We have learned by bitter experience the sadness of sin; we have learned how evil and bitter a thing it is to have forsaken the Lord our God.

Now, rising from the tomb, Christ teaches the mercy of God. He spoke kindly to the sinful Samaritan woman, He protected the woman taken in sin, He received from the outcast Magdalen tokens of her veneration; yea, from the Cross He spoke words of hope to the penitent thief, and prayed therefrom for every wandering prodigal: "Father, forgive them."

Let us take courage, cast off the old man and put on the new, so that the grace of God may abound in our souls.

O Mary, teach us gratitude to God who has forgiven us!

Second Glorious Mystery:

The Ascension