Mass
Readings
First reading
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The whole group of believers was
united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as
everything they owned was held in common.
The apostles continued
to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they
were all given great respect.
None of their members
was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and
bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then
distributed to any members who might be in need.
Psalm
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Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good, for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good, for his love has no end.
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised
me.
The Lord’s right hand
has triumphed;
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
I was punished, I was punished by
the Lord,
but not doomed to die.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good, for his love has no end.
The stone which the builders
rejected
has become the corner
stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good, for his love has no end.
Second reading
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Whoever believes that Jesus is the
Christ
has been begotten by God;
and whoever loves the Father that
begot him
loves the child whom he begets.
We can be sure that we love God’s children
if we love God himself and do what
he has commanded us;
this is what loving God is –
keeping his commandments;
and his commandments are not
difficult,
because anyone who has been begotten
by God
has already overcome the world;
this is the victory over the
world –
our faith.
Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and
blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another
witness –
since the Spirit is the truth.
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn20:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘You believe because you
can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen
and yet believe.’
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
In the evening of that same day, the
first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples
were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them,
‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were
filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be
with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he 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.’
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one
of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We
have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made
in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can
put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples
were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but
Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke
to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand;
put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and
my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen
and yet believe.’
There were many other signs that
Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book.
These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
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*
In the olden times, this Second Sunday of Easter is referred to as Dominica in albis. The adult who were baptized the Sunday
before, on Easter Vigil, were given white robes to wear in sign and remembrance
of their being reborn into new life in Christ.
During the Easter Octave they wear it.
On the Second Sunday, they attend Holy Mass and give back what they wore
the whole week. These white garments
would be made ready for next year’s adult baptizandi. Such practice has gone in disuse as years
passed by. Today, when baptisms are
administered to infants on the bosoms of their mothers and fathers, the white
garments are provided for by the family and taken home with them as their very
own sign and remembrance of the momentous occasion of their sons’ and daughters’
baptism. Still today the name Dominica in albis remains valid as there
are still a few, in some places increasing in number, who are baptized during
Easter Vigil.
*
In year 2000 Blessed Pope John Paul II, through the life and work of Sister
Faustina Kowalska, declared this Sunday to also be the Divine Mercy Sunday. We are constantly being reminded of the
presence of the temptations, evil and sin and of the reality that we make
mistakes, we have shortcomings and we fall.
This is so in the present reality that society is constantly bombarding
us with theories which become common attitudes: there is no temptation,
everything is ok: there is no hell. The
reality is that there are temptations, reason also why we sin. Not everything is ok: some things cannot and
should not be. There is hell: to our
eternal chagrin should we make the mistake of believing otherwise. But the most important reminder for us today
is that no matter how many times we succumb to temptations, no matter how hard
we fall, and no matter how sinful we are, we can always apply to our Just Lord
for Mercy, for His Divine Mercy. His
Mercy always welcomes us in the confessionals and is always ready to listen to
our sins, forgive us and gives us the grace not to commit these sins again. Let us go back to confessions, let us go back
to the confessionals, let us come back to the House of the Father.
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