Galatians 6.14-18 | John 20.19-29

Today is the second Friday of Easter; we commemorate the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the liturgical feast that gives its name to the congregation of Stigmatine missionaries, founded by Saint Gaspar Bertoni and present in several countries around the world.

The stigmata are the five scars or marks that the risen Jesus kept on His hands, feet and side after the crucifixion, as a memory of the mystery of salvation.

Saint Gaspar Bertoni was a great devotee of the Sacred Stigmata and transmitted this devotion to the members of his congregation. Each stigma was attributed a specific meaning and an invitation to conversion, according to Bertonian spirituality.

Saint Gaspar Bertoni had a persistent wound on his right leg, which required hundreds of surgeries, at a time when anesthesia did not exist. With the Sacred Stigmata, Saint Gaspar Bertoni learned to suffer patiently, without complaining against God.

The Stigmatine Congregation was founded in a church dedicated to the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi, in the Italian city of Verona. Decades later, the congregation came to be called the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 apparitions took place on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. The disciples were afraid of the Jews. Despite the closed doors, the risen 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.

At 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 risen 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 Risen One declared blessed those who believed without having seen.

On this feast of the Sacred Stigmata, contemplating the scars of the crucifixion on the Glorious Body of the risen Jesus, let us learn to suffer patiently, in the certainty that momentary pain will give way to permanent victory. His glorious Body is no longer subject to the laws of time and space, and can appear wherever and whenever He wishes. Let us allow the resurrected Jesus to convert our fear into joy. He is the Prince of Peace. Let us value Sunday and community as a time and place to experience the risen Jesus.

Today, the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians about the marks of Jesus that he bore on his body. Paul said he was crucified to the world and that the world was crucified to him. 

In fact, in the exercise of his apostolic mission, Paul endured many physical and emotional sufferings for the love of Christ and the Church. He learned to suffer patiently, completing in his flesh what was lacking in Christ's tribulations for the Church.

On this feast of the Sacred Stigmata, let us console those who suffer in body and soul, inviting them to unite their personal pains to the redemptive suffering of Christ. Christians must give a spiritual meaning to their own pains, so that they may be redemptive.

As we congratulate the Stigmatine missionaries on this feast of their congregation, let us learn about and spread this beautiful devotion to the Sacred Stigmata, especially to those who suffer the most.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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