Sunday, April 7th
Scripture
Ez 37: 12-14
Ps 130: 1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 7-8
Rom 8: 8-11
Jn 11: 1-45.
Reflection
I will open your graves and have you rise from them…. Christ is in you…. the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also…. I will put my spirit in you that you may live …. Even if he dies, he will live …. If you believe you will see the glory of God …. Untie her, and let her go.
This past summer I was delighted to find two monarch caterpillars, raise them on milkweed, and watch them morph into their chrysalises and eventually emerge as butterflies. What astounded me was the caterpillar’s metamorphosis, symbolic of our own letting go of self throughout life, into death, and finally emerging into new life.
From the egg stage, a caterpillar begins developing certain cells known as imaginal discs for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly. “I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”
In the chrysalis stage the caterpillar releases enzymes that dissolve all of its tissues except the imaginal discs. (“Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”)
Once a caterpillar has been reduced to the imaginal discs, these begin a rapid cell division required to form all the features of an adult butterfly. “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
Prayer
Spend some time in quiet reflection and let yourself “morph” from a caterpillar into an awesome butterfly. God has given you everything you need from the moment of conception to become the beautiful YOU. Hear Jesus say: “Untie her, and let her go.”
Personal Challenge
“Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”
Do you believe this?
Kit Kaiser, CSJ
Nazareth, MI
