It-Tieni Ħadd ta' l-Għid
Messalin B 279
The community of believers was of one heart
and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they
had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There
was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would
sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the
apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Atti tal-Appostli 4, 32-35
Il-kotra kbira ta' dawk li emmnu kienu qalb waħda u ruħ waħda. Ħadd minnhom ma
kien igħid li dak li kellu kien tiegħu,
iżda kellhom kollox flimkien. B'qawwa
kbira l-appostli kienu jagħtu xhieda
tal-qawmien tal-Mulej Ġesu', u kulħadd
kien iġibhom ħafna. Ħadd minnhom ma kien jonqsu
xejn; għax kull min kellu oqsma
jew djar kien ibigħhom, u l-flus li jdaħħal minnhom, kien imur iqegħeduhom
f'riġlejn l-apposlti. Imbagħad kien jitqassam kollox skont il-ħtieġa ta' kull wieħed. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R. (1) Give
thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Let the house ofIsrael
"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.
Let the house of
"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: R.
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
117 (118))
R/ Faħħru l-Mulej, għaliex hu
tajjeb, għax it-tjieba tiegħu għal dejjem!
Ħa jgħidu wlied Israel
"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/
Il-leminija
tal-Mulej 'il fuq merfugħa,
il-leminija
tal-Mulej għamlet ħwejjeġ ta' ħila.
Ma
mmutx, imma nibqa' ngħix,
u
nħabbar l-egħmjjel tal-Mulej.
Haqarni tassew il-Mulej,
imma
ma telaqnix għal-mewt. R/
Il-ġebla li warrbu l-bennejja
saret il-ġebla tax-xewka.
Bis-saħħa tal-Mulej seħħ dan:
ħaġa tal-għaġeb f'għajnejna.
Dan hu l-jum li għamel il-Mulej;
ħa nifirħu u nithennew fih! R/
Reading 2 1 John 5:1-6
Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is
the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the
one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when
we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we
keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is
begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is
our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and blood,
Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one
that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. This
is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San
Ġwann 5, 1-6
Egħżież, kull min jemmen li Ġesu' hu l-Messija hu
mwieled minn Minn minn
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 nailmarks 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.
Evanġelju Qari skont San Ġwann 20, 19-31
Dakinhar filgħaxija, fl-ewwel jum
tal-ġimgħa, meta d-dixxipli kienu
flimkien imbeżżgħa mil-Lhud, bil-bibien magħluqa, ġie Ġesu' u qagħad f'nofshom; u qalilhom: "Is-Sliem
għalikom!" Kif qal hekk, uriehom
idejh u ġenbu.Id-dixxipli ferħu meta raw il-Mulej, Imbagħad Ġesu' 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
jkunu maħfura. u dawk li żżommuhomlhom jkunu miżmuma." Tumas, wieħed mit-Tnax, jgħidulu t-Tewmi, ma kienx
magħhom meta ġie Ġesu'. Għalhekk id-dixxipli l-oħra qalulu: "Rajna lill Mulej". Iżda hu qalilhom: "Jekk ma narax f'idejh il-marka ta' l-imsiemer, u ma nqigħedx sebgħi fuq
il-marka tal-imsiemer u idi fuq ġenbu,
jien ma nemminx". Tmint ijiem wara, id-dixxipli reġgħu kienu ġewwa, u
Tumas magħhom. Il-bibien
kienu magħluqa, imma Ġesu' daħal, qagħad f'nofshom, u qalilhom: "Is-Sliem għalikom!" Imbagħad qal lil Tumas: "Ġib
sebgħek hawn u ara idejja, u ressaq idek
u qegħedha fuq ġenbi; tkunnnnnx bniedem
bla fidi, iżda emmen." Wieġb
Tumas u qallu: "Mulej tiegħi u Alla
tiegħi!" Qallu Ġesu': "Emmint
għax rajtni! Ħenjin dawk li ma rawx u emmnu". Hemm
ħafna sinjali oħra li Ġesu' għamel
quddiem id-dixxipli tiegħu u li mhumiex
imniżżla f'dan il-Ktieb.Iżda dawn inkitbu biex intom temmnu li Ġesu' hu
l-Messija l-Iben Alla, u biex bit-twemmin tagħkom ikollkom il-ħajja f'Ismu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
///////////////////////
Allowing the Presence of the Risen
Jesus to Make a Difference
Commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
There is a proverb that says: "When the heart is not applied, hands
can't do anything." It seems as if this were written for Thomas the
Apostle in today's very familiar Gospel story that provides us with an
archetypal experience of doubt, struggle and faith.
John's first appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples is both
intense and focused. It is evening, the first day of the week, and the doors
were bolted shut. Anxious disciples are sealed inside. A suspicious, hostile
world is forced tightly outside. Jesus is missing. Suddenly, the Risen One
defies locked doors, blocked hearts, and distorted vision and simply appears.
Jesus reaches out ever so gently to the broken and wounded Apostle. Thomas
hesitatingly put his finger into the wounds of Jesus and love flowed out. How
can you hear this story without thinking of Caravaggio's magnificent painting
of this scene?
