Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the second week of Easter, April 17th, 2026

Delivered by Enge Kristina from the Parish of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 5: 34-42; Rs psalm 27: 1.4.13-14; John 6: 1-15.BECOME THE INSTRUMENT OF GOD Our meditation today has the theme: Become theInstrument of God. Our Christian life as expected to be in the spirit of Easteris not only a true practice during this Easter season but also during our lifetime on earth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed animates all our life.The period after resurrection is a period when Jesus Christ is not physicallypresent with all His followers, unlike when He was still living and walkingwith His disciples and people of His time. After resurrection, He went up toheaven to be with the heavenly Father. But as He had promised, He is foreverwith us at all times, because His Spirit lives with us in the Church and in thesociety as well. What must we do to ensure that our faith aligned withthe spirit of Easter? The inspiration from our readings today can give us theanswer, and it is true to say that we need to become the instruments of God. Theministry of Jesus Christ carried out by the Holy Church as a community of thePeople of God continues to occur to this day, with her main mission is to servethe humanity and the world. Who are those human beings to be ministered by theChurch? It maybe each one of us, our brothers or sisters and friends. It maybepeople we don't know who they are or where they are from. It maybe persons Godhas entrusted to us to be educated and cared for. Becoming the instrument God for us is a basicChristian vocation, as the Psalmist says: Here I am Lord, to do Your will (Ps.40). The goal of this vocation is to make the Lord truly present in a real anda personal way through the ministry of Jesus Christ Himself, who saves, heals,teaches, speaks of truth, comforts, and forgives. This vocation is given toevery one of us who chooses the way of life as priest, religious and lay person.To carry out well this vocation means each of us acts in the name of the LordJesus Christ and makes His works realized.  We are given an example of the apostles who bravelydefended the truth of the Gospel preached, even though they were tried andimprisoned by the Jewish Religious Court. A famous Jewish priest, Gamaliel,also spoke in the name of truth and at the same time defended what the apostlesfearlessly did. Both the apostles and Gamaliel had proved to be the realinstruments of God in preaching and teaching the true faith. Then anotheroccasion also shows us the practice of this truth. The apostles became the instrumentsfor the feeding of thousands of people who were hungry after a full dayfollowing and listening to Jesus away from the city. A child who provided asmall portion of bread and fish also proved to be the instrument of God for themiracle of multiplication of bread and fish. They were the instruments of God'smercy for the urgent needs of people at that moment. We can be the instruments of God in any givencondition in our lives today, especially the conditions that really needsurgent solution or treatment. It all depends on our willingness and commitmentto do. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O generous and merciful Lord, strengthen usin every step and work that we take, so that we can be your true and usefulinstruments, especially for the benefit of our needy brothers and sisters. HailMary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father ...