INTRODUCTION

April 7, 2024

FEATUREDCDRBISHOP GOLKAFR. LANGEHLAYLA A. KARST

March 29, 2018

KEY INSIGHTS w/ Timestamps

2021 Archive / View More

KEY INSIGHTS w/ Timestamps

The Feast of Mercy, instituted by Jesus through Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, is a universal celebration of complete forgiveness and mercy for all souls, and it is a testament to God's providence and desire for all to immerse themselves in the messages of divine mercy.

00:00 🙏 The feast of mercy is a refuge and shelter for all souls, especially for poor sinners, where complete forgiveness of sins and punishment can be obtained through confession and holy communion.
01:05 🌊 Jesus instituted the Feast of Mercy through Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, and desired it to be celebrated universally on the eighth day of Easter every year.
01:55 📅 The Feast of Mercy began with private revelations of Jesus to Sister Faustina in 1938, initially celebrated by a few and questioned by some within the church.
02:21 📜 Sister Faustina's writings were initially forbidden by the Holy Office in 1959, but in 1978, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome issued a new decree allowing the spread of her writings and the devotion to the Divine Mercy.
03:17 📅 Sister Faustina was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II.
03:47 🌟 The holy father established the Feast of Mercy to be celebrated annually on the eighth day of the Easter octave for the universal church.
04:00 🙏 God's providence is amazing, starting with a humble nun and leading to the introduction of her private revelations to the world by one of the greatest popes.
04:37 🙏 God desires us to immerse ourselves in the messages of divine mercy given through Saint Faustina, as it was by God's providence that these messages became a universal feast for all in the year 2000 and beyond.

March 10, 2024

KEY INSIGHTS w/ Timestamps

God's mercy endures forever, and we are called to receive and embody it in our lives, going forth with confidence and humility to do what God wants us to do.

00:00 🙏 God's mercy endures forever, and we are called to receive and embody it as shown in the readings and gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter.
00:44 🌟 Creation story in Genesis is mirrored in the Gospel of John with Jesus, inviting us to be part of the ongoing creation.
01:01 🙏 God finds us in our fear and need, and our barriers are not barriers to him.
01:31 🙏 God's breath was present at creation, given to us in His image and likeness, and now given to prepare us for Pentecost, bringing completeness and conquering death.
02:00 🙏 Jesus sends his disciples to go forth and do what he told them to do, as no one has an encounter with God without also getting a vocation or a job to do.
02:25 🔍 Thomas tests the disciples' faith, but God keeps coming to find us and show us the way.
02:53 🙏 Let the mercy of God find you in your fear and go out with confidence and humility to do what he wants you to do.

2021 Archive / Recent Reflections

KEY INSIGHTS w/ Timestamps

Divine Mercy Sunday is a time for the Christian community to reflect on God's mercy and stand with Him in a changing world.

00:00 📜 Divine Mercy Sunday is a time to focus on the values of the Christian community and the changing world.
04:56 🌍 The world's largest and most powerful nations often act independently.
05:08 🙏 God's mercy is available to all, and the community discusses the importance of standing with Him.
06:47 🙏 Divine Mercy Sunday is a time to reflect on the vision of Jesus and to pay homage to it.

April 7, 2024

KEY INSIGHTS w/ Timestamps

We are called to be credible witnesses of Christ's resurrection by building inclusive communities that hold space for both joy and doubt, allowing the Living God to bring peace and life to all.

00:00 🌟 Mary Magdalene, the first to preach the Easter Joy, shows us how to be an apostle of the Risen Christ in the face of doubt from the believing Community.
01:39 📖 Jesus appears to the disciples, reassures them, and turns their fear into joy, leading them to spread the news of the Risen Christ.
02:12 📖 The disciples share the joy of seeing the Lord, even in the face of doubt, and show what it means to be a community of Risen Christ's disciples.
03:05 🌟 The Resurrection community holds both joy and doubt, transforming doubt into a gift for others and allowing all to be blessed.
04:03 📖 The disciples in the first reading demonstrate the meaning of being a church by sharing their abundance and needs, blessing others and bearing witness to the Risen Christ.
04:38 🌱 Our churches should create space for diversity, welcome without judgment, and support those in need.
05:07 🌟 Recognize Christ in others and be credible witnesses of his resurrection in the world.
05:25 🌱 We are called to build inclusive communities, sharing our abundant Easter joy while holding space for grief and doubt, so that the Living God may bring peace and life to all.

Study

Commentaries
Bible Studies

Preach

Homilies
Connections
Papal Homilies

Teach

Children
Teens
Catechism

[contentcards url=”https://studyprayserve.com/2024/04/01/study-pray-serve-2nd-sunday-of-easter-4/”%5D

SOURCE: Father Andrew Ricci

[contentcards url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfxhj4kLezA”%5D

SOURCE: National Shrine

OPTION A

Believing in the Risen Lord

We believe that Christ is risen and alive. What does that faith mean to us? Is Jesus so much alive to us that we can meet him personally in prayer, listening and speaking to him as a friend to a friend, heart to heart? Do we touch his wounds in those wounded in life whether in their bodies or their hearts? Do we encounter him in our own sorrows? Do we encounter him in our joys and the joys of our friends? Is he alive in our Christian community, and do we encounter him there? Let us pray to the Lord in this Eucharist that he may be real and alive to each and all of us.

Penitential Act
General Intercessions

SOURCE: Bible Claret Liturgy Alive

OPTION B

Today is for Those who Doubt

In the heart of this season of Easter rejoicing, we are reminded that faith is sometimes fragile and circuitous. If we listen carefully, we realize that Scripture relays another truth about people who struggle and need to be convinced. This is a good Sunday for those of us who have ever experienced doubt and who need to hear that God still loves and forgive us. That describes most of us.

Penitential Act
Prayer of the Faithful

SOURCE: National Catholic Reporter: Cycle B Sunday Resources feature series. View the full series.

[contentcards url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEdPsgN2hV0″%5D

UPDATED/ADAPTED FROM CELEBRATION 2018 NOTES

Nicknames can be cute or they can be cruel. They can be temporary or they may last a lifetime. St. Thomas got a nickname that has stuck for a couple millennia already: “Doubting Thomas.” It comes from today’s Gospel, of course, even though that same passage contains one of the most explicit confessions of faith found in the Gospels: “My Lord and my God!”

The nickname may not be fair to Thomas, but it’s helpful to us. We all have doubts at times, and it helps to know we are in good company with Thomas. This Gospel serves as a reminder to all of us, and perhaps especially to the newly baptized that doubts will come but they do not destroy faith if we remain open to God.

The Initiation Process Continues

The story of Thomas can also remind us why it is important that the initiation process continue through the period of mystagogy. That period is observed intensely during the 50 days of Easter, but even after that, it is to continue (less intensely) for another year. The newly baptized, like the rest of us, have more growing to do. Mystagogy is for all of us, which is why the Order of Christian Initiation states that it takes place primarily during the Sunday Eucharist. Preachers are urged to use the homilies for these Sundays to reflect with the whole assembly on the meaning of the Easter sacraments (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist) and the implications for daily life that flow from them.

The Easter Octave

Remember that this Sunday is also the Octave Day of Easter. It should still clearly look and sound like Easter throughout the liturgy, almost as if we were still on Easter Sunday itself. One reminder of this is the double Alleluia that is to be sung at the dismissal today. You might remind the presider(s) and musicians to be prepared for that special touch that marks the joy of the season.

READ MORE

SOURCE: NCR: Cycle B series.

Go to top

Divine Mercy Sunday

Ever since Pope John Paul II gave this Sunday the nickname of Divine Mercy Sunday, there’s been a bit of tension between the joy proper to Easter and the focus on sin and repentance that tends to dominate the Divine Mercy observance. Perhaps the key is to remember that we celebrate because we have been forgiven and we rejoice because God’s mercy is always available to us. This is not a good day for celebrating the sacrament of penance, but every day is a good day to rejoice in God’s mercy.

The Great Mercy Pope: St. John Paul II

DivineMercy.org

Divine Mercy Action Guide

USCCB

Resources for Divine Mercy Sunday

OPUS DEI

Featured Resources

Australian Catholics

[contentcards url=”https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/easter-sunday-second-sunday-year-b-2024″%5D

[contentcards url=”https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/homily-notes-easter-sunday-year-b”%5D

2nd Sunday of Easter B

[contentcards url=”https://www.english.op.org/torch/the-peace-of-christ/”%5D

Second Sunday of Easter. Fr Robert Gay preaches on the up-building and unifying effects of Christ’s peace.

To be an Easter people like those early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles, we need to do much more than allow the Easter alleluia to sound from our lips in this Easter season. It requires that we receive of the gift of Christ’s peace, and therefore live lives as individuals and with each other in the Church which are marked by the peace that he brings. It is to make our whole lives, our whole being proclaim that alleluia.

ST PAUL CENTER FOR BIBLICAL THEOLOGY – Each week Scott Hahn gives a short reflection on the Sunday Readings. Go deeper in the Word of the Lord video series, a weekly conversation between John Bergsma and Scott Hahn.

THE WORD THIS WEEK brings you engaging videos and other content that are tailored to enhance your understanding of the Sunday readings. The creators of these resources are independent and not affiliated with this website.