Acts 4.32-35; 1 Jn 5.1-6; Jn 20.19-31

• “Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; whose sins you retain, they are retained.” This Gospel passage is related to the other passages before the death and resurrection of Christ when He promised the twelve apostles, and especially Peter, the power to “bind and to lose.”

• Some do not want to go to confession because they “confess directly to God” to have their sins forgiven. But that is not enough for forgiveness. If we have offended someone, it is not we but the offended party who should set the terms of forgiveness. If Christ gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles and their successors, these are Jesus’ terms, and we should avail ourselves of this channel.

• Let us not be afraid of the sacrament of reconciliation. It is a wonderful sacrament manifesting God’s mercy, even from those grave sins against the dignity of life such as abortion, euthanasia, IVF, etc. It brings peace of soul and strength to fight sin in the future.

Pro-Life Intercession:

That as the apostles put their resources at the service of the needy, so we may support the efforts of pregnancy resource centers that provide alternatives to abortion, we pray to the Lord …