April 7, 2024
27th Sunday
Ordinary Time
FOCUS: We are called to live out God’s mercy.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus confers his divine power to forgive sins on the Apostles through the Holy Spirit. This forgiveness is still available to us in the sacraments. The gift of God’s mercy calls us to also perform acts of mercy to ensure that, as in the earliest communities of believers, no one among us is in need.
What's in Your Heart
The readings define believers as those who are of one mind and body, know Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, and love God by keeping God’s commandments. Ask yourself the following questions in the spirit of exploring what Christian faith means to you.
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In what ways can the picture in Acts of the Early Church be realized today? What can I do in my community for those who are needy? What can I encourage others to do?
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Have I ever found God's commandments burdensome? If so, why?
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Do I find strength in my faith to meet the challenges of the world? What are the most effective ways I can pass on that faith?
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When has my faith waivered? What helped restore it?
Homily Stories
“When you fall in love—it doesn’t matter what with—you walk the plank.” That’s what Franciscan priest Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M. said to me during a gathering of my online prayer group. I told him that I love the beautiful dedication he wrote in his book Universal Christ to his beloved dog who had passed away. I told him that my beloved cat had recently died, and his words profoundly affected me.
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Anyone who has loved and lost understands the pain of what the disciples endured after Jesus’ death. Grief is a fall into an abyss, and like Thomas, one can simply sink. To rescue him from drowning in disbelief, Jesus invited Thomas to touch the very place where God’s heart literally broke.
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Author C.S. Lewis, devastated by his wife’s death, wrote, “No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.” But yet another author, Madeleine L'Engle, observed that, “On the other side of pain, there is still love.” Jesus showed us—continues to show us—that when we tumble off the edge of loss, the love on the other side catches us in boundless heart space and miraculously lives forever.
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First Reading
Second Reading
Gospel
Audio Reflection
Quotes
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May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.
—Mother Teresa
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We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them.
—Pope Francis, Evangelii Guadium