The Church takes a week of Sundays, seven to be exact, to celebrate the Easter mysteries. In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears to His disciples for the third time since the Resurrection. From the shore, Jesus directs the disciples how to fish, and then hosts breakfast for them. Peter denied Jesus three times in His Passion, but we hear in today’s Gospel that Peter is given three chances to reaffirm his love for Jesus. This is how Jesus deals with those friends who hurt Him? Can we do the same?
Today, the Church continues to celebrate the Easter message: “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. On this Second Sunday of Easter, we focus on God’s Divine Mercy. Today is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Divine mercy is like the wind: invisible, but with effects that can be sensed. We may feel the lifting of a burden off our shoulders as a fresh breeze on a new day and a new chance to do good. Today on Divine Mercy Sunday we hear from the Gospel According to Saint John of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Saint John speaks of the breath of Christ bringing the Spirit upon the disciples. May we realize God’s divine mercy in the cleansing, comforting, and renewing breath of new life. As we continue to live the Easter message, may we experience God’s Divine Mercy this day and always, knowing that our God extends His Divine Mercy to everyone.
Happy Easter!! Alleluia!! This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!! Let us live the Easter message today and every day. The following is an excerpt from the Urbi et Orbi (blessing to the city of Rome and the world) given by Pope Benedict XVI on Easter of 2008: “Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow the light that streams forth from this solemn day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that His victory over evil and death may also triumph in each one of us, in our families, in our cities, and in our nations. Let it shine forth in ever part of the world.” May the Light of the Risen Christ shine in us today!
Today, we enter the most sacred week of the year. We begin Holy Week. On this Palm Sunday, the palm branches that are blessed and carried by us symbolize the welcome Jesus received as He entered Jerusalem. In riding upon a colt, with people spreading their cloaks on the road before Him, Jesus entered the city, as the messianic king. Though He was not the Messiah they expected, the victory He went on to win on the cross over sin and death made Him a king for all humanity—for all ages. May the palms we raise today be symbols of the praise we give our Savior as He begins the days of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Jesus reveals the heart of the Father, who is love. Although we turn away from Him, God does not choose to condemn or turn away from us. As we enter the Fifth week of Lent, today’s Gospel continues to offer lessons about God’s mercy and forgiveness. Last Sunday we heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Today the scribes and Pharisees test Jesus by bringing a woman who had been caught in adultery. Jesus tells them that the one without sin can cast the first stone.