The God who is Before Us: Third Sunday of Easter 2026

                                                  The God who is Before Us:

Third Sunday of Easter 2026 

April 19, 2026

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Acts 2:14-33; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35

 

The story about the two who are their way to Emmaus reveal something fundamental about God. God is always before us. God is always in the future leading us forward. The Psalmist echoes it by telling us that God will show us the path to life. It is something that will happen in the future. Even Peter in the first reading speaks about God’s foreknowledge of the events of human cruelty. In the second reading, Peter says, “God was known before the world’s foundation but revealed in the final time for you.”

 

The Emmaus walk reminds us that we are on a journey through life, one that is to be shared with others. We learn a great deal when we listen meaningfully and break bread with one another. The Gospel tells us, “their minds were opened,” the experienced a raising of consciousnesses, and it is a model that we are to follow. This disposition of openness is a key to a fulfilling life of meaning and trust.  

 

We see many instances in Scripture where God is ahead of the people to lead them forward. God leads the Hebrews from slavery into the Promised Land; God leads Israel as a pillar of cloud of fire. Jesus calls people to follow him, and as the Good Shepherd, he always goes before the sheep. Notice that God does not push us forward from the back; God invites us from the front. It does not mean that we know where we are going. We simply take one more step onward. 

 

What does this mean for our relationship with Christ? Our traditional prayers focus upon the Christ of the past, the Jesus of Nazareth who has been raised. The new focus upon the Christ who is still ahead of us, the Christ who is still becoming, shows that he is growing toward his fulfillment at the end of time. Christ is presently both with us and up ahead of us, beckoning us forward, inviting us to grow in love, as an individual and as a collective Body of Christ.  

 

When we break bread with one another, we open ourselves to a grander way of thinking and feeling. As we listen to and share stories, our hearts are converted to the stories of other people, just like the Disciples on the way to Emmaus. We begin to shift our thinking, through the Eucharist, from a restrictive mindset to one that is more open and inclusive. Therefore, our spirituality can no longer be self-focused or self-enclosed. As a community of faith, we develop at collective spiritual life in which we turn outside of ourselves to the needs of others. We begin to see ourselves as new creations and no longer as individuals who want to develop one’s own prayer life. We see that we are part of a greater Body, to a new life connected with the Risen Christ. We pay attention to the divine project that God through Jesus has begun in the Resurrection. As Christ was raised to new life, we were raised with him.

 

We now need to learn to act and think in a new way. It is not I who lives but the Christ within me. We need to act as members of Christ, the Christ who is calling us to evolve and to love as one body. The Christ who is to come is calling us toward him. We are invited to walk with him and to work with each other and with Christ to transform the earth. This forward movement to the God who is ahead impels us forward to a greater love, to a world that is still becoming, to a world that is striving to reach its fullest potential. Let’s walk on this journey with the Christ who is to come so we can make possible a transformed future for our world. When we break bread with one another, may we come to this moment in which our eyes are opened and we see the Christ in each of us called forth as one as brother and sister and friend. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Acts 6) Stephen worked great signs and wonders in the name of Jesus. 

 

Tuesday: (Acts 7) False testimony is lodged against him but he stands angelic before them. Angry opponents stone him, including Saul, who consents to execute him.  

 

Wednesday: (Acts 8) A severe persecution breaks out in Jerusalem and the believers are displaced to Judea and Samaria. Saul, trying to destroy the Church, enters house after house to arrest them. 

 

Thursday: (Acts 8) Philip’s testimony and miracles in Samaria emboldens the believers. Philip heads out to Gaza and meets an Ethiopian eunuch who is reading Isaiah’s texts. Philip interprets the scripture and the eunuch begs to be baptized. 

  

Friday (Acts 9) Meanwhile, Saul is carrying out hateful acts against the believers and is struck blind as he beholds a manifestation of Jesus. The beginning of his call and conversion takes place.  

 

Saturday (1 Peter 6 – Mark the Evangelist) Clothe yourself in humility; be sober and vigilant and resist the devil. The God of grace will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.  

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 6) Jesus feeds the 5000 as a flashback to the Eucharistic memory of the believers with the Bread of Life discourse. 

 

Tuesday: (John 6) Jesus instructs them, “It was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; my heavenly father gives the true bread.” Jesus proclaims, “I am the bread of life.”

 

Wednesday (John 6) God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through him. 

 

Thursday (John 6) Jesus states that all that is required is belief in him. Belief is not given to all. The way to the way is through the Son. 

 

Friday (John 6) The Jews quarreled and opposition to the cannibalistic references of Jesus rises because his sayings are hard to accept. He tells the people, “my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” If you eat of Jesus, you will live forever. 

  

Saturday (Mark 16) Jesus appeared to the Eleven giving them instructions to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. 

 

Saints of the Week

 

April 21: Anselm, bishop and doctor (1033-1109), was a monastic abbot in Normandy who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 after the Norman conquest of England in 1066 when the English hierarchy was displaced. Church-state relations peppered his term, but he became known to the church because of his theological and philosophical treatises, mostly for his assertion about the existence of God – an idea greater than that which no other idea can be thought. His method of theology is summed up in “faith seeking understanding.”

 

April 22: Jesuits honor Mary as the Mother of the Society of Jesus. In the Gesu church in Rome, a painting of Our Lady of the Way (Maria della Strada) is portrayed to represent Jesuit spirituality. Mary had been a central figure to Ignatius’s spirituality. In 1541, seven months after papal approval of the Jesuit Order and two weeks after his election as the first general, Ignatius celebrated Mass at Our Lady’s altar in the basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome.

 

April 23: George, martyr (d. 303), was killed in Lydda, Palestine. He may have been a Roman soldier who organized a Christian community in what is now Iran (Urmiah). He became part of the Middle Ages imagination for his ideal of Christian chivalry and is thought to have slain a dragon. He was sent to Britain on an imperial expedition. He became the patron of England (and of Crusaders) and the nation adopted George’s Arms, a red cross on a white background, which is still part of the British flag.

 

April 23: Adalbert, bishop and martyr (956-997), was Bohemian-born who was consecrated bishop of Prague amidst fierce political opposition. He was exiled and became a Benedictine monk in Rome that he used as a base to preach missions in Poland, Prussia, Hungary, and Russia. He is named the "Apostle to the Slavs." He was killed in Gdansk, Poland.

April 24: Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr (1578-1622), was a canon lawyer from Swabia, Germany who became a Capuchin Franciscan  in Switzerland in 1612. Prior to priesthood, he tutored nobles in France, Italy and Spain and helped interpret legislation that served the poor. He was known as the "lawyer for the poor." He was later appointed to the challenging task of preaching to the Protestants in Switzerland, where he was killed for being an agent for the king. He was the head of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in anti-Catholic hostilities. He was accused of being the king's political agent and was assaulted and killed. 

 

April 25: Mark, the Evangelist is the author of the earliest Gospel and is associated with Peter whom he heard preach. Mark was a member of the first Christian community in Jerusalem and his mother owned a house in the city that was used as a place of prayer during Peter's imprisonment under Herod Agrippa I. He was originally a companion of Paul and Barnabas having traveled with them back to Antioch in Syria. Later, they brought him along as their assistant on a missionary journey. He is associated with Peter’s ministry later in life. He was sent to Alexandria and formed a church that is now known as the Coptic Orthodox Church.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• April 19, 1602. At Tyburn, Ven. James Ducket, a layman, suffered death for publishing a work written by Robert Southwell. 
• April 20, 1864. Father Peter de Smet left St Louis to evangelize the Sioux Indians. 
• April 21, 1926. Fr. General Ledochowski sent out a letter De Usu Machinae Photographicae. It stated that cameras should belong to the house, not the individual. Further, they should not be used for recreation or time spent on trifles rather than for the greater glory of God. 
• April 22, 1541. Ignatius and his first companions made their solemn profession of vows in the basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls. 
• April 23, 1644. A General Chapter of the Benedictines condemned the calumny that St Ignatius was not the real author of the Spiritual Exercises. A monk had earlier claimed that the content was borrowed from a work by Garzia Cisneros. 
• April 24, 1589. At Bordeaux, the Society was ordered to leave the city. It had been falsely accused of favoring the faction that was opposed to King Henry III. 
• April 25, 1915. Pierre Rousselot, Professor at the Institute Catholique in Paris, is wounded and taken prisoner during World War I.

