Reflection - Third Sunday of Easter

When we sin, we deny the Holy and Righteous One. At times we do this willingly; that is when we commit a mortal sin. But we may also act out of ignorance. In both cases, we still need God’s forgiveness. Peter and John are addressing their communities, not to shame them, but to bring them to the light of the Lord’s face by repentance and by living the Commandments. We are receiving that same exhortation today. Repentance is not exclusively for the season of Lent. After all, we are not seasonal sinners. The Easter season provides us with the added joy and confidence of the forgiveness of our sins because we are especially aware that Christ destroyed the bonds of death by His resurrection. Let us look to Him that we may also be amazed by His overwhelming love for us when He says to each of us, “Peace be with you.”

In one of the Eucharistic Prayers, the priest says these beautiful words to the Father, “Blessed indeed is your Son, present in our midst when we are gathered by his love, and when, as once for the disciples, so now for us, he opens the Scriptures and breaks the bread.” This is our experience of God at Mass. Jesus Christ is present in the gathering of our community and in the priest—who is  in persona Christi. May we recognize Christ in the breaking of the Eucharistic Bread, that, as we are gathered, He may give us the wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit to receive His Body and the sacred Scriptures into our hearts. That by these gifts, we may more readily keep His Commandments and seek forgiveness when we need it.