Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday in the Octave of Easter, April 26, 2025

Delivered by Ariel from the Parish of Saint Albert the Great in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 4: 13-21; Rs psalm 118: 14-15.16ab.18.19-21; Mark 16: 9-15.THEMISSION OF EASTER Thetitle of our meditation today is: The Mission of Easter. Every time the HolyMass ends, that is after the blessing and the final song, a husband and hiswife always quarrel. The wife wants to remain a bit longer inside the church.She knees and prayers personally for half an hour. The husband often getsimpatient. Debate and quarrel are inevitable when they meet outside the church.All that the husband emphasizes is this: “We have just received a mission fromthe Holy Mass, so we must go out to do that mission. Time for the church isover, and now is the time to meet others and to work.” Themission of Easter is the continuation of all the apparitions of Jesus and Histeachings to the apostles and His disciples. The importance of this mission isbased on the two main reasons. First, when Jesus had to go up to heaven, theyneeded to accept the reality of the absence of the Master in human body, but Hisexistence through the Holy Spirit. The second is that they were expected to beprepared in soul and body in order to carry out the mission entrusted to them.The principal Mission of the Lord is to be carried out by individual disciplesof Jesus Christ and also by the community of believers, that is the Church. Weare referring to the growth of faith of the early Church, as it moved from thepeace of Easter to the mission of Easter. The mission is manifested in Jesus'command: “Go to the whole world, and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”Peter and John always worked as a team and that represented the mission of thecommunity. They carried the name Jesus Christ and the community believers,namely the Early Church. At the same time every disciple chose his or her ownway to do this important mission.  JesusChrist had prepared each one of them, and giving them the Holy Spirit, thatthey might become courageous and firm in their faith. This preparation andempowerment were so significant because they would face the same opposition asJesus did, mainly from the Jewish religious leaders. They were ready to followthe way of martyrdom already initiated by Jesus. The point is that they did nottake a step back even though the mission was very hard to endure. OurPaschal Mission: “Go to the whole world, and proclaim the gospel to everycreature” is a mission mandated to the entire Church and each of her members.Every one of us as follower of Christ has the responsibility to carry out thismission in the name of the Church with Jesus Christ as the Head. Formally, wereceive this mission when we end the eucharistic celebration. We are sent tothe mission of the Church with this phrase: “Let's go, we are sent” or “Go andproclaim the Good News of the Lord.” Informally and personally, theresponsibility of this mission is on the hands of every follower of Christ.Let's pray. In thename of the Father ... O Lord Jesus, accompany us and protect us always in ourpersonal and common mission to build Your Kingdom on earth. Glory to the Fatherand to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ... In name of the Father …