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
April 10, 2026 Friday of the Easter Octave Gospel: John 21:1–14
Today is Friday of the Easter Octave. The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John narrates Jesus’ final appearance to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias and their shared meal—a story that invites profound reflection on the heart of Christian faith.
Saint John wrote: “Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias” (John 21:1). What is this sea? Originally known as Lake Tiberias, it is also called the Sea of Galilee—a place deeply woven into the disciples’ memory. The Evangelist Luke mentions it as the site where Jesus met Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John), teaching crowds from Peter’s boat before instructing him to “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch” (cf. Luke 5:1–11). It is also the location where Matthew’s Gospel begins Jesus’ public ministry, calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him (cf. Matthew 4:18–22). Clearly, the disciples knew this place well—it was where they first encountered the Lord.
Saint John tells us that “on that night, they caught nothing”(John 21:3–4). This echoes an earlier moment: when Jesus first called Peter, the fisherman had laboured all night “and have taken nothing” (Luke 5:5). But Jesus’ response was the same then as now: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some”(John 21:6; cf. Luke 5:4). Obeying the Savior’s command, the disciples hauled in a miraculous catch—proof of His divine authority.
Today, the Church uses this Gospel to invite us to return to the origin of our faith: to revisit the place of our first encounter with the Risen Lord, imitate the disciples’ trust, and “always fulfil God’s holy will” to bear the lasting fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Almighty ever-living God, who gave us the Paschal Mystery in the covenant you established for reconciling the human race, so dispose our minds, we pray, that what we celebrate by professing the faith we may express in deeds. 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 9, 2026 Thursday of the Octave of Easter Gospel: Luke 24:35-48
Today is Thursday of the Octave of Easter. The Gospel according to Saint Luke gives us a narrative of the disciples who had previously gone to Emmaus returning to the community to tell the Apostles about their encounter with the Risen Lord, and of the Risen Lord’s appearance to the astonished and fearful disciples.
Perhaps we would think: the Risen Lord Jesus Christ would rebuke them for their ignorance, or rebuke Peter for denying Him three times, or praise Saint John for accompanying Jesus and receiving the Blessed Virgin Mary as his mother. But He did not do so. He only said to them, “Peace be with you.” (cf. Luke 24:36) He further invited them to touch His hands and feet, inviting them to experience the love He holds for the world. He did not rebuke the disciples in this way because He loved the world deeply, even to the end.
Today, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ also appears among us in different forms. He appears in our lives as the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the naked, and the imprisoned. There He waits for us, inviting us to meet Him and receive Him—desiring to be with us every day in this way.
As the Evangelist Luke records: the Risen Lord Jesus Christ “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (cf. Luke 24:45) We live in this changing world and also need the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to experience the Word of God in our lives. Like Jesus Christ, we should proclaim the Kingdom of God to everyone we meet in our daily lives, leading them, like us, to belong to the new world spoken of by Jesus.
O God, who have united the many nations in confessing your name, grant that those reborn in the font of Baptism may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. 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
全属于祢 
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