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

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica