APRIL 15, 2012 : SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER - DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Second Sunday of Easter - DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
Lectionary: 44

Reading 1 Acts 4:32-35

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 1 Jn 5:1-6

Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.

Gospel Jn 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
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."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked, 
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Scripture Study

Happy Easter! Yes it is still Easter. After spending 40 days of Lent preparing ourselves for Easter we spend the 50 days of the Easter Season celebrating the core event of our faith. During this time the readings tell us about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples and what those appearances mean to us as followers of the "Risen One." This Sunday the Church celebrates the Octave Day of Easter also called the Second Sunday of Easter. The readings for this Sunday deal with the person of our resurrected Savior and His presence in the community of His followers. As He was present with the disciples nearly 2000 years ago He still with us today. Do I recognize His presence and how do I let it affect my life?

NOTES on First Reading:

* 4:32-35 This section is a "summary composition" adjoining two separate incidents from Luke's (Luke is the author of Acts) tradition. It generalizes and idealizes the individual cases that are immediately adjoining it. There was already in Luke's time a well established tradition of such "utopian" descriptions in Greek literature. He followed the common tendency and developed a "golden age" impression of the church in the apostolic age. Since the ideal being described is based upon the Lucan gospel's emphasis on renunciation of possessions it is not without value as an example of Gospel living as long as it is not taken too literally as a historical account. 

* 4:33 The apostle's deeds of power marked and validated their testimony of the resurrection (1:21- 23; 3:12-16). In them the "Risen One" continued His activity in the world. 

* 4:35 Luke seems to understand the surrender of possessions as voluntary and to be related to the needs of the community rather than as mandatory or systematic.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 5:1-12 Much of 1 John deals with a schism in one of the Johannine communities. The author instructs the remaining members be faithful and loving toward one another. In this section the letter presents a final argument against the dissidents. 

* 5:1-5 Here the writer links the theme of faith in Jesus as the Son of God with the love command of Jesus. 

* 5:1 A conventional maxim of the time is used to tie love of God to the love of fellow Christians from 4:20-21. 

* 5:4 The victory over the world was won when Christians were converted (2:13,14). The word of God or the "anointing" that it carries is the source of this victory (4:4) won by Jesus. 

* 5:6-12 This section expands the affirmation that belief is the source of eternal life in two directions: Belief must include His coming in water and in blood. Belief in the Son is grounded in God's own testimony. In John 1:31-32, John the Baptist testifies that revelation of Jesus as preexistent Son was linked to the descent of the Spirit and to Baptism (1 John 5:7 refers to testimony by the Spirit). Jesus' sending is associated with the boundless gift of the Spirit (John 3:34; 7:38- 39). The stress that is laid on the blood may indicate that the dissidents acknowledged salvation as stemming from the Spirit and water (Baptism) but did not appreciate the role of the crucifixion. Crucifixion was not a respectable or acceptable way to die. Early converts to Christ had much difficulty overcoming their cultural aversion to a "Crucified Savior." John 19:35 is often speculated to have been inserted in order to emphasize that this conviction about the value and importance of the death of Jesus goes back to the "beloved disciple," himself.

NOTES on Gospel:

* 20:19-29 The appearances to the disciples, without or with Thomas (John 11:16; 14:5), have rough parallels in the other gospels only for John 20:19-23; see Luke 24:36-39; Mark 16:14-18. 

Implicitly from John 20:24 "the disciples" means ten of the Twelve, presumably in Jerusalem. "Peace be with you" echoes John 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in John 20:20 echoes John 16:22. 

* 20:20 In contrast to John, Luke 24:39-40 mentions "hands and feet," based on Psalm 22:17. 

* 20:21 Though John does not use the noun in reference to them, this is where the Eleven really become Apostles ("those sent"); see John 17:18. Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, and Mark 16:15 also make a solemn mission or "sending" the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven. 

