2nd Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy

 The First Reading for the Sundays of Easter comes from the New Testament. The Acts of the Apostles is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. It relates the post-Resurrection Church which, in the beginning, was designated as "The Way" (Acts 9: 2). It is only subsequently, at Antioch, that the followers of the Risen Lord were called "Christians" (Acts 11: 26). On Pentecost morning the social, juridical and sacramental nature of the community of believers was manifested to the world. This essential and constitutional nature of what we call Church is unchangeable. As we read the Acts of the Apostles, we come to understand how the Good News is lived out by a society of believers. The mystery of the Church on that day continues to be worked out in us today since we believe in: "... one Lord, one faith one baptism" (Eph 4: 5). Thus, we profess in the Nicene Creed that we believe in "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." What, you might ask, is the nature of the Church? We hear that: "Those who welcomed the message of Peter were baptized and many were added to the community. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers." (Acts 2: 42) In short, this description speaks of the necessity of baptism in order to be incorporated into the Church; "the apostles' teaching" refers to the teaching function of baptism (munus docendi); "fellowship" indicates the hierarchical nature of the Church with the governing function (munus regendi) of baptism; "the breaking of the bread and the prayers" tells of the centrality of the Eucharist, as well as the sanctifying function of baptism (munus sanctificandi). Let us journey together to Pentecost deepening our knowledge and love of the Church which brings such joy to our lives.