marys, on the other hand, experienced Jesus’ resurrection, were fearful and chose to announce their experience. In doing so, the two Marys met and embraced Jesus and heard his message to let go of fear and proclaim the reality of God’s tender mercy with joy.
How will you use your capacity to see what is essential today?
-Srs. Susan Borgel, CPPS and Charlene Grieshaber, CPPS (O’Fallon)
This reflection comes from the Easter Reflections, prepared by the Precious Blood Family of communities:
Adorers of the Blood of Christ (US Region)
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Atlantic, Cincinnati & Kansas City Provinces)
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (O’Fallon, MO)
Sisters of the Precious Blood (Dayton, OH)
Sisters of Saint Mary of Oregon
Easter Reflections is available for printing here.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]