Someone told me recently, “Father, it’s almost May… don’t you think you should take down your Christmas decorations? I’ve got two hours—I’ll help you.” I replied, “I was waiting for Christmas in July, but okay…” It’s easy to be offended when we are called out. But the real question is whether the words are meant to cut us down or build us up. They didn’t say, “Father, you’re lazy—take them down.” They said, “Father, it needs to be done—let me help you.” That is the spirit of today’s reading from Acts. Peter’s words cut them to the heart because he says of Jesus: “You crucified Him.” Our sin put Him there. But Peter does not leave them in shame. He says, “Repent and be baptized.” His words are not meant to destroy, but to heal. The same is true of the Gospel. Sometimes the truth cuts us to the heart—but only so healing can begin. Jesus is the divine surgeon who cuts in order to cure. In today’s Mass we meet Jesus the Victim and Jesus the Gate. He is the Victim because of our sin. Every nail, every wound, is mine and yours. When we look at the cross, we see the cost of sin. But He is also the Gate, because from His wounds flows mercy. The heart we pierced has become the doorway to life. Through Him we pass from death to life, from sin to freedom, and receive life in abundance. So what must we do? The same answer given in Acts: repent and begin again. Turn away from sin. Be made new. Lay down the old life and receive the new. And this is not only once. Every day is a call to conversion. Every day we begin again. The Gospel may cut you to the heart—but that is where healing begins. Enter through the Gate, and let the Divine Physician make you new.

https://youtu.be/3TKDO6qABc8

H—He is risen, the Lord of Life, the stone is rolled away A—Alive in glory, yet veiled in mystery, our Eucharistic King Lives! L—Lamb once slain, whose sacrifice we celebrate in these sacred mysteries, brings forth life! L—Light from Light, bursting forth from the tomb, illuminating the darkness of sin and death. E—Emmanuel still among us, hidden in the Eucharist, the risen Christ - our Daily Bread! L—Life everlasting flows from His pierced side, U—Unbloody sacrifice, yet the same Calvary, where heaven and earth meet in this sacred mystery. J—Joy sounds through the world: the Resurrection is our hope in every Mass. A—Alleluia is our song, the song of the redeemed, echoing the victory of the empty tomb. H—Hidden yet truly present, the Risen One abides with us—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—until the end of the age. He is Risen! Hallelujah!

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