El Dios que está delante de nosotros: Tercer domingo de Pascua de 2026

                                      El Dios que está delante de nosotros:

Tercer domingo de Pascua de 2026

19 de abril de 2026

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Hechos 2:14-33; Salmo 16; 1 Pedro 1:17-21; Lucas 24:13-35

 

La historia de los dos que se dirigen a Emaús revela algo fundamental sobre Dios. Dios siempre está presente ante nosotros. Dios siempre está en el futuro, guiándonos hacia adelante. El salmista lo confirma al decirnos que Dios nos mostrará el camino a la vida. Es algo que sucederá en el futuro. Incluso Pedro, en la primera lectura, habla de la presciencia de Dios respecto a los actos de crueldad humana. En la segunda lectura, Pedro dice: «Dios era conocido desde antes de la creación del mundo, pero se reveló para ustedes en el tiempo final».

 

El camino a Emaús nos recuerda que estamos en un viaje por la vida, un viaje que debemos compartir con los demás. Aprendemos mucho cuando escuchamos con atención y compartimos el pan. El Evangelio nos dice que «sus mentes se abrieron», que experimentaron una elevación de la conciencia, y este es un modelo que debemos seguir. Esta disposición a la apertura es clave para una vida plena, llena de significado y confianza.

 

En las Escrituras vemos muchos ejemplos donde Dios va delante del pueblo para guiarlo. Dios guió a los hebreos de la esclavitud a la Tierra Prometida; Dios guió a Israel como una columna de fuego. Jesús llama a la gente a seguirlo, y como el Buen Pastor, siempre va delante de las ovejas. Nótese que Dios no nos empuja hacia adelante desde atrás; Dios nos invita desde adelante. Esto no significa que sepamos adónde vamos. Simplemente damos un paso más.

 

¿Qué significa esto para nuestra relación con Cristo? Nuestras oraciones tradicionales se centran en el Cristo del pasado, el Jesús de Nazaret resucitado. El nuevo enfoque en el Cristo que aún está por venir, el Cristo que aún está en desarrollo, muestra que está creciendo hacia su plenitud al final de los tiempos. Cristo está presente con nosotros y a la vez nos guía, atrayéndonos hacia adelante, invitándonos a crecer en el amor, como individuos y como Cuerpo de Cristo.

 

Al compartir el pan, nos abrimos a una forma más elevada de pensar y sentir. Al escuchar y compartir historias, nuestros corazones se transforman con las historias de los demás, al igual que los discípulos camino a Emaús. A través de la Eucaristía, comenzamos a cambiar nuestra mentalidad, pasando de una perspectiva restrictiva a una más abierta e inclusiva. Por lo tanto, nuestra espiritualidad ya no puede estar centrada en nosotros mismos ni ser egocéntrica. Como comunidad de fe, desarrollamos una vida espiritual colectiva en la que nos volvemos hacia afuera para atender las necesidades de los demás. Comenzamos a vernos como nuevas criaturas y ya no como individuos que desean desarrollar su propia vida de oración. Vemos que somos parte de un Cuerpo mayor, de una nueva vida conectada con Cristo Resucitado. Prestamos atención al proyecto divino que Dios, a través de Jesús, inició en la Resurrección. Así como Cristo resucitó a una nueva vida, nosotros resucitamos con él.

 

Ahora necesitamos aprender a actuar y pensar de una manera nueva. No soy yo quien vive, sino Cristo en mí. Necesitamos actuar como miembros de Cristo, el Cristo que nos llama a evolucionar y a amar como un solo cuerpo. El Cristo que ha de venir nos llama hacia él. Estamos invitados a caminar con él y a trabajar juntos, y con Cristo, para transformar la tierra. Este avance hacia el Dios que está delante nos impulsa hacia un amor mayor, hacia un mundo que aún está en construcción, hacia un mundo que se esfuerza por alcanzar su máximo potencial. Recorramos este camino con el Cristo que ha de venir para que podamos hacer posible un futuro transformado para nuestro mundo. Cuando partamos el pan, que lleguemos a ese momento en que nuestros ojos se abran y veamos al Cristo en cada uno de nosotros llamado a manifestarse como uno solo, como hermano, hermana y amigo.

 

Lecturas bíblicas para la Misa diaria

Lunes: (Hechos 6) Esteban hacía grandes señales y prodigios en el nombre de Jesús.

 

Martes: (Hechos 7) Se presentan falsos testimonios contra él, pero se muestra angelical ante ellos. Sus oponentes, enfurecidos, lo apedrean, entre ellos Saulo, quien accede a ejecutarlo.

 

Miércoles: (Hechos 8) Se desata una severa persecución en Jerusalén y los creyentes son desplazados a Judea y Samaria. Saulo, tratando de destruir la Iglesia, entra casa por casa para arrestarlos.

 

Jueves: (Hechos 8) El testimonio de Felipe y sus milagros en Samaria fortalecen a los creyentes. Felipe se dirige a Gaza y se encuentra con un eunuco etíope que está leyendo los textos de Isaías. Felipe interpreta las Escrituras y el eunuco le ruega que lo bautice.

  

Viernes (Hechos 9) Mientras tanto, Saulo comete actos de odio contra los creyentes y queda ciego al contemplar una manifestación de Jesús. Comienza así su llamado y conversión.

 

Sábado (1 Pedro 6 – Marcos el Evangelista) Revístanse de humildad; sean sobrios y vigilantes, y resistan al diablo. El Dios de la gracia los restaurará, confirmará, fortalecerá y establecerá después de que hayan sufrido un poco.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: (Juan 6) Jesús alimenta a los 5000 como un recuerdo de la Eucaristía de los creyentes con el discurso del Pan de Vida.

 

Martes: (Juan 6) Jesús les dice: «No fue Moisés quien les dio el pan del cielo, sino mi Padre celestial quien les da el verdadero pan». Jesús proclama: «Yo soy el pan de vida».

 

Miércoles (Juan 6) Dios no envió a su Hijo al mundo para condenarlo, sino para que el mundo sea salvo por medio de él.

 

Jueves (Juan 6) Jesús afirma que lo único que se requiere es creer en él. La fe no se concede a todos. El camino al camino es a través del Hijo.

 

Viernes (Juan 6) Los judíos se enzarzaron en una disputa y surgió oposición a las referencias caníbales de Jesús, pues sus palabras eran difíciles de aceptar. Él les dice: «Mi carne es verdadera comida, y mi sangre es verdadera bebida». Si comen de Jesús, vivirán para siempre.

  

El sábado (Marcos 16), Jesús se apareció a los once apóstoles y les dio instrucciones para que proclamaran el Evangelio a toda criatura.

 

Santos de la semana

 

21 de abril: Anselmo, obispo y médico (1033-1109), Fue un abad monástico en Normandía que se convirtió en arzobispo de Canterbury en 1093 tras la conquista normanda de Inglaterra en 1066, cuando la jerarquía inglesa fue desplazada. Las relaciones Iglesia-Estado marcaron su mandato, pero se dio a conocer en la Iglesia por sus tratados teológicos y filosóficos, sobre todo por su afirmación de la existencia de Dios: una idea superior a cualquier otra concebible. Su método teológico se resume en «la fe que busca la comprensión».

 

22 de abril: Los jesuitas honran María como Madre de la Compañía de Jesús . En la iglesia del Gesù en Roma, una pintura de Nuestra Señora del Camino (María della Strada) representa la espiritualidad jesuita. María había sido una figura central en la espiritualidad de Ignacio. En 1541, siete meses después de la aprobación papal de la Orden Jesuita y dos semanas después de su elección como primer general, Ignacio celebró la Misa en el altar de la Virgen en la basílica de San Pablo Extramuros en Roma.

 

23 de abril: Jorge, mártir (m. 303), murió en Lydda, Palestina. Es posible que fuera un soldado romano que organizó una comunidad cristiana en lo que hoy es Irán ( Urmías ). Se convirtió en un ícono de la Edad Media por su ideal de caballería cristiana y se cree que mató a un dragón. Fue enviado a Gran Bretaña en una expedición imperial. Se convirtió en el patrón de Inglaterra (y de los cruzados) y la nación adoptó el escudo de armas de Jorge, una cruz roja sobre fondo blanco, que aún forma parte de la bandera británica.

 

23 de abril: Adalberto, obispo y mártir (956-997) , nació en Bohemia y fue consagrado obispo de Praga en medio de una feroz oposición política. Fue exiliado y se convirtió en monje benedictino en Roma, ciudad que utilizó como base para predicar misiones en Polonia, Prusia, Hungría y Rusia. Se le conoce como el "Apóstol de los eslavos". Murió en Gdansk, Polonia. 

24 de abril: Fidelis de Sigmaringen , sacerdote y mártir (1578-1622) , Fue un canonista de Suabia, Alemania, que se hizo franciscano capuchino en Suiza en 1612. Antes de ordenarse sacerdote, fue tutor de nobles en Francia, Italia y España, y ayudó a interpretar la legislación que beneficiaba a los pobres. Era conocido como el "abogado de los pobres". Posteriormente, fue designado para la difícil tarea de predicar a los protestantes en Suiza, donde fue asesinado por ser agente del rey. Fue jefe de la Congregación para la Propagación de la Fe en medio de las hostilidades anticatólicas. Fue acusado de ser agente político del rey y fue agredido y asesinado.

 

25 de abril: Marcos, el evangelista Marcos fue el autor del primer Evangelio y se le asocia con Pedro, a quien escuchó predicar. Perteneció a la primera comunidad cristiana de Jerusalén y su madre poseía una casa en la ciudad que se utilizaba como lugar de oración durante el encarcelamiento de Pedro bajo el mandato de Herodes Agripa I. Originalmente, acompañó a Pablo y Bernabé, viajando con ellos de regreso a Antioquía de Siria. Posteriormente, lo llevaron consigo como asistente en una misión. Se le asocia con el ministerio de Pedro en sus últimos años. Fue enviado a Alejandría y fundó una iglesia que hoy se conoce como la Iglesia Copta Ortodoxa.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 19 de abril de 1602. En Tyburn, el venerable James Ducket, un laico, fue condenado a muerte por publicar una obra escrita por Robert Southwell.
• 20 de abril de 1864. El padre Peter de Smet partió de San Luis para evangelizar a los indios sioux.
• 21 de abril de 1926. P. El general Ledochowski envió una carta a De Usu Máquinas Photographicae . Afirmaba que las cámaras debían pertenecer al hogar, no al individuo. Además, no debían usarse para el ocio ni para perder el tiempo en nimiedades, sino para la mayor gloria de Dios.
• 22 de abril de 1541. Ignacio y sus primeros compañeros hicieron su solemne profesión de votos en la basílica de San Pablo Extramuros.
• 23 de abril de 1644. Un Capítulo General de los Benedictinos condenó la calumnia de que San Ignacio no fuera el verdadero autor de los Ejercicios Espirituales. Un monje había afirmado anteriormente que el contenido había sido tomado de una obra de Garzia Cisneros.
• 24 de abril de 1589. En Burdeos, la Sociedad recibió la orden de abandonar la ciudad. Había sido acusada falsamente de favorecer a la facción que se oponía al rey Enrique III.
• 25 de abril de 1915. Pierre Rousselot, profesor del Instituto Católico de París, resulta herido y hecho prisionero durante la Primera Guerra Mundial.

Photo: Salt and Pepper

 

Spirituality: from Teilhard de Chardin on the Eucharist

Evil exists in the world, but where evil abounds, love abounds even more. Millions of simple acts of love and care happen in every community each day. Expressions of compassionate and creative love are happening everywhere. We only have to observe the goodness of people around us. Today's Body of Christ is healthier, more educated, more connected, more all-embracing than ever before.

Photo: Window at the Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island

 

Poem: Maybe, anonymous, found online

Sweet Jesus, talking 

his melancholy madness, 

stood up in the boat 

and the sea lay down,

silky and sorry. 

So everybody was saved 

that night. 

But you know how it is

 

when something 

different crosses 

the threshold — the uncles 

mutter together,

 

the women walk away, 

the young brother begins 

to sharpen his knife. 

Nobody knows what the soul is.

 

It comes and goes 

like the wind over the water — 

sometimes, for days, 

you don't think of it.

 

Maybe, after the sermon, 

after the multitude was fed, 

one or two of them felt 

the soul slip forth

like a tremor of pure sunlight 

before exhaustion, 

that wants to swallow everything, 

gripped their bones and left them

 

miserable and sleepy, 

as they are now, forgetting 

how the wind tore at the sails 

before he rose and talked to it —

 

tender and luminous and demanding 

as he always was — 

a thousand times more frightening 

than the killer sea. 

Poem: My Lord and My God, Laurence Housman

 

Poem: My Lord and My God, Laurence Housman

 Spring comes with silent rush of leaf

Across the earth and cries,

“Lo, Love is risen!” But doubting Grief

Returns, “If with mine eyes

 

“I may not see the marks, nor reach

My hand into his side,

I will not hear your lips that preach

Love raised and glorified.

 

“Except by all the wounds that brake

His heart, and marred his brow

Most grievously for sorrow’s sake,

How shall I know him now?”

 

Love came, and said. “Reach hither, Grief,

Thy hand into my side:

Oh, slow of heart to win belief,

Seeing that for grief I died.

 

“Lo, all the griefs of which I died

Rise with me from the dead!”

Then Grief drew near, and touched the side,

And touched the wounds that bled,

 

And cried, “My God, O blessed sign,

O Body raised, made whole,

By this I know that thou art mine,

Upholder of my soul!” 

Spirituality: Parker J. Palmer in A Hidden Wholeness

The insight at the heart of nonviolence is that we live in a tragic gap—a gap between the way things are and the way we know they might be… If we want to live nonviolent lives, we must learn to stand in the tragic gap, faithfully holding the tension between reality and possibility in hopes of being opened to a third way... [of breaking our] collective hearts open to justice, truth, and love.

There is an old Hasidic tale that tells us how such things happen. The pupil comes to the rebbe and asks, "Why does Torah tell us to 'place these words upon your hearts’? Why does it not tell us to place these holy words in our hearts?" The rebbe answers, "It is because as we are, our hearts are closed, and we cannot place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until, one day, the heart breaks, and the words fall in." 

Photo: The Trumpets Blast

 

Poem: “The Resurrection Prayers of Magdalen, Peter, and Two Youths”

In Peter’s dreams 

the cock still crowed.                      

He returned to Galilee 

to throw nets into the sea 

and watch them sink 

like memories into darkness. 

He did not curse the sun 

that rolled down his back 

or the wind that drove 

the fish beyond his nets. 

He only waited for the morning 

when the shore mist would lift 

and from his boat he would see him. 

Then after a naked and impetuous swim 

with the sea running from his eyes 

he would find a cook 

with holes in his hands 

and stooped over dawn coals 

who would offer him the Kingdom of God 

for breakfast.

Photo: Easter Flowers

 

Prayer: Irish Blessing

May there always be work for your hands to do; 

May your purse always hold a coin or two; 

May the sun always shine on your windowpane; 

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; 

May the hand of a friend always be near you; 

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

New Life; Living Hope: Second Sunday of Easter 2026

                                                 New Life; Living Hope:

Second Sunday of Easter 2026 

April 12, 2026

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Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

 

Overwhelming joy punctuates the first Apostles as they come together in astonishment. Acts writes, “They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.” Thomas cries out, “My Lord and My God” after receiving the Holy Spirit that ushers in a radical depth of peace. Peter explodes with praise as he writes, “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.” Wow. A new birth to a living hope. 

 

What does this tell us about Peter? These are words from a man whose life was significantly changed. He is becoming someone new because of the Resurrection. We have to realize that God is not simply making us into better people; God is making us into new people. This is about transformation, new life, not simply that we improve who we are. We can think about salvation as “enjoying the fulness of new life.” Salvation moves us into wholeness, into an inner vitality. Salvation is far more than being saved from sin; Let us put sin in its proper perspective. Salvation is about enjoying the fulness of life. What do you need to embrace this “newness?”

 

Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, speaks about this as the “magis,” the more. Sometimes we feel stuck with our fate or state in life, or we look at our lives as defined by past failures, or we have reached a point of resignation where we simply say, “This is just who I am.” No. There’s more. There’s much more. Through God’s mercy, we are given a living hope. You have been given new life with a living hope. We cannot let ourselves settle when new life is offered to us.

 

This is not an ordinary, passive hope in which we say, “I hope things get better,” or “In the end, all will be well.” This is an active, living hope that has already begun within us. It has already started. We can now strive for our best, hold not the love we had in childhood, and to know of our essential goodness even when life has battered us down. This is a living hope that cannot die – even when we die. This is about a relationship now and in the future, a relationship with the Risen Jesus who is alive right now and reaches out to you with gentle hands. Our hope is not optimism. Our hope is what happens when Christ walks into our fear and does not leave. This is Christ’s mercy to us. Christ enters into the fabric of our life and is pleased to be there. 

 

Some might ask, “How can we have hope when there are overwhelming dark forces in the world, when we feel like we are stuck in the tomb? Sometimes, the tomb can provide us safety from the menacing powers.” We may wonder, “Where are you, O God? How can you permit this darkness?” You are right to ask. Fear has no place in God’s plan. We are called out from the tomb, out of our fears into an unstable world. We are called to live in the resurrection. It was not just something that happened to Jesus, it is something that is happening to us. Humanity will reach a tipping point when there are more people with expanding consciousness and compassion to reshape the world.

