DAILY- HOMILY

APRIL 7, 2013
2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER - C
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118: 2-4. 13-15. 22-24 / Rev 1:9-13,17-19 / Jn 20:19-31

ACTS 5:12-16
Many miraculous signs and wonders were done among the people through the hands of the apostles. The believers, of one accord, used to meet in Solomon's Porch. None of the others dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. So an ever increasing number of men and women, believed in the Lord. The people carried the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and on mats, so that when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

REVELATION 1:9-13, 17-19
I, John, your brother, who shares with you, in Jesus, the sufferings, the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island of Patmos, because of the Word of God and witnessing to Jesus. On the Lord's day, the Spirit took pos session of me and I heard a voice behind me which sounded like a trumpet, "Write down all that you see, in a book, and send it to the seven Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." I turned to see who was speaking to me; behind me were seven golden lampstands and, in the middle of these, I saw someone like a son of man, dressed in a long robe tied with a golden girdle. Seeing him, I fell at his feet like one dead but he touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. It is I, the First and the Last. I am the living one; I was dead and now I am alive for ever and ever; and mine are the keys of death and the nether world. Now write what you have seen, both what is and what is yet to come.

JOHN 20:19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, "Peace be with you!" Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy. Again Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you." After saying this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained." Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he replied, "Until I have seen in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, the disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into my side. Don't be an unbeliever! Believe!" Thomas then said, "You are my Lord and my God." Jesus replied, "You believe because you see me, don't you? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of his disciples, 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. Believe, and you will have life through his Name!

REFLECTION
Suppose we could travel back in time to Jerusalem after Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus has returned to his Father and has sent his Spirit upon the disciples. And now the first Christians begin to live the Christ-life, the life of oneness with the risen Lord.

This brings us to doubting Thomas. Why wasn't he around when Jesus first appeared to the eleven? What made him so skeptical and hard to please when trusted friends like Peter, James and John told him, "We have seen the Lord?" We do not know. What we do know is that the doubter uttered the most perfect affirmation of Christ's nature in all the Gospels: "My Lord and my God!" – an act of faith for Thomas as for us, a gift impossible without God's gracious giving. Such faith is an experience - Personal, of course – a one-to- one experience of God. But notice – the experience took place in the midst of a community of disciples.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Elizabeth Lim
- Denise, Etoie TX, Debbie, Mary Ann R, Vita, Fr Larry, Gene, Netta & Mary Ann M
- Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Andy Lecaros, Virginia Hernandez, Mon Torres, and Fleur Torres
… for the personal intentions of Cherie Torres
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Vicente "Ting" R. Jayme. Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Jennifer D. Amora
- Birthday: Jimmy Ng
- Birthday: J. Ramon R. Marin
- Birthday: Andrea Dominique Yu
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
 
© 2013 Daily-Homily
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DAILY-HOMILY" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to daily_homily+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.