Sunday:       2 ND SUNDAY OF EASTER
Date:         April 11, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [Acts 2:42-7; 1 Pet. 1:3-9; Jn. 20:19-31]
The message:  WALKING AS NEW CREATIONS.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  841

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Like newborn children you should thirst for milk, on which your spirit can grow in strength, alleluia. (ENTRANCE ANTIPHON) The God of mercy washes away your sins in water. He gives you the new birth in the Spirit and redeems you in the Blood of Christ. As you celebrate Christ's Resurrection today, He increases your awareness of these blessings and renews the gift of life within you. (OPENING PRAYER) Through faith and baptism, you have become a new creation. The Lord accepts the offering of His people and of those who are born again in baptism, bringing you to eternal happiness. (PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS) Today's Entrance Antiphon, the Opening Prayer and the Prayer over the Gifts summarize the three readings that we have just heard.

By the great mercy of the Heavenly Father, you have received a new birth into a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In fulfillment of the Heavenly Father's promises that are found in the Old Testament, you have received a new heart, a new spirit and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This new creation, the new spirit that God placed within you, is a new birth into an inheritance that can never rot, decay, or perish. This new birth can never be stained by sin or lose its brilliance. It is kept in Heaven for you, protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The greatest gift that you have ever received from God, the new spirit that you have received during the Sacrament of Baptism, is kept in Heaven for you, protected by God through living faith. It is not enough to have faith in Jesus Christ. It is not enough to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. To eternally inherit the sinless spirit that God has given you at Baptism, you must prove yourself by living your Christian faith.

Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ you find the assurance of salvation. To secure your salvation, you must do as the disciples of Jesus did. You must devote yourselves to the teachings of Jesus that are found in the Holy Bible. You must join others in fellowship, being of one mind. You must participate in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. You must pray. You must praise God. And you must have the goodwill of the people. These holy actions will secure your salvation, ensuring that you will receive God's gift that is kept in Heaven for you.

Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." You have all received the Holy Spirit during the Sacrament of Confirmation. At that time, the Holy Spirit generously blessed all of you with gifts, each according to his needs for the growth of the Church. The Holy Spirit does not give us gifts to be selfish with them. He gives them to each and every one of you so you can help one another to grow in your Christian life. If you do not use them, you will lose them. How many of you know what your gifts are? How many of you do not know what your gifts are? If you do not know what your gifts are, then you must start praying to the Holy Spirit so He will enlighten you on that subject. You must commit yourself to using your gift as it was intended so you can begin to shine in the work of the Lord Jesus.

One of the gifts that Jesus has given to those who minister in the Church is the gift to forgive sins. When the priest forgives your sins during the Sacrament of Penance, your sins are forgiven. Once more, you are made righteous in the eyes of God. This Sacrament is necessary before you can share in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is necessary to ensure that you will receive God's gift that is kept for you in Heaven. If you do not go to confession, you will lose your gift from God, this meaning that you will lose your salvation, your eternal life in Heaven. If you do not receive the Holy Eucharist, you deprive yourself of God's graces that sanctify you, again, depriving yourself of your eternal life in heaven.

In the closing of the Gospel of John, it is said, "Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing you may have life in His Name." If you believe in the Holy Name of Jesus, then you will do all what you can to walk towards Him. You will keep your soul clean. You will long for a relationship with the Lord Jesus. You will seek out to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

And when the day comes for you to leave this world, no one knowing when they will be called, you will be ready. You will receive from God the gift of adoption in the eternal Kingdom of joy and peace. You will be counted among the saints of Heaven who have persevered in their living faith as you have.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Those who welcomed the message of Peter were baptized and many were added to the community. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." [Acts 2:42-7]

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Second Reading...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; a birth into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." [1 Pet. 1:3-9]

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Gospel Reading...

"It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the authorities. Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then 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." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas, who was called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later this disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many others signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." [Jn. 20:19-31]

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