- "Being therefore evening" For the Jews evening is the beginning of the new day. Here instead is the accomplishment of the day "one", "that day" that is the "today" of God, always present in the Word. Let us therefore hurry to enter into this today (Heb 4:11). The evening, the beginning of the night, recalls Easter, when the cloud illuminated the darkness. (Ex 14:20). We are instead inside, in the Cenacle, where Jesus anticipated the gift of Himself and will give His Spirit and His mission. The disciples made it a tomb. The tomb of Jesus is open and empty, their house barred and full of death, like their heart. The sheep are locked up waiting for the beautiful Shepherd who will lead them to the pastures of life. They are in this situation because they have not given credit to the proclamation of Mary Magdalene. It is not said that the disciples are "together". They are not in communion. John does not speak of apostles, but of disciples, a broader term that embraces all believers in Jesus, of all times. It says "the" and not "some" disciples, to indicate that they all are and will always be in this situation. It is the place where they meet the Lord. Fear divides people; everyone, closed in himself, is in defense and attack against others. In this situation, in many ways opposite to that of Mary, Jesus comes. He is not ashamed of His brethren (Heb 2:11), even though they have abandoned , denied and betrayed Him. He chose them and bound Himself to them not because they were good and strong, but because they were small and weak, in need of Him. No closure stops the Risen One. The light enters the darkness of the disciples. The Lord does not save them from death - He did not even save Himself - but in the death in which they are found. Jesus does not enter through the locked door. He Himself is the door of life (10:7-10). He stands upright, victorious over death. He is in the middle, at the centre of the disciples and in the heart of each one. It is light that dissolves darkness, love that drives out all fear (1 Jn 4:18). The Lord wants to be with us , in us always. "Peace to you" 'Peace' is not simply the usual greeting of the Jews. It indicates the fullness of every messianic blessing. It is the gift of Jesus who says: "I leave you peace, I give you my peace", that peace which the world does not know. It is the peace of love that overcomes hatred. "Have peace in me. You will have tribulations in the world; but trust me: I have conquered the world". His wounds are the source of this peace, they bring back to unity the dispersed children of God. It is the wounds that heal us (Is 53:5), the display of His extreme Love. In His hands there is every power that the Father has given to the Son. These ,who have washed and dried feet ,are nailed to the love and service of every lost person. They are those hands from which no one can kidnap us (10:28). His torn side is the Flesh from which we are born, the wound from which we are generated.
In those who look to Him they have pierced, a Spirit of grace and consolation is poured out (Zc 12:10). From this contemplation and communion of love, proper to the Eucharist, comes the gift of the Spirit and the mission. The mission of the brethren is the same as that of the Son, who has washed the feet and has said: "I gave you an example, that as I did to you, you also may do"(13,15), and "I give you a new commandment ... as I loved you, you also must love one another"(13,34). The disciples are sent, like Him, to bear witness to the Love of the Father (3,16-17,6.26). "Having said that, He breathed on them". It is the Spirit of the New and Eternal Covenant, stipulated in forgiveness (Jer 31:33), Who gives us a new heart, capable of living according to the Word (Ez 26:25). Jesus speaks of the "Holy Spirit" without an article, not because He is a vague and indeterminate reality. The Holy Spirit is His Love. He gives Him to us in fullness, without reserve (3:34). But we have what we accept of Him, and we can accept more and more, without determining limits to what is infinite. Jesus asks us to receive Him. In the gift of the Spirit, the promises of Jesus at the last Supper (14:15-26) are fulfilled. On Easter evening we welcome the spring of living water promised on the great day of Pentecost (7:37-39): we welcome the Spirit of the Son and become children of God (1:12-13), so that we may forgive our brothers and sisters. By FAUSTI
GOSPEL John 20:19-31 19 In the evening of the 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,” vs.20 and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, vs.21 and he said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” vs.22 After saying this he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. vs.23 For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” vs.24 Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. vs.25 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.” vs.26 Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. doubtersThe doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. “Peace be with you” he said. vs.27 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.” vs.28 Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” vs.29 Jesus said to him: “You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.” vs.30 There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. vs.31 These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing this you may have life through his name. WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER In the salvific contact with the wounds of the Risen One, Thomas manifests his own wounds, his own tears, his own humiliation; in the sign of the nails he finds the decisive proof that he was loved, that he was expected, that he was understood. He was standing before a Messiah full of sweetness, mercy and tenderness. He was the Lord Whom he was seeking, in the secret depths of his being, because he had always known that He was so. (Regina Coeli, 12 April 2015)
Reading 1 Acts 5:12-16 Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon's portico. None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them. Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them. Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured. Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-2 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 Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus. I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, which said, "Write on a scroll what you see." Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.
When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards."
- "Being therefore evening" For the Jews evening is the beginning of the new day. Here instead is the accomplishment of the day "one", "that day" that is the "today" of God, always present in the Word. Let us therefore hurry to enter into this today (Heb 4:11).
RispondiEliminaThe evening, the beginning of the night, recalls Easter, when the cloud illuminated the darkness. (Ex 14:20).
