Category: Christ

Stepping into obedience.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 16/04/2026

OBEDIENCE

Photo by Andreea Pop on unsplash.com

Obedience is one of the foundation stones of Christian life. There is never a time when it is not relevant. We are always called to listen and respond to the word God speaks to our hearts.

This is true in every aspect of our lives yet, I’m a little surprised to find myself writing about it in Eastertide. Central as it is it’s we are more likely to connect it to Lent or Advent than to Eastertide.

It’s possible that we mistakenly connect Eastertide with more positive ideas. Joy, awe, praise, thankfulness more readily come to mind in this season. None of these are easy, but, on a surface level at least, they feel a little more comfortable than obedience.

Yet, in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Peter puts obedience at the heart of the Easter message. When he is challenged by the Sanhedrin about why he has disobeyed them he replies:

“Obedience to God comes before obedience to humans…”

His words are an inspiration and a challenge. Obedience is hard work, though it doesn’t require that we risk our lives as those first disciples did. It will challenge us to put ourselves aside in real and costly ways. It requires a constant attentiveness to God’s word and to the needs of our times. It constantly calls us to discern where we hear the voice of God and to act on it regardless of personal preferences.

Where is the risen Christ calling you to take obedience seriously this Eastertide?

Tags #ActsOfTheApostles, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #Christlike, #eastertide, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #listen, #love, #newlife, #Obedience, #StPeter, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Into the light

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 15/04/2026

Photo Barnabas Hertelendy on unsplash.com

LIGHT

Today’s word is LIGHT. Our times seem to be growing increasingly dark. In every direction it seems that life is getting harder. The cost of living crisis leaves people struggling to feed their families.

The disruption and suffering of war affects more and more people. The world order that we thought was stable & secure appears to be crumbling before our eyes, leaving life feeling unsettled and vulnerable.

In such times it’s hard to see how any light could penetrate the gloom. As the struggles of daily life get harder we can easily forget the light Christ brings us.

We can even be scared of what it might expose in our lives and relationships. Today’s gospel, part of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, speaks to this dilemma.

Like us, Nicodemus lived in precarious times. A wealthy man, walked a thin line between the Roman occupying forces and commitment to his own people and faith. Jesus challenges him to step away from the darkness into the light of God’s love:

“Those who live by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what they do is done in God.”

We too need and desire this love. We know that this is the light that will lead us through the darkness of our times to the new life offered by the risen Christ. It’s a light that will expose our darknesses. It’s also the light that will heal our wounds and allow us to grow and flourish in the presence of the light of the risen Christ.

Where is Christ calling you to come out into the light of his love this Eastertide?

Tags #Benedictine, #challenge, #eastertide, #Eastertide2026, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #LightOfChrist, #love, #newlife, #Nicodemas, #resurrection, #RisenChrist, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture

United Heart and Soul.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 14/04/2026

Photo by Robert Bye on unsplash.com

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY is at the heart of the gospel, and of what it is to be human. We are created to be in relationship with one another, with creation and with God. We can live individualistic and isolated lives, but we thrive best when we live in relationship with others.

It’s hardly surprising then that the resurrection calls Jesus’s followers together after they were scattered. It’s from this regrouping that the early church is born. Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the ideal at the heart of this new community:

“The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for their own use anything that they had, as everything they owned was held in common.”

This ideal still lies at the heart of the Church. It underpins the life of our parishes, and is at the heart our concern for the excluded and the marginalised. It’s was the basis of the life lived by the desert Fathers and Mothers.

It was taken up by the early monastic communities and is one of the main foundations of Benedictine life today. As a Benedictine it’s a principle that’s close to my heart.

Yet, however much we value the principle we often fall short of the ideal. St Benedict gives us a very clear idea of why that is:

“They must compete with one another in obedience. They should not pursue what they judge advantageous for themselves, but rather what benefits others. They must show selfless love to the community.”

Living in community is hard work. It demands that we put love at the heart of our lives in very real and concrete ways every day. It calls us to accept people as they are and to put their needs before our own regardless of whether we agree with them or like them.

Where is the risen Christ calling you to build community this Eastertide?

Tags #ActsOfTheApostles, #Believers, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Church, #community, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #MonasticLife, #newlife, #RuleOfStBenedict, #service, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

Called to Action

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 13/04/2026

Photo by Belinda Fewings on unsplash.com

ACTION

ACTION is at the heart of Eastertide. It starts with the women stepping out in the dark to anoint the body of Jesus and carries on to the proclamation of the Good News at Pentecost.

The message is clear Eastertide is a dynamic time, full new discoveries and developments. That can give it a real buzz. It can seem attractive and exciting, with the potential to change the world.