* 20:22 This action echoes Genesis 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life. Just as Adam's life came from God, so now the disciples' new spiritual life comes from Jesus. They are new creations in this Spirit of Jesus. See also the revivification of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. This event is John's version of the Pentecost story. 
The apostles did truly receive the Holy Spirit at this time although the gifts of the Holy Spirit were not manifested until Pentecost. 

* Jn 20:22-23 On October 25, 1551, in "Canons on the Sacrament of Penance," canon 3, the Council of Trent said that verses 22 and 23 are to be understood as referring to the power of remitting and retaining sins in the sacrament of penance, and not simply to an authority for preaching the Gospel. This was and had always been the traditional understanding of these verses within the Catholic Church.

* 20:23 Jesus here gives his apostles the task of continuing His ministry of reconciliation. They are charged with the task of forgiving sins as He had done during His ministry. This was defined by the Council of Trent as a scriptural basis for the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. See Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18. 

* 20:28 The words, "My Lord and my God", form a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel, "and the Word was God." 

* 20:29 This verse is a beatitude on future generations. Jesus tells us that faith, not sight, matters. 

* 20:30-31 These verses are clearly a conclusion to the gospel and express its purpose. Many manuscripts read come to believe, possibly implying a missionary purpose for John's gospel but a small number of quite early ones read "continue to believe," which many scholars suggest, indicates that the audience consists of Christians whose faith was to be deepened by the book. See John 19:35.

Meditation: "Unless I see in his hands the prints of the nails, I will not believe"

Do you know the joy of the resurrection? The Risen Jesus revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples gradually and over a period of time. Even after the apostles saw the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus' appearance to the women, they were still weak in faith and fearful of being arrested by the Jewish authorities. When Jesus appeared to them he offered proofs of his resurrection by showing them the wounds of his passion, his pierced hands and side. He calmed their fears and brought them peace, the peace which reconciles sinners and makes one a friend of God. Jesus did something which only love and trust can do. He commissioned his weak and timid apostles to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. This sending out of the disciples is parallel to the sending out of Jesus by his Father. Jesus fulfilled his mission through his perfect love and perfect obedience to the will of his Father. He called his disciples, and he calls us to do the same. Just as he gave his first disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, so he breathes on each of us the same Holy Spirit who equips us with new life, power, joy, and courage to live each day as followers of the Risen Lord.
The last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time. The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas said to the disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus' death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles. When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again. When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God! Through the gift of faith we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection. Do you believe in God's word and the power of the Holy Spirit?
"Lord Jesus Christ, through your victory over sin and death you have overcome all the powers of darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your life-giving word.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection."

(Don Schwager)

 Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Today’s readings take up this theme and how it is lived out in practical everyday terms. From Acts we read of the strong communal bond that united the early Christians in their witness to Jesus. In the second reading there is a call to live out the life that Christ has won for us in terms of love for God and neighbour.

Today, removed from the milieu of those early Christians and the witness they gave, it is good to reflect on the story of Thomas that raises the problem for those who wish to follow Jesus: that of believing. Thomas had known Jesus, was his friend and apostle, had shared his life with him, felt called by him, but could not accept that Jesus’ death could be accompanied by resurrection. We know that Jesus proved that to him, and that Thomas learnt to believe. St John recounts the story that we too might believe and have life.

Lord, you know how I try to believe. Help me to see how you reveal yourself to me so that, like Thomas, I too will believe.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

A YEAR 11 STUDENT ON COMMUNITY

I quote the following letter in full because it captures so well the importance of community service in forming our students. It was written in August 2001 by a Year 11 boarder. He was also a member of the Year 11 Arrupe Academy Leadership program. He is speaking of his experience of working in the Cana Communities which serve homeless people in inner Sydney.