We are instead inside, in the Cenacle, where Jesus anticipated the gift of Himself and will give His Spirit and His mission.
The disciples made it a tomb. The tomb of Jesus is open and empty, their house barred and full of death, like their heart.
The sheep are locked up waiting for the beautiful Shepherd who will lead them to the pastures of life.
They are in this situation because they have not given credit to the proclamation of Mary Magdalene.
It is not said that the disciples are "together". They are not in communion.
John does not speak of apostles, but of disciples, a broader term that embraces all believers in Jesus, of all times.
It says "the" and not "some" disciples, to indicate that they all are and will always be in this situation. It is the place where they meet the Lord.
Fear divides people; everyone, closed in himself, is in defense and attack against others.
In this situation, in many ways opposite to that of Mary, Jesus comes.
He is not ashamed of His brethren (Heb 2:11), even though they have abandoned , denied and betrayed Him. He chose them and bound Himself to them not because they were good and strong, but because they were small and weak, in need of Him.
No closure stops the Risen One. The light enters the darkness of the disciples.
The Lord does not save them from death - He did not even save Himself - but in the death in which they are found.
Jesus does not enter through the locked door.
He Himself is the door of life (10:7-10).
He stands upright, victorious over death. He is in the middle, at the centre of the disciples and in the heart of each one.
It is light that dissolves darkness, love that drives out all fear (1 Jn 4:18).
The Lord wants to be with us , in us always.
"Peace to you" 'Peace' is not simply the usual greeting of the Jews. It indicates the fullness of every messianic blessing. It is the gift of Jesus who says: "I leave you peace, I give you my peace", that peace which the world does not know. It is the peace of love that overcomes hatred.
"Have peace in me. You will have tribulations in the world; but trust me: I have conquered the world". His wounds are the source of this peace, they bring back to unity the dispersed children of God. It is the wounds that heal us (Is 53:5), the display of His extreme Love.
In His hands there is every power that the Father has given to the Son. These ,who have washed and dried feet ,are nailed to the love and service of every lost person.
They are those hands from which no one can kidnap us (10:28).
His torn side is the Flesh from which we are born, the wound from which we are generated.
In those who look to Him they have pierced, a Spirit of grace and consolation is poured out (Zc 12:10). From this contemplation and communion of love, proper to the Eucharist, comes the gift of the Spirit and the mission. The mission of the brethren is the same as that of the Son, who has washed the feet and has said: "I gave you an example, that as I did to you, you also may do"(13,15), and "I give you a new commandment ... as I loved you, you also must love one another"(13,34).
RispondiEliminaThe disciples are sent, like Him, to bear witness to the Love of the Father (3,16-17,6.26). "Having said that, He breathed on them".
It is the Spirit of the New and Eternal Covenant, stipulated in forgiveness (Jer 31:33),
Who gives us a new heart, capable of living according to the Word (Ez 26:25).
Jesus speaks of the "Holy Spirit" without an article, not because He is a vague and indeterminate reality. The Holy Spirit is His Love. He gives Him to us in fullness, without reserve (3:34).
But we have what we accept of Him, and we can accept more and more, without determining limits to what is infinite. Jesus asks us to receive Him. In the gift of the Spirit, the promises of Jesus at the last Supper (14:15-26) are fulfilled. On Easter evening we welcome the spring of living water promised on the great day of Pentecost (7:37-39): we welcome the Spirit of the Son and become children of God (1:12-13), so that we may forgive our brothers and sisters. By FAUSTI
GOSPEL John 20:19-31
RispondiElimina19 In the evening of the 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,”
vs.20 and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they
saw the Lord,
vs.21 and he said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I
sending you.”
vs.22 After saying this he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
vs.23 For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.”
vs.24 Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
vs.25 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.”
vs.26 Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them.
doubtersThe doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. “Peace be with you” he
said.
vs.27 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.”
vs.28 Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
vs.29 Jesus said to him: “You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have
not seen and yet believe.”
vs.30 There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are
not recorded in this book.
vs.31 These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and believing this you may have life through his name.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
In the salvific contact with the wounds of the Risen One, Thomas manifests his own wounds, his own tears, his own humiliation; in the sign of the nails he finds the decisive proof that he was loved, that he was expected, that he was understood. He was standing before a Messiah full of sweetness, mercy and tenderness. He was the Lord Whom he was seeking, in the secret depths of his being, because he had always known that He was so. (Regina Coeli, 12 April 2015)
Reading 1 Acts 5:12-16
RispondiEliminaMany signs and wonders were done among the people
at the hands of the apostles.
They were all together in Solomon's portico.
None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them.
Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord,
great numbers of men and women, were added to them.
Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets
and laid them on cots and mats
so that when Peter came by,
at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.
A large number of people from the towns
in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered,
bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits,
and they were all cured.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-2
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 Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
I, John, your brother, who share with you
the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus,
found myself on the island called Patmos
because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus.
I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day
and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, which said,
"Write on a scroll what you see."
Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me,
and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands
and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,
wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.
When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead.
He touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid.
I am the first and the last, the one who lives.
Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.
I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.
Write down, therefore, what you have seen,
and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards."