Acts 5.12-16 | Revelation 1.9-11a,12-13,17-19 | John 20.19-31

Alleluya! Christ lives! We are in the Easter Season, beginning the second week, more precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday.

This week we have witnessed the death of our beloved Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ on earth. Our deep sadness is being consoled by our faith and hope in the resurrection. And we follow with our prayers the conclave that will soon begin for the election of the new pontiff, so that the Holy Spirit may enlighten the cardinals of the Church in such a noble task, and that the Mother of God and of the Church may accompany them with Her intercession.

Today the evangelist John tells us about the first appearances of the resurrected Jesus to the disciples and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The appearances took place on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. The disciples were afraid of the Jews. Despite the closed doors, the resurrected Jesus appeared among them, with the greeting of peace. The disciples rejoiced. Jesus sent them and breathed on them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit, giving them authority to forgive and retain sins.

In the first appearance, the apostle Thomas was not among the disciples. Despite their testimony, he did not believe. In the second appearance, while among the disciples, Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus and touched His glorious Body with the marks of the nails in His hands and the spear in His side, declaring the lordship and divinity of Jesus. But the Resurrected One declared blessed those who believed without having seen.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and let us have life in His Name. Let us allow Him to convert our fear into joy. He is the Prince of Peace. His glorious Body is no longer subject to the laws of time and space, and can appear wherever and whenever He wishes. Let us value Sunday and the community as a time and place to experience the resurrected Jesus. Let us experience divine mercy and proclaim it to the world.

Today, the evangelist Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles about the multitude of believers who adhered to the Lord through faith and the testimony of the apostles, who performed many signs and wonders. The multitude came from the cities surrounding Jerusalem, their sick were healed and those tormented by evil spirits were exorcised.

The resurrected Jesus is present today in the Church throughout the world and acts through Her, through Her charity associated with preaching and the sacraments. The Church is all of us, so let us continue to bear witness to the resurrected Jesus so that many may adhere to the Lord and be saved.

Today, the apostle John tells us in the Revelations about Jesus who died and rose again. On the Lord's Day, the apostle was taken up by the Spirit and saw Jesus - the "Son of Man", dressed in a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. He encouraged the apostle and gave him the mission to bear witness to what he was seeing and to future events.

Let us allow ourselves to be taken up by the Spirit to experience the resurrected Jesus, Who holds the key to death and the realm of the dead. He is the First and the Last. The world needs to reach this vital knowledge. Let us share it.

May Pope Francis, by divine mercy, rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon him. Amen.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

Comentários

Postar um comentário

Postagens mais visitadas deste blog

Sirach 35:1-12 / Mark 10:28-31

Today we take a break from Ordinary Time, which will return after the Solemnity of Pentecost in the month of June. The reason is the beginning of Lent Season tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, a day of obligatory fasting and abstinence from meat. Today the evangelist Mark tells us about the hundredfold promise that Jesus made to His disciples. Peter reminded Jesus that he and the disciples had given up everything and followed Him. And Jesus promised that whoever had done this, for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel, would receive a hundred times more in the present age—house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, lands, with persecutions—and, in the age to come, eternal life. Jesus concluded by saying that many that were first would be last. And the last would be first. In a mysterious but real way, God's providence, through the members of the Church, takes care of the material and emotional needs of those who serve Him. He is the Good Shepherd and His sheep lack nothing. Of cour...
Leia mais

Exodus 12.1-8,11-14 | 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 | John 13.1-15

In this Holy Week, today we arrive at the Easter Triduum, with Holy Thursday, celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist, at the Last Supper, and remembering the Washing of the Feet, love made humble service. A short while ago, the Institution of the Ministerial Priesthood was celebrated, with Priest's Day, and the consecration of the Holy Oils for the anointing of catechumens, for the anointing of those being confirmed and ordained ministers (deacons, priests and bishops), and for the anointing of the sick. Today the Evangelist John speaks to us about the Washing of the Feet during the Supper. Jesus - the Lord and Master - washed the feet of His disciples, giving them the example so that they would do the same thing that He did. The evangelist emphasizes that Jesus was demonstrating all His love for His people in the world. Simon Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, but he allowed it when Jesus told him that he would have no part with Jesus if he did not allow it.  In that...
Leia mais

Ezekiel 47.1-2,8-9,12 | 1 Corinthians 3.9c-11,16-17 | John 2.13-22

We begin the thirty-second week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. In two Sundays, the Liturgical Year will conclude with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. In 2025, the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, on November 9th, coincided with Sunday, the Lord's Day. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, presided over by Pope Leo XIV. It is the oldest church in the West, inaugurated in the year 324, during the pontificate of Pope St. Sylvester I. It is the most important of the four papal basilicas in Rome (the others are St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of St. Mary Major). Five ecumenical councils have taken place there. She is considered the ecumenical Mother Church. Initially, the basilica was dedicated to Christ the Savior, and only centuries later was it co-dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Let us celebrate the catholicity...
Leia mais