Mario Alberto Molina, O.A.R., Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Los Altos, Quetzaltenango – Totonicapán, invites us on this Fifth Sunday of Easter to contemplate our Christian life as a journey of faith sustained in the midst of tribulations, animated by Easter hope and guided by the love that identifies Christ’s disciples.
Easter time: celebrating our life in Christ
We have passed the halfway point of the Easter season. Four weeks have already passed since Easter; we have three weeks left until Pentecost. During this time, the Church invites us to reflect on various aspects of the Christian life. Easter is not only a commemoration of Christ’s resurrection, but also a celebration of our new existence in Christ and in the Church.
Tribulations that strengthen faith
The first reading narrates the end of the first missionary journey of St. Paul and St. Barnabas and their return to the evangelized cities. In each community, they encouraged the believers with this clear and courageous phrase: “We must go through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God”.
This exhortation is still valid. Christian faith is not based on promises of immediate well-being, but on truth. To strengthen our faith, Bishop Molina points out three essential practices:
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Knowing the faithRead the catechism and deepen the doctrine.
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Living the sacramentsParticipating in Sunday Mass, confession and constant prayer.
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Acting with moral rectitudeForming the conscience to act with love and justice.
Church with a visible face: ministers at the service of the Gospel
From the beginning, Christian communities had presbyters appointed by the apostles, not elected by assemblies. This is how the ordained ministry developed: bishops, priests and deacons who instruct, sanctify and govern with charity.
The Church, structured and guided by these ministers, is a living instrument of the Gospel in history, accompanied also by committed lay people.
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Hope from the Apocalypse
The second reading, taken from the Apocalypse, offers a consoling vision: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth”. This image reveals that the world, thanks to Christ’s redemption, is not doomed to failure, but open to fullness in God.
The Church is that new Jerusalem that descends from heaven as “the dwelling place of God with men. It is there that we begin to live together with God, who wipes away our tears and transforms everything into holiness.
The new commandment: love as a sign of glory
In the Gospel, Jesus announces his glorification through his passion and resurrection. And as a reflection of that glory, he gives his disciples a new commandment:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
This fraternal love is the hallmark of the disciple. It is not a chronological novelty, but an existential one: a new life springs from the paschal love of Christ, present in the sacraments.
Glory, charity and the paschal meaning of life
The commandment of love, lived in community, reflects the glory of Christ. Easter is not only victory over death, but transformation of the human heart.
This is how the text itself summarizes it: All of this speaks to us of hope and gratitude, of the meaning of life and its expected fullness. Let us give thanks to God who has loved us in this way.