O n the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the

disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to

them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his

side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be

with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he

breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are

forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of

the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We

have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands

and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came,

although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand

and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My

Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are

those who have not seen and have believed.” Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disci-

ples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the

Christ, the Son of God, and that through this believe you may have life in his name. The Gospel of the Lord.

APRIL 19, 2020

REFLECTION ON THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

O n this Divine Mercy Sunday, which ends our Octave of Easter celebration, we return at God’s invitation to continue our great Easter Season of Fifty Days. We follow the

example of the early Christians, who in the 1st reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:42-47) “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers”. We who have not seen and yet believe in the Resurrection are called to be signs of the Resurrection to others. Our Spiritual Eucharist this day and every day give us the Grace for this task. In imitation of the first Christians, we now devote ourselves to listening to the teaching of the apostles. We read the words of our 2nd reading from the First Letter of St. Peter (1:3-9) to the early Christian community about “our new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” these words speak to our situation today of sickness and suffering and of separation and loneliness. They give us a living hope: “although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more

precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” These words are supported by our Responsorial Psalm (118) “Give thanks to Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting. I was hard pressed and was falling, but the Lord helped me. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just.”

Let us experience with the Apostles the joy of seeing the Risen Lord and in the midst of our fear and uncertainty we want to experience and be granted his peace and receive his Holy Spirit. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” Our hearts rejoice with glorious joy as we hear the familiar Gospel story of Thomas, the apostle who doubted. As we are nourished at the table of the Word, let our response be the same as Thomas. With Easter joy we acclaim the Risen Christ with the words: “My Lord and my God”.

FOR YOUR PRAYER & RELFECTION THE GOSPEL FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY (JOHN 20:19-31)

SECOND WEEK OF EASTER

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR BELOVED SICK:

Luke Peterson, Ralph Valenti, Theresa Gonzalez, Natalie Delgado, Carmelo Pulizzotto, Salvatore Pandolfo, Arthur Malagoli, Thomas Messina, Mary Ann DeForca, Maureen Rivera, Anthony Calabrese, Fred Lesto, Joseph Perrelli, Jean Bevacqua, George Cagno, Ariana Mainner, Julia Bruzzese, Josephine Zimmitti, Frank DiBari, Rose Dee, Calogero & Consiglia Bertolino, Carmine Barone, George Constantin, Isabel Ayala, Frances Cantone, Venancio Rosado, Vito Pisano, Theresa Mierzejewski, Quintin Leone, Rose Scianno, James Amato, Gloria Freda, Jean Hoskey, Isabelle Grenier, Helen Scalia, Diana Torres, Rosemarie Roccotagliata, Joseph Trovato, Ann Esposito, Dorothy DeVita, James Toner, Nancy Young, Ronnie Carlucci

FOR OUR BELOVED DECEASED: Caterina Romeo, Pasquale Zingaro, Angelo Chimento, Angelina Bisogno, Angela Iwu (Sister of Fr. Clement)

ST ANTHONY NOVENA SIXTH TUESDAY THE CHURCH

Reading 1:Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (2:19-22)

This means you are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in him you are being built

into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. The Word of the Lord.

Reading 2: From the Sermons of St. Anthony Sing this song in the church of God: a strong city have we in Zi-on, for the Savior has set up walls to protect us. Zion is the Holy Church, the city of our strength, apart from which there is no salvation. In her has our Savior been placed as a wall and a ram-part, in his divinity and in his humanity. And thus fortified by the wall of the Incarnate Word, the Church will continue in peace and security until the end.

Offer a time of silent prayer & reflection

INTERCESSIONS OFFER THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF ST. ANTHONY

IN THIS WEEK OF DIVINE MERCY & IN THE MIDST OF THE CORONAVIRUS

Let us pray to God our Father, the source and author of all holiness, who has opened the way to salvation for us in Christ. Response: Lord hear our prayer as we honor you in St. Anthony. Father, guide our world leaders to seek the way of peace and assist our brothers and sisters who are oppressed. R: Lord hear our prayer as we honor you in St. Anthony. Help those who are poor, who have no food or homes, who seek work. R: Lord hear our prayer as we honor you in St. Anthony. Heal the sick and depressed; let the lonely know the comfort of your love, assist all in need of your mercy. R: Lord hear our prayer as we honor you in St. Anthony. Grant that our brothers and sisters who have died and now rest in peace may share in your eternal life. Comfort us who remain in this life and mourn their passing. R: Lord hear our prayer as we honor you in St. Anthony.

A Mass is offered every day by Fr. Guy & Fr. Clement for the following intentions: SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY: The People of the Parish, Mary Catalano, Special Intention, Michelle Palazzi Brady, Dominic Okoro EASTER WEEKDAY: Sophia Y. Yang: Birthday, Grasso Family, Rose S. Jung: Birthday, Angela & Costantino Casuc-ci, Benedetto Conti, Purgatorial & Collective Intentions, For an End to the Coronavirus.

