Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Tuesday in the Octave of Easter, April 7th, 2026

Delivered by Josephine Mercy Ho from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 2: 36-41; Rs psalm 33: 4-5.18-19.20.22; John 20: 11-18.RESPONSE TO THE FIRST PREACHING The theme for our meditation today is: Response to theFirst Preaching. When the truth or fact of an event revealed for publicconsumption, the coming responses are not always uniform: yes or no. There arethe responses of welcoming that show agreement, while others show disagreementand rejection. There are also unsure responses because they are not in linewith either welcoming or unwelcoming. In other words, when you present a fact,you cannot please and satisfy everyone at once. Like when Jesus was still alive, who was not acceptedby many, the first preaching by Peter who was accompanied by other apostles anddisciples, was believed to have the same fate. But the passage from the Acts ofApostles today highlights a fact that people who listened to the preaching ofPeter agreed and accepted the teachings on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thepreaching on the Pentecost Day has this point to say: God had made Jesus, whomyou crucified, the Lord and Christ. Then the Jews who heard that preachingresponded with their hearts were deeply moved. They understood well but aboveall they inclined with emotion and will to believe. And then they asked Peterand the apostles what they really needed to do in order to progress in thisprocess to the real faith. They understood with clear minds the contents of thepreaching, then they were moved with feelings of glad and interest, and thenext step was their wills that already opened to be filled with truth andwisdom of the Gospel. Those responsible for this work were the messengers ofthe Gospel, which is in this case the apostles and disciples of Jesus. Thatopenness gave them the possibility to make a confession and eventually embracethe faith. But before arriving at this point, the process of growth in faith requiredan act of repentance, then followed by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ asway of the remission of sins, and the outpouring of the gifts of the HolySpirit. So in the context of the first preaching on the Gospelof Jesus Christ, what really happened was the initiative of the fundamentalresponse from the first believers. In the Church, we make our fundamentalresponse of faith through the reception of the three sacraments of initiation,namely baptism, holy communion, and confirmation. All three are the initial andfundamental stages of Christians and Church life. The Word of God that is heard and received, directs aperson towards the renewal of his option of life. Then he is prepared toreceive baptism which brings him to meet and to see the Lord personally. He iseven called by his name, similar to the risen Jesus who called the name"Mary" in the apparition story of the resurrection. This is like theexperience of receiving God personally in the Holy Communion. Furthermore, thestrengthening of the faith is then made in the following step through theoutpouring of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord Jesus Christ, may we do not fail torecognize You properly and truly through the proclamation of Your word everyday. Hail Mary, full of grace... In the name of the Father ...