Readings and meditation on the Word of God on the Third Sunday of Easter, April 19th, 2026

Delivered by Stella, Michaela and Bryan from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 2: 14.22-33; Rs psalm 16: 1-2a.5.7-8.9-10.11; 1 Peter 1: 17-21; Luke 24: 13-35THE PATH OF FAITH IS NOT EASY The theme for our meditation on this 3rd Sunday of Easter is: The Path offaith is Not Easy. A teenage girl was having a hard time and locked herself inher room. No one in her family could approach and give her advice orconsolation. Her boyfriend who broke their relationship could not be contacted,with the intention that he should be the one to speak with her. A priest in the parish was willing to talk with the girl. On the telephonethe pastor first gave her understanding, then opened the opportunity for her tofreely speak out her problem without feeling any distress. After that thePastor directed her to see the light in the Lord who is always kind andwelcoming those who are facing difficulties. In the end, the girl could beconvinced that she must forgive her boyfriend, then went to the church forconfession, and proceeded to receive Holy Communion in the Eucharist. The experience of that girl is common to many of us. Normally, weexperience a kind of crisis in life. Then there is the help from others whoopen our awareness that we can acknowledge ourselves who are in crisis or introuble. This help proceeds to lead us to see the light of God's word andwisdom that we need to listen and follow. And finally, we come to the point ofsolution by meeting the Lord whom we mostly need. This can happen through thecelebration of faith or in a specific spiritual experience. Such an illustration really happened with two of the disciples of Jesuswho were on their way to Emmaus when they met Jesus. They were in crisis, butGod intervened and resolved their crisis of faith. Their meeting with the Lordwas when they listened to the interpretation of the scriptures and when Jesusbroke the bread and shared them. The event of faith manifested through the Wordof God proclaimed and the Eucharistic bread distributed takes place in thecelebration of the Holy Mass. In this celebration we must be able to know Godin a real and personal way. It is not an easy thing to know God in a real and personal way. The pathof faith is not an easy one. Before attending the Holy Mass to listen to theWord of God and to receive Holy Communion, our lives are in certain crisis.There are conflicts and negative feelings like annoyance, distress, envy andanger come along with us during the week. There are also pride, slander, gossipand lies that always disturb our consciences. We are always reminded that theLord Jesus calls us to be perfect like Himself and the Father who are everperfect. He rose from the dead to redeem and save us. Directed by this light,we go to meet Him in the celebration of the Eucharist. There we will receiveforgiveness from our sins, be comforted and strengthened by His Word, then benourished with the spiritual food from His own body. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord Jesus, come and touch us with Yourhands so that we will be strong again from our frailties and unworthiness. OurFather who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father...