Sunday, May 3, 2026
Weeks after the Resurrection, the Church joyfully continues the celebration of the Easter Season, which extends from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2026. 50 days, and they are treated by the Church as one feast day, a single, continuous celebration, for Pentecost is the completion of Easter’s meaning. Celebrating Easter for 50 days signifies that Easter is the central and most important reality of Christian worship, and not just a marker on the calendar. This reality brings us to a new life in Christ as we live our faith by embracing the “new creation” we have become through Christ’s sacrifice and allowing it to be at the center of our everyday life. The readings for today show what it truly means to live as a new creation in Christ, renewed and brought to spiritual rebirth through the Resurrection, and they also challenge us to measure our actions against our calling, so that what Christ has begun in each of us bears fruit in the way we live each day.
A practical problem faced by the early Christians is described in the first reading from Acts. Hellenist widows, Greek-speaking Jews who lived among Hebrew and Aramaic-speaking Jews, were being neglected. Widows of that period were the most vulnerable population, as many children then did not live to adulthood because of diseases, and there were no governmental or social services to support widows after their husbands, their only source of support, died. The reading tells us, “the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task.” — Acts 6:2-3. The community responded by naming the seven, and we learn that “The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.” — v.7. Do we build boundaries to shield ourselves from the needs of the widows, the poor, and people who look or sound different from us? Our rebirth through Resurrection challenges us to reconsider how Easter changes how we see other people.
The second reading reminds us that we are chosen into “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him.” — 1 Peter 2:9. We are not all ordained to the ministerial priesthood, but we are to the baptismal priesthood. Our duty as Christ’s priestly people is to participate in the Eucharist and to live Christ’s mission through witnessing, self-denial, and active charity.
The Gospel ties the readings together, signifying that this is the way: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do.” — John 14:12. Belief in Christ is never meant to stay private; it becomes visible in what we choose to do when someone’s need interrupts our plans, when charity costs us something, and when we stop asking only, “Is this convenient?” If Christ has made us a new creation, then our faith should leave fingerprints in the real world on how we treat the overlooked, how we support the vulnerable, and how we speak and act as people who truly belong to the risen Lord.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.