Peace Be With You

Today, Sunday, is the final day of the Octave of Easter. From 30 April 2000, Pope St John Paul designated the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. This was based on a petition by St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), who said that Jesus had made this request of the Church in an apparition.

Our celebration of Easter is prolonged throughout the Easter season. The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated as one feast day, the ‘Great Sunday’.

I would like to thank all who in any way helped to make our celebration of the Triduum and Easter so memorable. The Church looks beautiful. Thank you to the Sacristans and flower arrangers and those who cleaned the church. It was very special that we had five people baptised at the Easter vigil. They are known as neophytes (from the Greek word meaning “newly planted”). The church encourages us to pray for them in the intercessions.

We also pray for the two adults who were confirmed as well. Thanks also to the musicians for enabling us to pray twice over on Mandy Thursday, Good Friday and the Vigil. Also thank you to the readers and altar servers who enabled us to celebrate with dignity.

The gospel today relates how Jesus stood among the disciples even though the doors were closed. He said to them, “Peace be with you”, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were locked in out of fear but these closed doors were no barrier for Jesus. How often do we close the doors of our hearts to others out of fear and also in our fear we close the doors of our hearts to the Risen Christ. He wants to enter in and give us peace and share his wounds. He wants us to understand that these are signs of his great love for us.

After saying “Peace be with you” Jesus breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” This spirit he gave the disciples is the Holy Spirit. Just as he breathed his love into them he breathes his love onto us. As one writer put it: “When we breathe we breathe more than mere air, we breathe the Spirit of God, the love of God.

The apostle Thomas is not with the others when Jesus appeared to them. He is often known as doubting Thomas. Many say he is not a doubter but someone who seeks experience. “He does not content himself with just believing what others tell him. He wants to see, feel, touch for himself.”

We too wish to experience God. We don’t want to believe just because others tell us it is true. We need then to open ourselves to receive what Jesus is offering us. Jesus is offering himself to each of us to touch him. “When he puts his body into our hands in the shape of bread, then we place our finger into his wound.” Our response is “My Lord and My God.”

During these weeks of Eastertime let us allow Christ to show himself to us and let us pray that our faith may be deeper and strengthened