Dear Fr Gleeson,

Mr Hogan on Wednesday at School Assembly asked for help with several shelters run by Cana Communities. During the first week of the holidays, I spent thirty hours working at these shelters helping out around the place or just talking to the people. The idea of Cana Communities is to give those people who are not accepted by society, for whatever reason, a place where they can feel part of a community. It comes back to that idea that many of the boys raised about not feeling comfortable with homeless people, often having apprehensions about talking to or even approaching them. These feelings separate the underprivileged from the privileged, hence the need for a community where they feel they belong. During my time at Cana I worked at three different places: De Porres House, Teresa House and Cana Cafeteria. From cleaning toilets, to cooking dinner to sleeping over at the hostel I was never short of experiences.

But how did these thirty hours touch my life? After careful thought I think I can narrow it down to three main ways:

1. It made me appreciate my life more. This seemed a common theme from the speakers, but nonetheless I believe it is still an important one. Such experiences of community education as my one, in a way, provide a safety net when things are blue. Many mornings I might wake up and be panicking at the thought of a test or complaining that there is no hot water in the Division, but, by being educated through my experience at Cana, I am able to step back, take a look at the Big Picture and appreciate what God has given me and how I can use these gifts for the Greater Good. I can pick myself up and face the day and the world with a whole new attitude.

2. It eliminated that fear of difference. It is common throughout all societies that the majority are not fond of difference, and this is also the case in the streets of Sydney. Many rich business men/women walk past the underprivileged each day and probably think to themselves, 'Why is it my problem. They probably got themselves there in the first place - they don't deserve help'. But my experience demonstrated to me that these people are just as much my neighbour as you, my friends or the Pope. I was, personally, brought up in a very sanitized environment where I was not even to look at 'those people'. I met one man, David, who was an excellent poet. Probably he, on his own, in one hour eliminated my ignorance and fear of difference.

3. Finally, and probably most importantly, it instilled in me a greater love of generosity. It might sound a bit cliched but it is true. As Daniel Street was saying, when he came back from his Grummit Scholarship he felt empty because he was not doing something for the community. I now feel the same way. I now look forward to every second Sunday where I go out to Redfern and talk to the homeless and addicted. (One word of advice that I would have liked to give the guys would have been to dive in the deep end. I have done other community service for DEAS in the past and have enjoyed it, but not really loved it. By diving in the deep end of society and really seeing how much there is to be done you realize that you can make more of a difference than just delivering newspapers.) By really jumping into your community service you begin to love the feeling that comes over you when you see that disabled man smiling and you know that you have made his day.

 

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

(Daily Prayer Online)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Working at It
The earliest stages of all relationships can seem effortless, but as time goes on healthy relationships, including those with God, require effort and patience that is more deliberate.
— from Dating God

April 15
Blessed Caesar de Bus
(1544-1607)

Like so many of us, Caesar de Bus struggled with the decision about what to do with his life. After completing his Jesuit education he had difficulty settling between a military and a literary career. He wrote some plays but ultimately settled for life in the army and at court.

For a time life was going rather smoothly for the engaging, well-to-do young Frenchman. He was confident he had made the right choice. That was until he saw firsthand the realities of battle, including the St. Bartholomew's Day massacres of French Protestants in 1572.
He fell seriously ill and found himself reviewing his priorities, including his spiritual life. By the time he had recovered, Caesar had resolved to become a priest. Following his ordination in 1582, he undertook special pastoral work: teaching the catechism to ordinary people living in neglected, rural, out-of-the-way places. His efforts were badly needed and well received.
Working with his cousin, Caesar developed a program of family catechesis. The goal—to ward off heresy among the people—met the approval of local bishops. Out of these efforts grew a new religious congregation: the Fathers of Christian Doctrine.
One of Caesar's works, Instructions for the Family on the Four Parts of the Roman Catechism, was published 60 years after his death.
He was beatified in 1975.

Comment:

“Family catechesis” is a familiar term in parish life today. Grounded in the certainty that children learn their faith first from their parents, programs that deepen parental involvement in religious education multiply everywhere. There were no such programs in Caesar’s day until he saw a need and created them. Other needs abound in our parishes, and it’s up to us to respond by finding ways to fill them or by joining in already established efforts.