Easter Octave 2021 - Tuesday - He gave them the water of wisdom to drink

During Easter Week, the Church continues to hold aloft in our prayers the newly initiated—those who became one with the Lord through the Easter Sacraments, and one with us in the communion of grace. In the early church, it was customary for the newly initiated to attend daily mass throughout the Easter Octave and continue to don their white baptismal garments in witness to the new life they received in Christ. Many of the scripture readings and liturgical prayers are partly directed to them.

Consider the entrance antiphon for this Easter Tuesday Mass: “He gave them the water of wisdom to drink: it will be made strong in them and will not be moved; it will raise them up for ever, alleluia.” On several occasions Jesus stated that he was the fountain of living water for all who believed in Him and He invited souls to draw near this spring. “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth in Me…within him shall flow rivers of living water.” The newly initiated are invited today to consider how, in the Sacraments, they now have access to that living water, the living fountain now wells up within them, as it does all Christians in a state of grace.

St. John Chrysostom teaches: “When the grace of the Holy Spirit enters a soul and is established there, it gushes forth more powerfully than any other spring; it neither ceases, dries up, nor is exhausted. And the Savior, to signify this inexhaustible gift of grace, calls it a spring and a torrent.” The water of grace propels a soul into God and brings that sweet intimacy and union desired by all men.

And yet for that fountain to remain active and forceful, the soul must apply itself to daily prayer, mortification, and good works. It must dispose itself and live out the wisdom of God. Again as Sirach says, “he gave them the water of wisdom to drink”. In order for wisdom to become strong, we must order our lives according to the wisdom of God. God’s priorities must become our priorities; what God loves, we must love, and despising whatever keeps us from this.

Notice in the Gospel today how Mary Magdalene’s tears are changed from sorrow to joy as she begins to understand that Jesus Christ is truly alive. So too with us, as we grow in wisdom and faith, as we allow the grace of the sacraments to grow within us, sorrow over earthly realities is transformed into joy over heavenly ones.

This Easter Season, may the grace of the sacraments continue to be unleashed in our lives: the wisdom that comes from turning away from the world and turning to the Risen Christ in baptism, the strength and fortitude for resisting temptation and spreading the Gospel that comes from confirmation, and the new life that comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.