April 11, 2026
Saturday of Easter Octave
Gospel: Mark 16:9-15

Today is Saturday of the Easter Octave. The Gospel passage from Saint Mark summarizes how, on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to those who had followed Him from Galilee to Jerusalem in different ways. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
When we first came to know Jesus, our situation was similar to that of Mary Magdalene. At that time, we too lived under the double bondage of the devil and sin, urgently needing His healing and salvation. The merciful Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself to us in visible forms: He appears through the parents who gave us life and cared for us, enabling us to experience His love; He appears through the teachers who imparted knowledge to us, teaching us to make good use of the talents He has given us to better care for the world He created. He approaches us so proactively, bestowing upon us the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit of His Son, inspiring in us the desire to receive the sacraments of initiation. Through His chosen ministers (priests), at the Easter Vigil Mass, we received the Sacrament of Baptism and the Anointing with Chrism, becoming new children of the Church. We continually imitate Mary Magdalene and the early disciples of the Church in proclaiming the Good News to the world.

Today, the Risen Lord continues to meet us. He invites us to proactively approach our brothers and sisters who have left the parish and community for various reasons—to accompany them unconditionally, accept them, help them rediscover the beauty in Christ, regain certainty in Christ, and reconcile with God and all His creation.

O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with Favor on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica