Thursday, April 16, 2026

 

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36)

The words of today’s gospel are given without any indication of who spoke them.  They sound much like those that Jesus said to Nicodemus.  If we check the citation, however, we find that John the Baptist is speaking them to his disciples.  John is echoing what Jesus said in the gospel earlier this week and what the prologue tells us of the Word of God.

Jesus reveals to us the will of God.  He is not concerned with the things most of us bother with.  He does not speak of sports champions or beauty queens, how to make a million or how to get your children into a top-tier school.  Rather he speaks of selfless love willing to make sacrifices for the good of all.  Peter and the apostles exhibit this love in today’s reading from Acts.  They defy the Sanhedrin’s orders, not to rebel against authority but to carry out God’s command.  They risk punishment, even death, so that God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ may be made known.

We too should spread the word.  But at the same time let us reflect on it and live according to it.  No doubt, this means changes in what we think, say, and do.  As the Baptist implies in the gospel, doing so will give us eternal life.  

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

 

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21)

Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel entitled the English edition of his memoir of Auschwitz Night. He used the word to symbolize the horror of a human population’s being corralled, isolated, enslaved, and exterminated.  Today’s gospel reveals God’s purpose of sending His Son to the world to save it from such darkness.

As much as “darkness” represents evil, “light” suggests divinity.  God’s first order of creation in Genesis is, “Let there be light.”  At the Bible’s other end, the Book Revelation describes the glory of God giving light to His renewed creation.  in the middle of the saga Jesus Christ, “the Light of the World,” exposes evil and facilitates growth in virtue.

Still basking in the light of the Resurrection, we recommit ourselves to Christ today. His spiritual guidance steers us away from the attractive power of darkness.  His love offered tangibly in the Eucharist nourishes us on the journey through a cloudy world to the fulness of light.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7b-15)

“’How can this happen?’” Nicodemus asks Jesus in the gospel.  It’s the same question many would ask of the first reading.  How can people sell their houses and property and donate all the proceeds to the community? 

The Acts of the Apostles tells of Joseph’s generosity to illustrate the power of the Holy Spirit.  Under the Spirit’s guidance people put aside self-interest for the good of all.  It should be noted that the wholesale mutuality of the primitive Christian community is not perfect and does not prevail for long.  The story of Joseph’s selflessness is followed by the sober tale of a believer’s deception out of self-concern.  In the next chapter of Acts, the altercation between Greek-speaking and Hebrew-speaking disciples is related.  It may be concluded that the innocence of human nature is not restored by the Holy Spirit without an inclination to sin.

Christian shortcomings have caused scandal both in the world and within the community.  At the end of the Middle Ages the selling of indulgences by clerics gave rise to the Protestant Reformation.  Today many are reserved about receiving the sacraments because of the revelations of child abuse by clergy.  And certainly, Christians have been guilty of racial and religious bigotry over the centuries.  There is need for investigating these matters lest too severe judgments are made.  Yet repentance and penance are also in order.  It is not that the Spirit has abandoned the Church but that Church members have failed to follow its lead.  We must regularly turn back to the Spirit with sincere hearts.

Monday, April 13, 2026

 

Monday of the Second Week of Eater

(Acts 4:23-31; John 3:1-8)

The daily masses of the Easter season feature a review of the Acts of the Apostles.  Last week it told of Peter’s preaching after Pentecost and how he cured a cripple in the name of Jesus.  As a result, he was arrested and brought to the Sanhedrin.  The court told him not speak of Jesus anymore. Today’s first reading relates Peter’s report of the trial to the community of disciples in Jerusalem.

The community responds with a prayer of support for Peter.  It recalls how foreign nations defied King David as the Jewish leaders are now challenging Jesus’ apostles.  And it asks the Lord to fortify the apostles with “boldness” to continue preaching.  God evidently assents to the request as the earth shakes, which is taken as a sign of the Holy Spirit.

The proclaiming of Jesus to unbelievers has been carried on for two thousand years.  It seems to some today as an old message that is losing traction.  We have family and friends who have stopped going to church.  However, not only are there masses of people being baptized in Africa, but many serious thinkers are rediscovering the wisdom and relevancy of Christ. Two weeks ago, for example, Vice President J.D. Vance published a book about his conversion to Catholicism.  Christianity will not pass away because Jesus Christ is the eternal God.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

 Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday

(Acts 2:42–47; 1 Peter 1:3–9; John 20:1–9)

The Gospel calls Thomas “the Twin.” No one knows why, or whose counterpart he might have been. Perhaps he is our twin, insofar as, like him, we too have harbored doubts in faith. For that reason, we would like to address him with the following questions.

Thomas, why do you not believe your companions when they tell you that Jesus has risen? Did he not hint at His passion, death, and resurrection several times in your presence? When he spoke of the Good Shepherd, did he not say that he would lay down his life for his sheep (John 10:11)? Did he not also say that he had the power not only to lay down His life but to take it up again (10:18)? And did he not tell you and others that he would be lifted up from the earth to draw all people to himself (12:32)?

Above all, do you not remember what happened at the tomb of Lazarus? When Jesus asked that the stone covering the tomb be removed and Martha worried about the stench because Lazarus had been dead four days, did you not see the dead man come out walking?

Why do you want to be like the Sadducees, who tried to trap Jesus with the ridiculous story of the woman who had seven husbands because they did not believe in the resurrection? Does it not disturb you to sound like many people of the twenty-first century who doubt everything and, in doing so, gradually lose the values necessary to sustain a stable and meaningful life?

Remember the story of Abraham, who left his land, his people, and his father’s house out of faith in God’s word. Was God not faithful to His promise to this patriarch? Recall also Jeremiah and the other prophets, who suffered disgrace and punishment for proclaiming God’s word as true and inviolable. Do you think they preached in vain?

Also, look to the future. See how the disciples live in perfect harmony, as described in the Acts of the Apostles. Is this not the fruit of the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit? Notice also what happens years later, when Peter urges Christians to remain steadfast in hope even in the midst of suffering. Does this not convince you of the centrality of faith in the resurrection?

Yes, it is true that faith requires sacrifice, especially when we live among people who do not seek God’s justice but material satisfaction. We feel like strangers, as though something essential were missing, until we discover the true source of fulfillment. It does not come from passing sensations, but from the awareness of living according to God’s will.

No, Thomas, doubt no more. Accept the presence of Jesus who stands before you. He is not present only in the human body with which he walked on earth. He is also present in the poor who live according to the commandments of love. He is present in the sacraments that offer us His forgiveness, strength, and grace. And he is present in the ordained and women religious who represent the Church. They are not always perfect, but they teach us the ways and commandments of the Lord.

More than that, stop insisting on seeing the mark of the nails in His hands and putting your finger into His side. Be a model for all of us when our faith weakens. Help us to say with you, with full confidence before the Lord Jesus: “My Lord and my God!”