09 April 2021

'These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us.' Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville
John 20:19-31

This Sunday is also known as Low Sunday and as Divine Mercy Sunday

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:19-31  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, 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; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, 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 believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge




Christ and Doubting Thomas
 Andrea del Verrocchio [Web Gallery of Art]

I carry a scar on one of my hips from surgery when I was 17. I can't even remember which hip, without checking. But the scar is there, along with a couple of smaller scars from accidents when I was young. I hardly ever think about them. But they are there.

St Thomas's instinct was right: 
Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. He knew that if the Lord was truly risen he would carry the scars of his suffering. And he carries them for all eternity.

Scars are reminders of wounds that were. The Risen Body of Christ carries the scars of his Passion and Crucifixion but they are no longer wounds.

But the Body of Christ that is the Church is being wounded daily. The world that God created is being wounded daily. In the first reading during the Easter Vigil (Genesis 1:27,31) we heard these words: So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them . . . God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good


But today we see much that he had made and that was very good destroyed or being destroyed. We see countless persons created in his image, in the image of God, being killed in endless conflicts.


In 1 Cointhians 6:19-20 we read: 
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

On Easter Monday 2017 four members of a Catholic family were shot dead in Quetta, Pakistan, by members of the so-called Islamic State. The victims were Pervaiz Masih, Tariq Masih, Imran Masih and Firdous Bibi. They were killed because each was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a follower of Jesus, a Christian.

Pope Francis: Easter Sunday, Mass and Urbi et Orbi

In his Urbi et Orbi message last Sunday Pope Francis said [my emphases]The witnesses report an important detail: the risen Jesus bears the marks of the wounds in his hands, feet and side. These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint.

In his message Pope Francis spoke to a world deeply affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic that has turned our world upside-down in so many ways. Here, for example, are his words to young people: The risen Jesus is also hope for all those young people forced to go long periods without attending school or university, or spending time with their friends. Experiencing real human relationships, not just virtual relationships, is something that everyone needs, especially at an age when a person’s character and personality is being formed. We realized this clearly last Friday, in the Stations of the Cross composed by the children. I express my closeness to young people throughout the world and, in these days, especially to the young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully, in the knowledge that hatred can be dispelled only by love.

These words about the importance of experiencing real human relationships resonates very strongly with me. A good friend who read these Sunday Reflections every week and occasionally posted a comment died unexpectedly on Holy Saturday. His name was Liam Hayden and we first met when we started in O'Connell Schools, Dublin, in 1951, in Second Class (Grade Two). We were both in the B section.

Liam Hayden

Liam and I were in different sections for most of the ten years we were in the school, and were friendly with each other, but not pals. I really came to know him as a friend after an unexpected encounter with him and his wife Moira in 1976 while home from the Philippines. I had spent a week with the Legion of Mary in Pewsey, Wiltshire, England, in the summer of 1966, when I was still in the seminary, and Moira was in our group. Liam and Moira met some years later through their involvement with the Legion of Mary and were utterly dedicated to the work of the Legion in Dublin, especially in the two hostels of the Legion in Dublin for people who are basically homeless, Morning Star Hostel for men and Regina Coeli Hostel for women.

Though Liam and I became close friends only as adults, the foundation of that friendship was our being classmates at the age of 8. So many youngsters throughout the world today are missing out on that experience, being wounded by that lack. Yet the scars that Jesus carries for all eternity are the everlasting seal of his love for us, as Pope Francis put it. And the pain of loss that Liam's wife, his six children and 30 grandchildren - and so many others - are now feeling will become in time scars which will be a reminder of the love of Jesus for them in this life through Liam as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather and as a friend especially of those on the fringes of society. Please remember Liam and his family in your prayers.

Perhaps we can consciously unite the wounds we presently carry with the wounded Jesus on the Cross and unite the scars we carry from previous wounds with the Risen Lord Jesus whom Thomas recognised by those very scars. And we can join St Thomas in that great act of faith, My Lord and my God.

The Incredulity of St Thomas

Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]


Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

The Octave Day of Easter (Low Sunday) 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-11-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 5:4-10.  Gospel: John 20:19-31.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

All in the April Evening
Words by Katharine Tynan Hinkson
Music by Sir Hugh S. Roberton
Sung by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir conducted by Sir Hugh S. Roberton

The Glasgow Orpheus Choir had its origins in a working men's club in Glasgow, Scotland, and existed from 1901 until 1951 when Sir Hugh Roberton, its conductor for 50 years, retired. It was succeeded by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir. Sir Hugh wrote, The Orpheus was a real choir of real people, people big enough to dedicate themselves selflessly to a noble purpose, and it never took its audiences cheaply, nor did it ever descend to tricks or exhibitionism. 

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band was formed in 1917 in South Yorkshire, England. Most of its members were full-time coal-miners. The colliery closed in 1992. The members now, as far as I know, are full-time musicians. There were many bands in Britain, like the Grimethorpe, connected with mines and with factories.

Sir Hugh, in his introduction to the song above, says of his own composition: I think the music fits the words, if it does not match them in excellence. It does indeed match them in excellence and can stand on its own, as the beautiful performance of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band shows.

I learned the original poem by Katharine Tynan Hinkson in Fourth Class (Grade Four) and the same year learned to sing it in our school choir under the direction of Mrs Agnes Boylan, the mother of Dom Eugene Boylan OCSO, the well-known spiritual writer. Mrs Boylan was in her 70s then and was like everyone's favourite grandmother, a person who took great delight in us and in the large flamboyant hats she always wore, like the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother of England.

All in the April Evening
The Grimethorpe Colliery Band

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