18 April 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22
The first reading was spoken to a people in exile, far from a ruined Jerusalem. The prophet begins with a burst of praise: “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.” But Zion does not feel comforted. She says what many of us have said in the dark: “The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” God answers with one of the tenderest sentences in the Bible: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” A mother's love is the strongest human love we know, and God says his love is stronger still. In the Easter season the image of the palms takes on new meaning. On the evening of the Resurrection the Risen Lord “showed them his hands and his side” (John 20:20), and to Thomas he said, “Put your finger here and see my hands” (John 20:27). Our names are written in those wounded hands. Then Isaiah describes a reversal no one could imagine. Zion, who thought herself “bereaved and barren, exiled and put away”, suddenly finds her house too small: “The place is too crowded for me; make room for me to settle.” She asks in wonder, “Who has borne me these?” This is the fruitfulness of the Church, the mother who receives children from every nation. On this World Prayer Day for Vocations we remember that every priest, every religious sister and brother, every missionary is a child the Lord has given to his Church. Kerala has given many such children to the whole world, and today, when fewer young people answer, Isaiah's promise holds: “those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”
In Acts, the deacon Philip has preached Christ in Samaria, and “there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8). The apostles in Jerusalem send Peter and John. “The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” The Church has always seen here the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism; in the Eastern tradition the anointing with holy Myron is closely joined to Baptism itself. It also shows the bond between a new community and the apostles: the Samaritans are not left on their own but joined to the one Church through those whom Christ sent. Then a dark figure steps forward. Simon, who had practised magic and been admired as a great power, sees what happens through the laying on of hands and offers money: “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter's answer is fierce: “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God.” From Simon's name the Church calls the buying or selling of spiritual things simony. The lesson goes deeper than money. A vocation to the priesthood or religious life is not a career to be purchased, a family status to be secured, or a power to be used. It is a gift and a call, received freely and given freely: “You received without payment; give without payment” (Matthew 10:8). Peter still leaves the door open: “Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord,” and Simon asks for prayer. Even here, mercy is not shut out.
Paul tells the Ephesians the truth about where we all began: “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world.” Not weak or confused, but dead, unable to raise ourselves. Then the two most hopeful words of the letter: “But God”. “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” Paul interrupts himself to make sure we do not miss the point: “by grace you have been saved”. And he goes further: God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The Resurrection is not only something that happened to Jesus on the first Easter; in Baptism it has already begun in us. We are seated with him, so that “in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Simon the magician wanted to buy what can only be received. Paul reminds us that the whole of salvation is a gift. Every vocation begins here: not with my plan for my life, but with God's kindness, which made me alive when I was dead.
The Gospel takes us back to the Last Supper. Jesus says, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” The disciples do not understand: “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” We understand it now because we live after Easter. The first little while was the time from Thursday night to the tomb; the second little while ended on the morning of the Resurrection. Jesus does not hide the pain: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.” He does not say the pain will be replaced by joy, but turned into it, as the labour of a mother becomes the joy of a child. “When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.” The Fathers saw in these words the Church giving birth to new children through the Cross, and Christian tradition has also thought of the Blessed Virgin Mary standing by the Cross, where her Son gave her to the beloved disciple as his mother (John 19:26–27). Then comes the promise for every disciple: “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” A vocation is not without pain; priests and religious know the labour of their ministry. But it carries a joy that no one can take away, because it is the joy of the Risen Lord. And Jesus adds an invitation: “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” On this day the Church asks, as Jesus told her to ask, that the Lord of the harvest will send labourers into his harvest (Matthew 9:38).
Theme: “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
The God who cannot forget us, the gift that cannot be bought, the mercy that makes the dead alive, and the sorrow that turns into joy.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Isaiah 49:15
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Apply: When you feel forgotten this week, look at your palm and pray: my name is written on your hands.
“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah 55:1
“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money!” Acts 8:20
Apply: Let go of any way you use holy things for honour or advantage.
“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” Ezekiel 37:5
“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” Ephesians 2:4–5
Apply: Thank God today for one way he has raised you from a kind of death.
“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5
“So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22
Apply: Pray every day this week for vocations, and bring one sorrow to the Lord to be turned into joy.
God never forgets his people; he gives his Spirit freely, raises the dead to life, and turns our sorrow into the joy of Easter.
On this day of prayer for vocations, we ask the Lord of the harvest for labourers who will give freely what they have freely received.
Take-home resolution: This week pray daily for a vocation from your family or parish, thank a priest or sister who serves you, and give one sorrow to the Risen Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, Zion in exile said: the LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me. And God answered: can a woman forget her nursing child? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands (Isaiah 49:15–16). On Easter evening the Risen Lord showed his disciples his hands. Our names are written there.
Isaiah says that Zion, who thought she was barren, will find her house too crowded with children. That is the Church, our mother. Today, the World Prayer Day for Vocations, we thank God for the priests, sisters and missionaries he has given us, and we ask him for more.
In Acts, Peter and John lay their hands on the new believers of Samaria, and they receive the Holy Spirit. Then Simon the magician offers money for that power. Peter says: may your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money! A vocation is not a career to buy, nor a family honour to collect. It is a gift and a call, freely received and freely given.
Paul tells us that we were dead in our sins. But God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. By grace we have been saved. Every vocation, and every Christian life, begins with that gift.
In the Gospel Jesus says: you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. Like a mother in labour, who forgets the pain when her child is born. Mary stood by the Cross in that hour, and on Easter morning her sorrow was turned into joy. Jesus promises us: no one will take your joy from you.
So today let us ask, as he told us to ask. Let us pray every day for vocations from our families. Parents, do not be afraid if God calls your son or daughter. Young people, listen; he may be calling you. And all of us, let us bring our sorrows to him, and let him turn them into joy. Alleluia! Amen.
Children, God says: even if a mother forgot her baby, I will never forget you. Your name is written on God's hands! You are never alone.
Today we pray for priests and sisters. Maybe Jesus is calling you to be one of them one day! Say a little prayer: Jesus, what do you want me to be?
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you have written our names on the palms of your wounded hands, and you never forget us. Pour out on your Church the Holy Spirit, whom no one can buy, and keep us from treating any holy thing as a possession or a career. Rich in mercy, you made us alive when we were dead and seated us with you in the heavenly places. Turn our sorrows into joy, and give us the joy that no one can take from us. Lord of the harvest, send labourers into your harvest: call from our families and parishes good priests, holy religious and faithful missionaries, and give them generous hearts to answer. With the Blessed Virgin Mary, who stood by your Cross and rejoiced in your Resurrection, we give glory to you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Alleluia!