Yet, living in busy, frenetic times likes ours, I’m aware that “action” can be double edged. We know all to well that it can lead to a restless busyiness than can leave us feeling rootless and unfocussed. That is not the “action” that the resurrection calls us to embrace.

The “action” that Eastertide calls us to embrace is grounded in the recognition of the risen Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This action has an inner and outer aspect. The disciples’ actions grew from a whole range of experiences.

They’ve faced the failure of having run away, having cowered in locked rooms, doubted one another and even their own experience. Having faced this mixed bag of experiences Peter and John are able to return to the community from prison. Then having prayed together they are able to see how to act:

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.”

Our world desperately needs us to take action that will bring the light of the risen Christ to the people and situations we encounter. It’s action that needs to be grounded in, but not stop with, prayer.

What action is the risen Christ calling you to this Eastertide?

Tags #Action, #ActsOfTheApostles, #Benedictine, #challenge, #eastertide, #Eastertide2026, #GoodNews, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #RisenChrist, #trust, #Vocabulary

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture

An Eastertide Vocabulary.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 13/04/2026
Sticky post

Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on unsplash.com

One of the most helpful books I’ve read is “Amazing Grace, a vocabulary of faith.” By Kathleen Norris. She describes it as “an exploration and record of some of the words in the Christian lexicon that most trouble and attract me.”

The book reminded me of an important Benedictine principle, that words matter. They shape us, form us, challenge us and help us grow.

Last year I made a Lent lexicon. This year I’m aiming to make an Eastertide one. I’ve chosen words that attract and sometimes scare me. They also both shape and challenge my experience of Eastertide.

I’m including words that are particularly connected to Eastertide, and words that, though they’re connected to other seasons might have a different resonance in this Eastertide.

Tags #Benedictine, #BenedictineSpirituality, #challenge, #eastertide, #Eastertide2026, #EastertideLexicon, #gospel, #Grace, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #resurrection, #trust, #Vocabulary

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture

Believe and Doubt

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 12/04/2026

Photo by sayrmund (aka Oleg Cloes) on unsplash.com

All week we’ve seen the risen Christ appear to the disciples in slightly different way. Each appearance is tailored in some way to touch the heart of a particular disciple, and this gives them their deeply personal and intimate quality. Today’s appearance to Thomas follows the same pattern.

He comes to his encounter with the risen Christ after what I imagine was a hard week. There’s nothing worse than being the one person in a group who missed a significant event.

It must have left Thomas feeling isolated and on the fringes. His directness and honesty prevent him from taking their account on trust. He knows himself well enough to know that he needs to see this for himself, saying to the disciples:

“Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.”

I’m touched by how open and vulnerable Thomas is prepared to be about this need. Jesus’ response when he appears to Thomas is focussed on giving Thomas what he needs.

He doesn’t judge or criticise, instead he invites Thomas to reach out and touch him in exactly the way Thomas said he needed:

“Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer, but believe.”

Jesus’ acceptance of Thomas with all his doubts and uncertainties leads him to the light of truth, freeing him to make his profession of faith, acknowledging Jesus as the Christ:

“My Lord and my God!”

What would help you to recognise the presence of the risen Christ in your life today?

Tags #Belief, #Benedictine, #challenge, #Disciples, #doubts, #eastertide, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #resurrection, #RisenChrist, #Thomas, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Good News for dark times

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 11/04/2026

Image by Ulrike Mai from pixabay.com

Mark’s account of the resurrection is quite stark; it’s always left me feeling uneasy. There’s little joy of celebration in it, rather it seems full of doubt and recrimination.

With very few details he describes Jesus’ appearance first to Mary Magdalene who rushed to tell the disciples only to be disbelieved. Later, the disciples who encountered Jesus on their way to Emmaus bring the same news and are also met with incredulity.

The response is understandable, these first disciples don’t have our gift of hindsight or two thousand years of belief and theology to fall back on. Even with all Jesus told them before his death, the idea of resurrection would have seemed completely incredible.

When Jesus does appear to to eleven he berated them for their incredulity and then immediately sends them out to proclaim the good news to the world, saying to them:

“Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation.”

Mark’s account challenges us to look honestly at the doubts we harbour about resurrection. He compels us to look at those dark corners of our lives and our world that feel beyond redemption, those places that we suspect new life will never reach, never transform.

He calls us to allow the light of the risen Christ to shine on those dark corners, offering the possibility of new life. Even in the presence of those dark corners of doubt he challenges us to proclaim the Good News to the world in whatever way we can.

How is the risen Christ challenging you to share the Good News of resurrection today?

