Third Sunday of Easter - 2025

Office of Reading Second Reading                        From the first apology in defense of the Christians                                           by Saint Justin, martyr AD. 100 - AD 165 The Celebration of the Eucharist No one may share the eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ. We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving. The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit. On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray. On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen.” The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent. The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need. We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.

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Prayer for the Election of a Pope O God, eternal shepherd, who govern your flock with unfailing care, grant in your boundless fatherly love a pastor for your Church who will please you by his holiness and to us show watchful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Excerpt from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010 ICEL. All rights reserved.

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Second Sunday of Easter - 2025

Today, Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday – established by Pope John Paul II, April 30, 2000, which was the 2nd Sunday of Easter that year and the day of the Canonization of Sister Faustyna KowalskaI, who is the source of the Divine Mercy devotion. Now, I suspect most everyone has a go at the board game Monopoly. On some moves you can pick up special cards you can use when needed. One such is the “get out jail free” card. If a move lands you in jail you just use the card and you’re out. I think it characterizes well the way some people think of God’s Mercy. Since God loves us, He forgives us, and our sins are wiped away. All we do is say thanks. In today’s gospel we see Jesus commissioning his disciples to go and preach forgiveness. In Luke’s account, the commission is stated this way: “. . . repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in Jesus’ name to all the nations.” There are two dynamics happening here, Mercy is given, but given to those who repent. It’s the repentance part that some people seem to overlook. Today’s second reading comes into play here. It is the beginning of the Book of Revelation which will be the source of the Second Readings for the rest of these Easter Sundays. John is told by the Lord to write to the seven Churches of Asia Minor: The Lord says to John,  "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." Rev.1:11 These are people who have heard the gospel, repented, embraced the faith and were formed into churches – not unlike us gathered today. But some of these churches and their people have a problem – something has gone wrong with their repentance. "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:  "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary." Wow, this is one commendable church to be sure. The message continues, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.” Only a couple of the seven Churches escape the Lord’s rebuke. Notice how they are called back to repentance – that which is our part in God’s Mercy – not just on the day of our baptism but all through our Christian life. Easter is a time for celebrating God’s Mercy and a time to examine the quality of our response to that Mercy. Might the Lord be saying something similar to us today, “I have this against you- “ And what might that be? So let us look again at the Cross of Jesus and see what mercy cost him, the mercy that He gives us so freely. How am I doing? Have I grown mediocre in my faith? What needs to revive in the practice of my faith? What is the quality of my love? Then He will say to those on His left, ‘I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Mtt. 25:41 Let us use these days of Easter to truly examine and put to the test the quality of our love.

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Easter Sunday - 2025

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."

An Easter Homily One of my favorite Easter hymns is The Strife is O’er – The strife is o'er, the battle done; + Now is the Victor's triumph won; + O let the song of praise be sung! Alleluia! So what exactly is this battle that the hymn is referring to? – the hymn continues . . . Death's mightiest powers have done their worst, + And Jesus has His foes dispersed; + Let shouts of praise and joy outburst. Alleluia! The battle is as St. Paul describes it in his letter to the Ephesians, ch. 6:12  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – against Satan and his army of fallen angels. Vs.  4. He closed the yawning gates of hell; + The bars from heaven's high portals fell. + Let songs of praise His triumph tell. Alleluia! In the Apostle Creed we say, Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried: he descended into hell and on the third day rose again . . . . Jesus came from the Father to break down the gates of hell that, as the hymn says, “. . . bared us from entering the portals of heaven because of our sins. This event is the subject of many classic paintings – a favorite of mine is by Gustave Dore entitled THE VALLEY OF TEARS, 1883, showing Jesus in the bowels of the earth coming to call sinners. See the panel below  Justice demanded that sinners receive the same fate as the fallen angels – but mercy over road justice and armed with the authority of mercy from the Father Jesus delivers souls of sinners from the penalty of death. Jesus did not die because he miscalculated the danger he was in visiting Jerusalem at that time. He knew well what awaited him and the price he would pay for taking on Satan. If we have any hope beyond the grave, it is found in these mysteries. St. Paul lays it out crystal clear in 1 Cor. 15: “16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all people.

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Second reading Office of Readings  From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday "The Lord descends into hell." Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden. See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you. Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

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Holy Week - 2025

These meditations from previous posts focus on Jesus' battle with Satan and His Victory on the Cross. Palm Sunday begins with Meditation 01, and continues through each day of Holy Week and the Easter Season.

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HOLY WEEK / EASTER MEDITATIONS
Meditation 01	Meditation 05	Meditation 09
Meditation 02	Meditation 06	Meditation 10
Meditation 03	Meditation 07	Meditation 11
Meditation 04	Meditation 08	Meditation 12

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