We just heard in the gospel how the day of the resurrection, that same day, the disciples
were gathered together with the doors shut for fear of the Jews.
And doesn't this explain very often the situation of people who live without faith in our risen Lord?
That is, they live in a situation of fear.
And as a result, they shut the doors, the doors of their heart and many times the doors of their home,
to the world outside.
And as a result, we have the radical individualism that we see rampant in our society today.
They live in fear.
They have no faith in our risen Lord.
And therefore, they have no faith in their own future resurrection as well.
And death for them is the end.
And as a result, suffering has no meaning.
And death.
Is a cause for fear and a cause for despair, really.
And so, as a way to protect themselves from any hurt, any pain, any suffering,
they turn in on themselves and they shut the doors of their heart to people.
It becomes a me society, interested only in themselves, in protecting their own interests,
in life.
Living as securely as possible, they shut the doors of their homes.
Charity, hospitality is no longer seen because that tends to be a disturbance.
And so we see that when our Lord comes to the Apostles, he shows them the wounds in his hands and in his side.
He proves to them that he's not a ghost, but it's truly himself risen from the dead.
With his glorified body.
And the disciples, as a result, as the gospel says, says they were glad they rejoiced at seeing the risen Lord.
And our Lord says, peace be with you.
Our risen Lord confers, confers peace and joy to the hearts of those who believe, to those who have faith.
And we see this, and we ought to see this, in the lives of believers as well.
Those who have faith.
Because those who have faith no longer need to live in fear.
No longer need to fear sacrifice, suffering, and death.
Because those three things now have meaning.
Notice our risen Lord still bears his wounds.
The suffering that he endured in this world.
This world is not a cause for shame.
And is not meaningless.
But it's now a sign of glory.
It's a proof, a demonstration of how much he loved the Father.
How he was willing to adhere to the will of his Father even unto death.
Death on the cross.
It's a sign of how much he loved man.
Because it's by means of his adhering to the will of the Father.
By how much he loved the Father.
by his suffering and death on the cross,
that he redeemed the whole human race.
And so that reveals to us as well
the meaning of suffering in our own lives
and what will follow our own death.
That is, by always adhering to the will of God,
we demonstrate our love for God.
By willing to make sacrifices for others,
we demonstrate our love for others.
And this tends to dilate the heart,
to open ourselves up to others,
to be generous with our lives
and be willing to undertake the risks
that love requires.
And as a result,
you live in peace and with joy.
And now we also see that death as well has meaning.
It is now no longer,
the end after which one falls into oblivion,
nothingness.
But no, the resurrection is to follow.
So again, a cause for joy in our lives
and not a cause for despair.
So let's reflect on these truths
in this time following the octave of Easter
and seek to have peace and joy in our own lives.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.