Readings for April 27
Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Tieni Ħadd tal-Għid
Ħadd il-Ħniena
Divina
Messalin A pg 186
Lectionary:
43
They devoted themselves to
the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the
prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through
the apostles. All who believed were
together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each
one’s need. Every day they devoted
themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their
homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising
God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to
their number those who were being saved.
This is the Word of The Lord.
1 Qari
- AtTi tal-appostli 2:42-47
Huma kienu jżommu sħiħ fit-tagħlim ta' l-appostli u fl-għaqda ta'
bejniethom, fil-qsim tal-ħobż u fit-talb.
Waqa' mbagħad il-biża' fuq kulħadd għax ħafna kienu l-mirakli u
s-sinjali li kienu jsiru permezz ta' l-appostli. Dawk kollha li kienu jemmnu
kienu ħaġa waħda, u kienu jaqsmu kollox bejniethom, ibigħu ġidhom u kull ma
kellhom u jqassmu d-dħul bejn kulħadd, skond il-ħtieġa ta' kull wieħed. U
kuljum kienu jmorru fit-tempju flimkien, jaqsmu l-ħobż fi djarhom, u jissieħbu
fl-ikel bi qlub ferħana u safja; u kienu jfaħħru lil Alla, u l-poplu kollu kien
iġibhom. U minn
Responsorial
Psalm -
PSalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R/ Alleluia
.Let the house of Israel
“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/
“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/
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
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/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R/ Alleluia
Ħa jgħidu
wlied Iżrael:
"Għal
dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu."
Ħa tgħid
dar Aron:
"Għal
dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu."
Ħa jgħidu dawk li jibżgħu mill-Mulej:
"Għal dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu." R/
B'saħħithom
kollha imbuttawni biex naqa';
imma
l-Mulej tani l-għajnuna.
Qawwa
tiegħi u għana
hu kien
għalija s-salvazzjoni tiegħi.
Għajjat ta'
ferħ u rebħ fl-għerejjex tat-tajbin:
il-leminija tal-Mulej għamlet ħwejjeġ ta' ħila! R/
Il-ġebla li
warrbu l-bennejja
saret
il-ġebla tax-xewka.
Bis-saħħa
tal-Mulej seħħ dan:
ħaġa ta'
l-għaġeb f'għajnejna.
Dan hu
l-jum li għamel il-Mulej;
ħa nifirħu u nithennew fih! R/
Reading
2 -
1 PeTer 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to
a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for
you who by the power of God are
safeguarded through faith, to a
salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. In this you rejoice,
although now for a little while you may
have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by
fire, may prove to be for praise, glory,
and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet
believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the
salvation of your souls. This is the Word of The Lord.
2
Qari - 1 PieTru 1:3-9
Ikun imbierek Alla u Missier Sidna Ġesù Kristu, li fil-ħniena kbira
tiegħu raġa' wilidna għal tama ħajja bil-qawmien ta' Ġesù Kristu mill-imwiet u għal wirt li la jitħassar, la
jittabba', u lanqas jinxef. Dan il-wirt hu merfugħ għalikom fis-sema għax intom
tinsabu taħt il-ħarsien tal-qawwa ta'
Alla fil-fidi tagħkom li twassal għas-salvazzjoni li lesta biex tidher fl-aħħar
taż-żminijiet. Għalhekk għandkom għax tifirħu mqar jekk issa, għal ftit żmien
ieħor, jeħtiġilkom titnikktu taħt ħafna provi. Bħalma d-deheb, li jintemm,
jgħaddi mill-prova tan-nar, hekk tgħaddi mill-prova l-fidi tagħkom, li tiswa
aktar mid-deheb, biex ikun jistħoqqilha tasal għat-tifħir, għall-glorja, u
għall-ġieħ, meta jidher Ġesù Kristu. Lilu, għalkemm ma rajtuhx, intom tħobbuh;
fih, għad li issa m'intomx tarawh, intom temmnu; fih intom tifirħu b'ferħ
glorjuż, li ma jistax jitfisser, waqt li
tiksbu l-għan tal-fidi tagħkom, li hu s-salvazzjoni tagħkom. Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel - JohN 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 nail marks 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. This is the Word of The Lord.
Evangelju - gwanni 20:19-31
Dak in-nhar
fil-għaxija, fl-ewwel jum tal-ġimgħa, meta d-dixxipli kienu flimkien imbeżżgħa
mil-Lhud, bil-bibien magħluqa, ġie Ġesù u qagħad f'nofshom; u qalilhom: "Is-sliem għalikom?" Kif qal
hekk, uriehom idejh u ġenbu. Id-dixxipli ferħu meta raw lill-Mulej. Mbagħad
Ġesù tenna jgħidilhom:
"Is-sliem għalikom! Kif il-Missier bagħat lili, hekk jien nibgħat
lilkom." Kif qal hekk, nefaħ fuqhom u qalilhom:
"Ħudu l-Ispirtu s-Santu. Dawk li taħfrulhom dnubiethom ikunu maħfura, u
dawk li żżommuhomlhom ikunu miżmuma."
Tumas, wieħed mit-Tnax, jgħidulu t-Tewmi, ma kienx magħhom meta ġie
Ġesù. Għalhekk id-dixxipli l-oħra
qalulu: "Rajna l-Mulej."
Iżda hu qalilhom: "Jekk ma
narax f'idejh il-marka ta' l-imsiemer u ma nqigħedx sebgħi fuq il-marka ta'
l-imsiemer u idi fuq ġenbu, jien ma nemminx." Tmint ijiem wara,
id-dixxipli reġgħu kienu ġewwa, u Tumas magħhom. Il-bibien kienu magħluqa, imma
Ġesù daħal, qagħad f'nofshom, u qalilhom:
"Is-sliem għalikom?" Mbagħad qal lil Tumas: "Ġib sebgħek hawn u ara idejja, u ressaq idek
u qegħedha fuq ġenbi; tkunx bniedem bla fidi, iżda emmen." Wieġeb Tumas u
qallu: "Mulej tiegħi u Alla
tiegħi?" Qallu Ġesù:
"Emmint għax rajtni! Henjin dawk li ma rawx u emmnu." Hemm ħafna sinjali oħra li Ġesù għamel
quddiem id-dixxipli tiegħu u li m'humiex imniżżla f'dan il-ktieb. Iżda dawn
inkitbu sabiex intom temmnu li Ġesù hu l-Messija l-Iben ta' Alla, u biex
bit-twemmin tagħkom ikollkom il-ħajja f'ismu.
Kelma tal-Mulej.
//////////////////////////////////
COMMENTARY:
A reflection by Larry Broding, Catholic Lectionary Resources
God's Gift of Peace
When the last time you truly felt peaceful? Peace is more than a lack of conflict. A lull
in action between two opponents only gives them a chance to regroup, to
recharge for the next round. A void of violence does not lead to
happiness. True peace, on the other hand, gives us happiness, since
it is build on trust. The gospel tells us how Jesus gave his followers peace
because they trusted him. In spite of scepticism, he offers us the same
peace. In his gospel, John gave the
reason the followers gathered together behind locked doors. They feared the
Jewish leadership. "If they killed Jesus," the followers reasoned,
"the leadership would certainly be looking for us." [20: 19a]
Barred doors made Jesus' followers look more
suspicious. At the time, trust within the Jewish community was built upon open
access. Doors were never locked. Neighbouring children could enter one's house
at will. Jews lived private lives in the open. Anyone who locked their doors
(save the rural family who lived miles from their neighbour), cut themselves
off from the community.
Suddenly Jesus appeared in the locked room and
greeted his followers with "Shalom."
[20: 19b]. Shalom ("peace"
in Hebrew) meant God was working in the world. When God worked, he put the
world in balance. No war, no hatred, no cynicism could overcome God's
providence. When God worked, he put the spirit in balance. No fear, no doubt,
no lack of trust could overcome the sheer joy of God's presence. Shalom meant
everything was right in God's world.
When
his followers saw Jesus alive with his deadly wound, they realized the "Shalom" of Jesus, for they
witnessed God's activity in the world. Fear left them, for now they believed.
Joy entered their hearts. [20: 20] Again Jesus said "Shalom" with a command and a
gift. The command: Go into the
world. As the Father sent Jesus into the physical world, Jesus would now send
his followers into the cultural world. [20: 21]
With the command came the gift: the Holy Spirit. In Greek (pneuma) and Hebrew (ruah),
the word "spirit" can be
translated as "breath" In
20: 22, the word "breathe on" in Greek can be seen only here and in
Genesis 2: 7 of the Septuagint (a
Greek translation of the Bible used by the early Church) where God breathed
life into Adam. So, when Jesus breathed on his followers, he gave them his
Spirit. When the followers took in the Spirit, they received his newly risen
life. [20: 22]
Now they could obey the missionary command to
proclaim repentance and forgive sin. Jesus told his followers to forgive or
retain sin like a knot loosening or tied closely together. If the followers
forgive, however, they must loosen the sinner from the guilt now and in the
future. Sin was never to be brought up again. [20: 23]
Why does the Christian walk lead through forgiveness to
peace? How have you experienced that
road?
Preachers have called Thomas the
"Doubter." Few have touched upon his cynicism. Over and over, Thomas
heard the witness of the followers. But, Thomas wanted more than proof
positive. ("Inspect and touch,"
literally meant "to see and
thrust.") He stepped beyond skepticism into cynicism. [20: 24-25]
A week later, Jesus again appears with the
greeting of "Shalom."
Turning to Thomas, Jesus answered the challenge of cynicism with the challenge
of faith. Thomas responded with two titles for Jesus:
Lord and God. Thomas acknowledged the rightful place of Jesus as Lord; he also
saw God working through the Risen Christ. Thomas finally received Christ's gift
of Shalom. [20: 26-28]
In contrast to Thomas, Jesus blessed those who
believed without seeing him raised from the dead. [20: 29]
Here John used the word "believe"
in two senses: to trust
("believe in") and to hold onto the truth ("believe (something)
about..."). Blessed were those who placed their personal trust in Christ
(believe in); they do not need proof of his resurrection, for they know he is
alive. But, even blessed are those who hold onto the truths of faith
(believe...about), for, with an open heart, they will soon experience the risen
Christ. Belief in these two sense stood against the cynicism found in Thomas.
How does the cynicism of the world affect you? How does
faith keep you from cynicism?
The peace Christ give us heals the fear and
cynicism of the world. This peace builds bridges of trust and allows us to walk
together to the Father. His peace allows us to continue to believe and to hold
on to his very life. Let us, then, offer each other the peace of Christ, the
Shalom of his Spirit.
How can you offer the peace of Christ to others in your daily life?
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