 

What does this mean for us? We can make ourselves vulnerable and risk loving generously because that love can never be lost. We can endure suffering with hope because suffering is not the final word. We can let go of lesser concerns because something greater awaits us. God is always standing before us – beckoning us forward, waiting in the future, leading us toward a future that cannot be taken away. It might be time for us to make some radical changes in our thinking. Let us go forward together and raise our consciousness to higher matters. Let us drop everything that holds us back from the fulness to which we are called. Let us live in this love that knows no limitations.

 

Today, we read about Jesus coming back to see Thomas with the Apostles. We saw how he came back for Mary Magdalene, for Peter, and the Others. We also know that the first person he visited was a woman in grief, sitting in her courtyard filled with overwhelming loss. What son have risen from the dead would not first return to his mother? And Jesus has not forgotten you. He will come for you. He will appear to you in many ways before you recognize that you matter, that you matter a great deal to him, that he cares for you, that he wants your friendship, that you are lovable and worthy of his love, that he wants to give you the fullness of life. If you knew how much you are loved, you would do everything in your power to live as God sees you. This is what I want for you too. Within the Resurrection, there is nothing to hold us back. Let us explore the energy of this creative love, this transformative mercy, that transforms lives and grounds us in living hope.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Acts 4) Peter and John return to their people after being released from the religious authorities. They prayed about their ordeal and the whole house shook and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. 

 

Tuesday: (Acts 4) The community of believers was of one heart and mind and together they bore witness to the Resurrection. Joseph, called Barnabas, sold a property and give money to the Apostles. 

 

Wednesday: (Acts 5) The high priest with the Sadducees jailed the Apostles but during the night the Lord opened the prison doors and the Apostles returned to the Temple area to preach.

 

Thursday: (Acts 5) The Apostles were brought forth again during their arrest and they were reminded that they were forbidden to preach. Peter said on behalf of the Apostles that they are to obey God, and not men.  

 

Friday (Acts 5) Gamaliel, the Pharisee, urges wisdom for the Sanhedrin declaring that if this is of God, it cannot be stopped, but if it is of men, it will certainly die out. 

 

Saturday (Acts 6) The number of disciples grew. The Hellenists complained to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected. The Twelve decided it was right to select seven reputable men (deacons) to take care of the daily distribution while they continued with prayer and the ministry of the word. Meanwhile the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 3) Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews comes to Jesus wondering about where he is able to do the great miracles and teachings. He tries to understand. 

 

Tuesday: (John 3) Jesus answered Nicodemus saying, “you must be born from above” to accept this testimony. 

 

Wednesday (John 3) God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through him. 

 

Thursday (John 3) Jesus explains that he was come from above and speaks of the things that are from above. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. 

 

Friday (John 6) Near a Passover feast, Jesus miraculously feeds the hungry crowds as a good shepherd would. He reminds the people that the actions in his earthly life were precursors of the meal that they are to share. They are to eat his body and drink his blood.  

 

Saturday (John 6) Jesus then departs to the other side of the sea. When a storm picks up, he walks on the turbulent waves and instructs them not to be afraid. He is with them. He has power over the natural and supernatural world. 

 

Saints of the Week

 

April 13: Martin I, pope, (6^th century – 655), an Umbrian was elected pope during the Byzantine papacy. One of his earliest acts was to convene the Lateran Council that dealt with the heretical Monothelitism.  Martin was abducted by Emperor Constans II and died in the Crimean Peninsula.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• April 12, 1671. Pope Clement X canonized Francis Borgia, the 3rd general of the Society. 
• April 13, 1541. Ignatius was elected general in a second election, after having declined the results of the first election several days earlier. 
• April 14, 1618. The father of John Berchmans is ordained a priest. John himself was still a Novice. 
• April 15, 1610. The death of Fr. Robert Parsons, the most active and indefatigable of all the leaders of the English Catholics during the reign of Elizabeth I. 
• April 16, 1767. Pope Clement XIII wrote to Charles III of Spain imploring him to cancel the decree of expulsion of the Society from Spain, issued on Aprilil 2nd. The Pope's letter nobly defends the innocence of the Society. 
• April 17, 1540. The arrival in Lisbon of St Francis Xavier and Fr. Simon Rodriguez. Both were destined for India, but the King retained the latter in Portugal. 
• April 18, 1906. At Rome, the death of Rev Fr. Luis Martin, twenty-fourth General of the Society. Pope Pius X spoke of him as a saint, a martyr, a man of extraordinary ability and prudence.