Tags #Benedictine, #challenge, #Disciples, #eastertide, #Emmaus, #GoodNews, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #light, #love, #newlife, #proclaim, #resurrection, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

An invitation

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 10/04/2026

Photo by frogses production on unsplash.com

There’s a lot to ponder on in today’s gospel. Peter’s decision to go fishing, returning to the safe and familiar in times that are disturbing and unsettling. Or the lack of a catch as they fish through the night.

Or Jesus’ calling to them from the shore, telling them to try another direction, and the amazing catch that results from that. The dawning recognition of the who the stranger on the shore is. Or Peter’s impulsive dive into the sea in his eagerness to get to Jesus.

Yet every year the image that most draws me is of Jesus preparing breakfast for them while they are fishing. I imagine him gathering driftwood and lighting the fire, laying out the bread and preparing the fish, and then calling out his invitation to the cold, tired disciples:

“Come and have breakfast…”

These simple, ordinary actions are the life affirming, life giving acts of love of Christ, the servant King. They ground me in the messy and material reality of human life, the only place where we can encounter the risen Christ. They are an invitation to love and new life.

In a world full of injustice and misery the image of the servant King has new power and a deeper resonance. We are called to imitate the simple and straightforward service of the risen Christ, to help those around us with acts that can lighten burdens, bring hope and open hearts and minds.

What is the Risen Christ inviting you to this Eastertide?

Tags #Benedictine, #challenge, #Disciples, #eastertide, #gospel, #Hope, #Jesus, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #Peter, #resurrection, #RisenChrist, #service, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

The gift of peace

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 09/04/2026

Image by Tapani Hellman from pixabay.com

Listening to today’s gospel I’m struck by the alarm and fright that the disciples feel when the risen Christ appears among them I sympathise with their feelings.

Unlike us, they don’t have the experience of hindsight, tradition and faith telling them that the resurrection is already a reality. I’m touched by Jesus’ response to their reactions. His first greeting to them is:

“Peace be with you.”

From that moment, for the rest of his time with them his concern is to calm and reassure them, explaining how the Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets refer to him and opening their hearts to understand his teaching.

There’s much in life today that can leave us fearful. The wars that are threatening our world order, the growing uncertainty in areas that we thought were certain can all engender fear even before we begin to think about more personal situations.

Our fear can leave us feeling just as locked in as the disciples were in those first few days after the resurrection. We think of Eastertide as a time of rejoicing, that can leave us feeling guilty if our response is less than joyful.

The Easter Gospels remind us that Jesus doesn’t criticise his disciples for their fearful response to his appearance. Instead he calms their fears, reassures them and sets them free to embrace the new life of resurrection. Whatever we face he offers us that same reassurance and freedom.

Where do you need the risen Christ to reassure you and calm your fears this Eastertide?

Tags #Benedictine, #challenge, #Christ, #easter, #EasterOctave, #EasterThursday, #eastertide, #Gift, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #RisenChrist, #trust

Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Eucharist Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Resurrection Scripture

With hearts aflame.

Post author By Sr Judith
Post date 08/04/2026

BACKGROUND READING LUKE 24: 13-35

Mary is the wife of Cleopas. A follower of Jesus, she witnessed his death. After the crucifixion, she sets out with her husband to return to Emmaus. They feel so heartbroken and hopeless that they can barely drag themselves along the road.

Before they felt they’d heard the other women’s story of the empty tomb. Initially it rekindled Mary’s hope, but it died again when they saw nothing had changed in the world around them.

As they walk along, Mary reflects on how her expectations of Jesus turned out to be so different to what happened. As she argues with Clopas about all that has happened a stranger joins them and asks what they are talking about.

They pour their hearts out to him, sharing their pain and disappointment. His response begins to heal their hearts, allowing hope to be rekindled:

“He told my story – all my hopes and my dreams – in the words of scripture. My heart leapt and burnt within me.”

As they approach their village and the stranger makes to leave them, Mary realises that she wants him to stay:

“All of a sudden, I couldn’t bear the thought that this stranger might leave us. It seemed that Cleopas felt the same, and so we begged and cajoled, pleaded and persuaded him to eat with him.”

When he takes the bread and blesses it, as he’d done day in day out on their travels, she recognises him and her world is transformed.

The sadness and hopelessness vanish. Their tiredness disappears, and they practically fly back to Jerusalem to share this great news with the others.

However hopeless life might feel the risen Christ walks alongside us. He is always looking for an opening to help us discover our own story in the scriptures.

Where are you aware of the risen Christ walking alongside you this Eastertide?

You can listen to Mary’s story here:

Tags #Benedictine, #challenge, #EasterOctave, #EasterWednesday, #Emmaus, #Eucharist, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #newlife, #resurrection, #RisenChrist, #Scripture, #trust