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| Caravaggio's Incredulità di San Tommaso |
As we head into the Second Sunday of Easter (Historically called White Sunday or Low Sunday) Divine Mercy Sunday, the Beatification of Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's in Rome, I would like to recognize and thank all in our parishes who planned, prayed, and celebrated Holy Week and the Resurrection of the Lord. Congratulations to all who were baptized, confirmed and received their first Holy Communion, and to all who were received into full communion into the Church throughout our Diocese. The number is around 1200 this year. Holy Week was a blessed week at St. Patrick's Cathedral here in Fort Worth, with all of our services being capacity and over. On Easter Sunday morning, I celebrated the 8:00 AM Mass, and the the 11:00 AM in English at St. Bartholomew and the 1:00 in Spanish there as well.
Since we are still in the octave of Easter (which liturgically is considered equivalent to Easter Sunday), I would like to refer to Pope Benedict's book, Jesus of Nazareth and some of his words concerning the Resurrection as a fitting reflection for the Octave of Easter:
"And yet--is it not this the truly divine way? Not to overwhelm with external power, but to give freedom, to offer and elicit love. And if we really think about it, is it not what seems so small that is truly great? Does not a ray of light issue from Jesus, growing brighter across the centuries, that could not come from any mere man and through which the light of God truly shines into the world? Could the apostolic preaching have found faith and built up a worldwide community unless the power of truth had been at work within it? If we attend to the witnesses with listening hearts and open ourselves to the signs by which the Lord again and again authenticates both them and himself, then we know that He is truly risen. He is alive. Let us entrust ourselves to him, knowing that we are on the right path. With Thomas let us place our hands into Jesus' pierced side and confess:'My Lord and my God!' (Jn 20:28) " (Pages 276 and 277)