Saturday in the Octave of Easter

Uneducated, ordinary, bold: What amazed the Sanhedrin was not the quality of the argument but the source of the courage. These men had no credentials the council recognized, but their companionship with Jesus had made them undeniable. Challenge the parish to consider where their own boldness comes from and whether the companionship has been real enough to sustain it.

Mary Magdalene believed first: Mark 16 records that Jesus appeared first to a woman, that she testified faithfully, that the men dismissed her, and that Jesus rebuked the men for their hardness of heart. This is a text that invites honest preaching about the vindication of dismissed witnesses, particularly the witness of women in the life of the Church.

Divine Mercy tomorrow: Prepare the parish for Divine Mercy Sunday by promoting the chaplet, the conditions for the plenary indulgence, and the core message that the whole celebration proclaims: the mercy of God is larger than any sin, and the doors of that mercy are open to everyone who approaches.