Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the seventh week of Easter, May 22nd, 2026

Delivered by Fiona from the Parish of Mary Queen of Rosary in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 25: 13-21; Rs psalm 103: 1-2.11-12.19-20ab; John 21: 15-19.OUR JUSTIFICATION FROM THE LORD Our meditation today has the theme: Our JustificationFrom the Lord. There is a teenager, a junior high school student named Thomas,who is known to be very naughty both at home and at school. He has receivedvarious types of punishment. Almost everyone consider him a bad boy. Only hisparents still have hope that Thomas can change one day. His mother oftenadvises, that when he goes to and returns from school he has to pray in theChurch for he always passes in front of the church. One day there was a commotion in the classroom andonce again Thomas was accused of being the main cause of the problem, but infact it wasn't like that. He was cornered and he knew well that it was aslander. All blamed him. When the classes hour finished he entered the churchand prayed. He cried out to God: "O my Jesus, I am naughty and I am verysaddened by all my actions. But not all mistakes come from me. It's only that Iam very easily accused of all the mistakes and chaos. I want to leave all thisto God as my true judge, because in this world not all judgments are true". This experience of Thomas was also the experience ofJesus Christ and Saint Paul in each of their difficult moments. They did notfind justification from this world, so they came to God who has the absolutetruth, to whom they could complain about injustices inflicted on them. Theyjust wanted to see the real truth that should be upheld. The justification ofthis world is really contrary to the Lord's justification, because theinterests and aims of justice in this world are often influenced by world desiresand human temporary gains. In short, if we in this world maintain thejustification from God, we will definitely bear all the sufferings of thisworld. There is also another type of trial experienced by St.Peter, the first apostle of Jesus. Jesus personally brought Peter into a momentof judgment. If Jesus Himself prosecutes the matter, it will come a directknowledge to everybody present who is the right person or the one justified andwho is not. Peter was interrogated about his sincerity, his faith and hiscommitment to follow Christ. He must face that trial to prove his commitment toHis Lord and to make himself ready for the important mission he shouldundertake. Every process of trial in the court must obey itsfundamental condition, namely objectivity. It is the conscience of many peopleand will of the public that shape that objectivity. Whereas the voice of one ortwo persons will be very subjective and they cannot represent the truth desiredby all. Our faith teaches that God's will is acquired through what the HolyChurch says and acts, which are facilitated by her leaders. This is where wefind justification for our growth in faith. For instance, when you receiveabsolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation given by the Church through aconfessor, that is a form of justification that you deserve. So in essence, Godjustifies us in this world through the sayings and actions of the Church. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord of goodness and truth, increase ourcourage and wisdom so that we can face various kinds of difficulty and evilinfluence of this world. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father...