Receive the joy of your glory, giving thanks to God,
who has called you into the heavenly kingdom, alleluia.Alternative Entrance Antiphon for the 2nd Sunday of Easter
4 Esdras 2: 36-37
Thomas was moved from despair and disappointment to deep joy; from an experience of abandonment to a new sense of purpose and direction.
Stained glass. St James the Less, Victoria, London. (c) 2019, Allen Morris
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.Responsorial Psalm for 2nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 117(118):2-4,22-27
Our alleluia and our professions of faith can be just tribal trumpeting, or they can be expressions of knowledge hard-won. They can be expressions of who we are, or they can bear testimony of our personal relationship with Him, with Jesus risen from the dead.
St Nicholas Chapel, Kings Lynn. (c) 2016, Allen Morris
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
Gospel for 2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31
Thomas is angry, broken-hearted, devestated: he will not countenance risking getting things wrong again and being hurt again. ‘I refuse to believe…’
But how tender is his heart when it is touched by the love of the Lord – no recrimination, no bitterness, no anger – just love, just faith.
How often by contrast others – perhaps we ourselves? – harbour resentment and hurt and let it poison us, reducing us to sullen passivitiy. How often we resist the opportunity to return to life and love and faith.
incredulity of Thomas: Salviati. Collection of the Louvre, Paris, Lourdes. (c) 2017, Allen Morris
The faithful all used to meet by common consent in the Portico of Solomon. No one else ever dared to join them, but the people were loud in their praise and the numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily.
So many signs and wonders were worked among the people at the hands of the apostles that the sick were even taken out into the streets and laid on beds and sleeping-mats in the hope that at least the shadow of Peter might fall across some of them as he went past. People even came crowding in from the towns round about Jerusalem, bringing with them their sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.
First reading for 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:12-16
The people are at one and the same time afraid and doubting, and hopeful and trusting and choosing the Lord.
Plus ca change
St Thomas. Magdala, Israel. (c) 2017, Allen Morris
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.Responsorial Psalm for 2nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 117(118):2-4,22-27
Death, despair, doubt. None of these things can separate the Lord from his disciples, or they from him…
Jesus and the 11. Silos. Plaster Cast in the colleciton of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (c) 20117, Allen Morris
UK Christian and Muslim development agencies issued a joint statement yesterday:
We are shocked and saddened by the attacks on innocent civilians which occurred on Easter Sunday. Our profound condolences go out to the people of Sri Lanka and the friends and families of the victims, both national and foreign. It is appalling that acts of violence should be perpetrated on one of the most important days in the Christian calendar, targeting both Christians celebrating Easter and tourists visiting Sri Lanka.
As people of faith and faith-based organisations, we must continue to stand together so that communities can practice their faith without fear. We will be working together to offer support to those most affected. We will not allow hatred to divide us, and we are determined to focus on our common agenda of alleviating the poverty and suffering that afflict all communities.
As faith-based development and humanitarian organisations, it is our job to help save lives, help people live to their full potential and to work with people of all faiths and none. We unequivocally condemn terrorism and we abhor acts of violence against civilians. Our Christian and Islamic faiths are based on peace, love and harmony. We are praying for those affected by this terrible tragedy.
Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD
Amanda Mukwashi, CEO of Christian Aid
Naser Haghamed, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide
Tufail Hussain, interim Director of Islamic Relief UK
Jehangir Malik OBE, CEO of Muslim Aid
My name is John, and through our union in Jesus I am your brother and share your sufferings, your kingdom, and all you endure. I was on the island of Patmos for having preached God’s word and witnessed for Jesus; it was the Lord’s day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouting like a trumpet, ‘Write down all that you see in a book.’ I turned round to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle.
When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. Now write down all that you see of present happenings and things that are still to come.’
Second reading for Second Sunday of Easter
Apocalypse 1:9-13,17-19
Our accounts of the Resurrection – like the very fact of the Incarnation itself – give expression in earthly and familiar forms to the ineffable and incomprehenisble. And sometimes we lose sight of that extraordinariness.
Not so in the book of the Apocalypse which revels in the mythic and the mind-streching images of the vision of John to engage with the meaning of the risen and ascended Lord and our participation in him.
Louvre, Paris. (c) 2017, Allen Morris.
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
Gospel for 2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31
Jesus establishes the remaining members of the 12 in faith, and he gives them their mission of reconciliation and healing, a mission shared with the whole Church.
Mosaic, Lourdes. (c) 2016, Allen Morris
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.
Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God.
But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
Second reading for Easter Sunday
Colossians 3:1-4
Easter – if it is Easter – is not only about what happened back then and to Him. If it is Easter, it is about now and about us, in Him.
And it is for sharing with others… with everyone.
Detail of mural by Jean Cocteau. French Church, Leicester Square, London. (c) 2007, Allen Morris.
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household:
‘You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.
Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand.
Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
First reading for Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34,37-43
Cornelius was rather lucky that, back then, Peter listened to the women!
Stained Glass, Kings Lynn Minster. (c) 2016, Allen Morris.
Living Eucharist 