April 15, 2026 Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter Gospel: John 3:16-21
Today is Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter. The Gospel for Mass is taken from the reflections of John in the Gospel of Saint John, following the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus about rebirth and new life.
The world we live in today is filled with various emotions that flow from the depths of the human heart. Among these complex and changeable emotions, some are aspirations for a better future, some are longings for the heavenly homeland, but more often, they are evil thoughts: unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness (see: Mark 7:21-22). In our view, as people living in this world, we are inevitably influenced by all that belongs to it, and this becomes an excuse for us to make arbitrary judgments of others. So much so that we may even think: the God spoken of by Jesus is a just God, who came into the world to condemn each of us, rejoicing in passing judgment.
John testifies: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17). By the grace granted by Christ, we are freed from sin and death through receiving the Baptism of Christ, no longer living in the death that sin brings to our souls. Since we are united with Him through receiving the Baptism of Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, let us have the same courage to accept the light of Christ—no longer acting as children of darkness, but as children of light.
As we recall year by year the mysteries by which, through the restoration of its original dignity, human nature has received the hope of rising again, we earnestly beseech your mercy, Lord, that what we celebrate in faith we may possess in unending love. 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
April 14, 2026 Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter Gospel: 3:7B-15
Today is Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter. The Gospel for Mass is taken from the narrative of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in the Gospel of Saint John.
We often, like Nicodemus, speak of this world as we see it with our eyes, according to our perception of things. In our view, this world we behold is one of extreme material abundance. When our gaze is fixed on all that belongs to this world, we become like those who saw with their own eyes all that Jesus did and heard with their own ears all that He preached yet refused to believe that Jesus is the Son of Man come down from heaven.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” (See: John 3:12). What He meant by “earthly things” was the kingdom of God He intended to establish in this world destined to pass away; what He meant by “heavenly things” was the truth of the Kingdom of God that Jesus would bring to this world. The Jews did not believe all that Jesus said because they thought Jesus was the son of Mary, not the Son of God; they longed for a political Messiah who could save them from the Romans, not the Messiah of God.
Today, within our community, many also understand everything Jesus said in a literal sense. I wish to say to these brothers and sisters: The merciful Lord Christ desired to give Himself to us, so that through receiving His Baptism, we might be cleansed of the stain of original sin from the source of mercy flowing from His pierced side when He was lifted up from the earth. And so that through the same Baptism, we might put on Christ and be born anew in Him. When we receive this sacrament of such great love in the full communion of the Most Holy Trinity, we believe in the Son of Man who came down from heaven and is still in heaven, and in all the words that proceed from His mouth, learning from them the truth of the Kingdom.
Enable us, we pray, almighty God, to proclaim the power of the risen Lord, that we, who have received the pledge of his gift, may come to possess all he gives when it is fully revealed. 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
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