John 20:19-23

On 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.“

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to appreciate the greatness and beauty of the priesthood.

1. Peace Be With You. The apostles are gathered together in fear and in confusion. The Lord had already appeared to the women and to Peter, and John had believed when he saw the empty tomb. Yet the pain of the Lord's death and the nagging doubt didn't go away: Was he really the Son of God?

In this situation, Christ comes not to condemn them for their cowardice and lack of faith, nor to chastise them for hiding in the room.

He comes to rescue them and give them life.

They are his chosen ones, his bishops. He has already bestowed on them the fullness of the priesthood and thus made them, in a unique way, one with himself.

This gift that he bestowed on them is a gift of love. He chose them because he wanted to, and he was not about to abandon them.

In their hour of need he came to give them peace and the Paraclete.

Here we see the Christ's love