BREAD & WINE: Michelle Palazzi Brady

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: ALL MASSES AND SERVICES ARE STILL SUSPENDED. IN OUR PARISH WE ARE POSTPONING THE SCHEDULED DATE FOR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

AT THIS TIME WHILE THERE ARE NO PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS THE CHURCH AND THE PARISH OFFICE REMAINED CLOSED. IF YOU NEED TO SPEAK WITH A PRIEST PLEASE CALL THE PARISH NUMBER 718-236-9165. IF NO ONE IS AVAILABLE YOU CAN RECORD YOUR MESSAGE AND YOUR CALL WILL BE RETURNED. OR EMAIL: sfcabrini1963@gmail.com

ALL UPDATES AND THE CELEBRATION OF DAILY MASS CAN BE FOUND ON THE PARISH WEBSITE; www.stfrancescabrini-brooklyn.org & FACEBOOK PAGE: St. Frances Cabrini Dyker Heights

YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY (YAMs) on Mondays at 7:30 PM continue to hold a virtual meeting. This week they will watch and discuss on Netflix “An Interview with God”. All are welcome to join. For more information or to join the livestream email joannefusaro@aol.com If you do not have Netflix you can share Joanne’s computer connection and watch it on your computer through her feed (however that works good luck!)

ON LINE GIVING IS NOW AVAILABLE GO TO: givecentral.org/sfcbrooklyn DIRECT DEPOSIT IN OUR PARISH ACCOUNT AT APPLE BANK

EASTER THANK YOU

I want to express my thanks to all who continue to remember your Parish. Through your generosity in mailing in your envelopes or dropping them off in the Parish Office or contributing online I was able to deposit in the 1st Collection $2,656.00 and for your Easter Gift $2,350.00. All your envelopes for all the collections you gave to, will be accounted for under your envelope number.

May the Risen Lord continue to Bless You and Your Families and all you do for Cabrini!

D IVINE MERCY SUNDAY: In 2000 our Holy Father, Blessed Pope John Paul II, proclaimed to the world, that “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called Divine Mercy

Sunday”. The occasion was the Mass for the canonization of Sister Faustina Kowalska, known as the “Apostle of Divine Mercy”. Her deep interior faith revealed to her and ultimately the world, the “limitless mercy of Jesus”. From the diary of this young Polish nun, a special devotion began spreading throughout the world in the 1930s. The message is nothing new, but is a reminder of what the Church has always taught through Scripture and Tradition: that God is merciful and forgiving and that we, too, must show mercy and forgiveness. But in the Divine Mercy devotion, the message takes on a powerful new focus, calling people to a deeper understanding that God’s love is unlimited and available to every-one — especially the greatest sinners. The message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God’s mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion

to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread. The message of mercy is that God loves us — all of us —no matter how great our sins. He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy. It is a message we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC. A — Ask for God’s Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world. B — Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us. C — Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

DIVINE MERCY AND THE FEAST OF EASTER IN THIS TIME OF THE CORONAVIRUS

The idea of this special celebration of God’s mercy on the Sunday after Easter is not a new or radical idea stemming simply from a private revelation. Our Lord, through St. Faustina, is simply reemphasizing what was strongly urged by Saint Thomas the Apostle in the earliest liturgical document in existence, the “Apostolic Constitution”. There we read: “After eight days following the Feast of Easter, let there be another feast observed with honor, the eight day itself, on which He gave me, Thomas, who was hard of belief, full assurance, by showing me the print of the nails and the wound made in His side by the spear.” What assurance did Thomas receive by the sight of the Lord’s wounded side? Not that Christ was truly risen (for that was obvious), but that He is divine and therefore has the power of reversing sin. This assurance was accomplished by the sight of the wounded source of the “stream of mercy”, the source of Christ’s “transfusion” of His life-blood to the Church through the Sacraments, especially of Baptism, Reconciliation and the Eucharist. “From within Christ rivers of living water shall flow”. Here we have the key to understanding the Image of the Divine mercy with its rays signifying the Blood and the Water that flowed from Christ’s pierced side. We can also see these rays as simultaneously symboliz-ing the Holy Spirit, whom Christ breathed into the disciples during the same Octave-Day appearance. On the strength of that Holy breath, all sins are forgiven and atonement with the Father is accomplished. Here, God is reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:18) And here the Church, the newly–born Body of Christ, is commissioned to be the instrument of reconciliation down through the ages. We are especially in need of God’s mercy in this time of crisis. In the midst of sickness and death we can rely on the words of St. John Paul II who reminds us that we are in need of this Feast, that love that is benevolent, which is compassionate and which raises us above our sickness and weakness to the infinite heights of the holiness of God. From the depths of our despair, our loneliness and our separation from one another we cry out to God, through the Passion and Death of his Son, to look upon us with empathy, seeing in this time of crisis a hope of Resurrection and healing of our world. We pray on this day “For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” This is Christ’s Great Promise of complete pardon of sin and punishment on Divine Mercy Sunday through the Grace of our Spiritual Communion which is a participation in His death to sin and rising to Divine Life. How grateful we should be for being drawn into the depths of God’s Mercy!