“‘And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’” As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (ACTS 4: 29-31)
We are chosen by Our Lord to be apostles of His love. We are chosen not because we applied for this, are good at this or deserve this, but because Our Lord, in His unconditional love, enabled us, his servants, “to speak His word with all boldness.” We speak with boldness because we share with others His miracles, His wonders, His graces and His love for us. In order to do this, of course, God will prepare us—“they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” (JN 20: 21-23)
With the resurrection of Our Lord, we receive amazing gifts: peace and the Holy Spirit and behind them the sacrament, which is an explosion of peace and presence of the Holy Spirit—the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is the Sacrament in which we can receive the beauty of the Resurrection: forgiveness of our sins, reconciliation with the Father and new life.
And today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday instituted by St. John Paul II after the apparitions of Our Lord received by St. Faustina. We know from her diary that anyone who participates in the Mass and receives the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist on this day is assured by Jesus of full remission of their sins and punishments. And we are invited not only to receive these gifts, but also to exercise mercy toward our neighbors: first—by deed, second—by word, and third—by prayer.
Without mercy there is no hope for the world. With mercy our dignity shines, our relationships grow, and we becomes ambassadors of God’s presence in the world.
“You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” (ACTS 4: 19-20)
“It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” is a general experience for everyone who has met God’s love. And the natural reaction is a call for sharing. When we can, we speak about it; when we can’t speak, we can show God’s love by gentleness, respect for others, a gift of self and the offer of our time to our neighbors. This is a matter of what “to speak,” not how “to speak.”
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” (ACTS 4: 11-12)
Our Lord’s name—Jesus, means “Jahweh is salvation.” It is not like any other name, which we use to be recognized, but the true identity of Our Lord—Who is salvation. When we call Him by His name, not only do we invite Him to our prayer or lives, but also we invite Him “to be saved.” Many Saints used to write His name and call His name very often to be close to Him: “nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them,‘Peace be with you.’” (LK 24: 35-36)
The very first message to the disciples from Jesus is: “Peace be with you.” Peace should be at the beginning of everything in our lives—when we have peace, we can react properly. “They were startled and terrified”; “they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,” and the thing they most needed was peace. So Our Lord came to them with the gift of peace. And He is always coming “in our midst” with the same message and gift: Peace be with you. We need peace in our families, our relationships, our duties and in our jobs; we need peace especially when we are under the pressure from so many different emotions. Peace keeps our dignity in the proper place.
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.” (LK 24: 30-31)
“They recognized Him” through the Eucharist when “he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.” The Eucharist still represents the most significant way in which we can recognize Him. The Eucharist is a special place where we can meet Him and His love. It is not only a memory of what He did for us, but it is also a moment of His special presence among us.
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” (ACTS 2: 38-39)
Probably “those far off” have no idea about any promise made to them. But we should always remember that the promise is “forgiveness of our sins,” and when we meet “those far off,” people in great need, we will know how to ask and to Whom we should pray. Nobody is rejected, nobody is without promise, and nobody is forgotten. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” we “will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” Who will help us to pray for “all those far off” in every situation.
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples.” (MT 28: 8)
“Fearful yet overjoyed” the women “went away quickly from the tomb.” The same thing happened to the shepherds, when an Angel proclaimed to them the Good News about Jesus, who was just born—“they went with haste.” We have the Good News to announce all over the world: death is defeated, the darkness lightened and weakness strengthened with the power of Our Lord, who is risen.
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 COR 5: 7-8)
Our Lord was born in Bethlehem – the House of Bread, and He gave Himself to us during the Last Supper as bread, and He wants us to be “the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Our Polish Saint Albert Chmielowski used to say that we should be like bread for our brothers and sisters: “be good like bread.” We are newborn–we are cleansed because “our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.” So, “let us celebrate” our new life with joy, sincerity and true concern for the good of others.
“Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed; let us then feast with joy in the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Come let us return to the Lord, for it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.” (Hosea 5:15b-16:2)
Today the Church does not celebrate Mass, so the readings for today’s homily are taken from the Morning Prayer (Lauds). A huge and eloquent silence reigns in the Church today. We are between His death and His resurrection, and our faith is protected by Our Lady. She was and she is the first believer, who can help us wait in silence for the miracle of the resurrection.
“For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross. Therefore God raised him on high and gave him the name above all other names.” (In place of the Responsory)