Who is this Thomas? He, along with many of the other male disciples,
stood before the cross, not comprehending. Thomas' dreams were hanging on that
cross and his hopes had been shattered. Over the years I have come to see
Thomas as truly one of the greatest and most honest lovers of Jesus, not the
eternal skeptic, nor the bullish, stubborn personality that the Christian
tradition has often painted. I have never enjoyed being called "doubting
Thomas" when I was growing up, simply because I liked to ask questions! I
used to secretly hope that I was named after Aquinas, More, Becket or
Villanova. But my mother insisted that it was the Apostle they chose for me!
Thomas' struggle and ours
What do we do when something to which we have totally committed
ourselves is destroyed before our very eyes? What do we do when powerful and
faceless institutions suddenly crush someone to whom we have given total
loyalty And what do we do when our immediate reaction in the actual moment of
crisis is to run and hide, for fear of the madding crowds? Such were the
questions of most of the disciples, including Thomas, who had supported and
followed Jesus of Nazareth for the better part of three years.
The doubting Thomas within each of us must be touched. We are asked to
respond to the wounds first within ourselves then in others. Even in our
weakness, we are urged to breathe forth the Spirit so that the wounds may be
healed and our fears overcome. With Thomas we will believe, when our trembling
hand finally and hesitantly reaches out to the Lord in the community of faith.
The words addressed to Thomas were given to us: "Blessed are those who
have not seen and have believed!"
Long ago St. Gregory the Great said of Thomas the Apostle: "If, by
touching the wounds on the body of his master, Thomas is able to help us
overcome the wounds of disbelief, then the doubting of Thomas will have been
more use to us than the faith of all the other apostles."
Centuries after Thomas, we remain forever grateful for the honesty and
humanity of his struggle. Though we know so little about Thomas, his family
background and his destiny, we are given an important hint into his identity in
the etymology of his name in Greek: Thomas (Didymous in Greek) means
"twin". Who was Thomas' other half, his twin? Maybe we can see his
twin by looking into the mirror. Thomas' other half is anyone who has struggled
with the pain of unbelief, doubt and despair, and has allowed the presence of
the Risen Jesus to make a difference.
Divine Mercy is not an option!
Over the past few years, I have listened to not a few liturgists and
pastoral ministers complaining about the fact that this Sunday was given a new
name by Pope John Paul II in the Jubilee Year 2000. Officially called the
Second Sunday of Easter after the liturgical reform of Vatican II, now, by
Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the name has
been changed to: "Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday."
Pope John Paul II made the surprise announcement of this change in his
homily at the canonization of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska on April 30, 2000. On
that day he declared: "It is important then that we accept the whole
message that comes to us from the Word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter,
which from now on throughout the Church, will be called 'Divine Mercy
Sunday.'"
What do the visions of a Polish nun have to do with Thomas the Apostle's
encounter with the Risen Lord? Do we have to 'force' a link between Divine
Mercy and the Gospel story of Thomas and the Risen Jesus? The answer to the
first question is: "Everything!" and to the second: "No!"
Clearly, the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday does not compete with,
nor endanger the integrity of the Easter Season, nor does it take away from
Thomas' awesome encounter with the Risen Lord. Divine Mercy Sunday is the
Octave Day of Easter, celebrating the merciful love of God shining through the
whole Easter Triduum and the whole Easter mystery.
The connection is more than evident from the scripture readings for this
first Sunday after Easter. At St. Faustina's canonization, Pope John Paul II
said in his moving homily: "Jesus shows his hands and his side [to the
Apostles]. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the
wound in his heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured
out on humanity."
The Meaning of the Day
Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast established to celebrate St.
Faustina's revelations. In fact it is not about St. Faustina at all! Rather it
recovers an ancient liturgical tradition, reflected in a teaching attributed to
St. Augustine
The Vatican did not give the title of "Divine Mercy Sunday" to
the Second Sunday of Easter merely as an "option," for those dioceses
who happen to like that sort of thing! This means that preaching on God's mercy
is not just an option for this Sunday. To fail to preach on God's mercy this
day would mean largely to ignore the prayers, readings and psalms appointed for
that day, as well as the title "Divine Mercy Sunday" now given to
that day in the Roman Missal.
Several years ago, when I, too, was finding difficulty in seeing the
internal links between the Second Sunday of Easter, my patron saint, Thomas,
and Sr. Faustina's revelation for this day, I came across this wonderful quote
by St. Bernard (Canticle 61, 4-5: PL 183, 1072): "What I cannot obtain by
myself, I appropriate (usurp!) with trust from the pierced side of the Lord,
because he is full of mercy.
"My merit, therefore, is God's mercy. I am certainly not poor in
merits, as long as he is rich in mercy. If the mercies of the Lord are many
(Psalm 119:156), I too will abound with merits. And what about my justice? O
Lord, I will remember only your justice. In fact, it is also mine, because you
are for me justice on the part of God."
Then the light went on for me. From that moment onward, I no longer
regret being named after this Thomas and not the others! Thomas' encounter with
the Risen Lord gave me a whole new perspective on the meaning of mercy.
And that has made all of the difference.
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