Posted by The WORD in other words (2015) by Father Cornelio Alpuerto SVD – University of San Carlos, Cebu
Sunday in the Octave of Easter
“Peace!” — this was the first word of the Risen Savior to His disciples after rising from the dead.
The time: the evening of the first day of the week. The place: the house where they had shared the Last Supper. The state of the disciples: fear.
Their Rabbi had been condemned and killed in a trial that was a mockery of justice. Logically, they expected persecution to follow. Out of fear, they locked the doors, as if that could keep the authorities away. In their fragile state, they found comfort only in one another’s company.
Then, suddenly, in the midst of their insecurity, Jesus appeared — not through the locked doors, but simply standing among them — and said in a calm, clear voice: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19).
This was precisely what they needed most: peace. The peace they had once known in His presence, flowing like a river (cf. Isaiah 66:12). What a balm for their broken hearts!
The Easter Gift
Jesus repeated His greeting: “Peace be with you” (John 20:21). Then He added: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:22–23).
This was His Easter gift — the power to forgive sins. Through this gift, the grace of the Resurrection touches our lives: having died to sin, we rise to new life (cf. Romans 6:4). Alleluia!
The Mission of Mercy
Forgiveness was always at the heart of Jesus’ mission. On the cross, He prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Now, as the Risen Lord, He entrusted His disciples with the same mission of mercy.
Indeed, His very name, Jesus, means “God saves” (cf. Matthew 1:21).
The Power of the Keys
From that locked room in Jerusalem, this divine power was handed down through the apostles to the ordained ministers of the Church. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the “power of the keys” (cf. Matthew 16:19) continues to bring peace to repentant sinners.
Countless souls, burdened by guilt, have found solace and freedom through sacramental absolution. Truly, the Divine Mercy is praised forevermore (cf. Psalm 136:1).
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