Every year, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we read the passage from the Gospel according to John that recounts the two appearances of Jesus to his disciples in Jerusalem. One detail of the account of the two apparitions of Jesus is the date on which they occur. One apparition took place on the evening of the day Mary Magdalene had discovered that Jesus’ tomb was empty; this occurred on the first day of the week, that is, the day we today call Sunday. The second apparition took place eight days later, that is, the following Sunday. The reason for this second apparition was to give the apostle Thomas the opportunity to verify with his own eyes the veracity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I ask: why did Jesus wait eight days to offer this second appearance?
Before answering that question, I turn to today’s second reading. It also narrates another apparition of the risen Jesus to the seer John, author of the book of the 
Revelation. The apostle narrates the circumstances in which he had that vision: I was exiled on the island of Patmos for having preached the word of God and having given testimony of Jesus. One Sunday I fell into an ecstasy and heard a loud voice behind me. This vision also takes place on Sunday. Today, then, we are told of three apparitions of the risen Jesus, and all three take place on a Sunday. Why? What are the consequences of this fact?
With these apparitions Jesus established Sunday as the day to meet with him. Since Jesus’ tomb was found empty in the early hours of Sunday morning and the first apparitions took place on Sunday, from the beginning the first day of the week took on a special significance for Christians. Just as the Jews observed the Sabbath as a day of work rest to dedicate to the worship of God, Christians began to gather to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord and, in time, transferred to that day the precept of the Jewish Sabbath.
Since then, Sunday has been the day on which ordinary occupations are set aside to make time for God and celebrate the victory of the risen Christ over death.
Initially, mass was celebrated only on Sundays. With time, the custom of celebrating Mass on weekdays also spread. But, although the Eucharist is celebrated every day of the week, Sunday continues to be a singular and special day. It is a day that gives us our identity and therefore Catholics have a serious obligation to participate in the Mass, if it is celebrated in a place where one can easily reach it. But even if it is not possible to participate in the Mass, because there is no priest to celebrate it in a church close to one’s own home, the community should gather to celebrate the liturgy of the Word, in which, in the best of cases, communion is also distributed. The argument that I sometimes hear is not valid: I cannot go to Mass on Sunday, but I go on Wednesday. The precept does not command to participate in Mass once a week, but to sanctify Sunday by participating in the Eucharist or at least by participating in a liturgy of the Word.
But the readings raise another question: do we too, when we participate in the celebration of Sunday, encounter the risen Jesus? Does Jesus come out to meet us on Sunday, as he did with the apostles on the night of the resurrection day, with Thomas eight days later and with the seer John on the island of Patmos? My answer is a resounding yes. Jesus Christ comes to meet us, not in the same way, not through a vision, but with the same reality of his presence. But I am afraid that many times we are often distracted by other things and we do not realize it.
Certainly the Mass is the sacrament that gathers the community that celebrates it, but the referent is Christ, not the community. Certainly the development of the rite requires the participation of various ministers, but the protagonist is Christ; neither the priest, nor the lectors, nor the choir, nor the acolytes, nor the ministers, nor the monitors are the protagonists. We are not actors to be seen; we are ministers to help us encounter Jesus Christ. He does not impose his presence, and so it is easy to pay attention to other people or things. Each one should come to Mass prepared to encounter first and foremost God and Jesus Christ, sustained by the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of Mass there should be silence, which helps concentration, and not the evidence of distracting sounds and announcements.
The moment of peace is not the occasion to give condolences or to congratulate birthdays, but to wish us God’s peace and forgiveness, since we are going to receive communion a moment later.
In the Mass there are various prayers, some short, others longer. They are pronounced by the priest. But he must do so in such a way as to give those who are listening to the prayer the opportunity to unite themselves interiorly, mentally, to the prayer he recites. The risen Jesus comes to meet us first in the Word that is read to us. The reader should read in such a way that the reading is understood without the need for prior explanations; but let the reading, not the reader, stand out. At Mass we sing. But the words and melody of the song should help us to elevate our minds and hearts to God, not to entertain us, and still less is it intended to give joy to the body with a vibrant rhythm. The songs of the Mass should be taken from the psalms, for the words of the psalms already help us to pray and to elevate the mind to God. Jesus Christ comes and makes himself present under the species of bread and wine. There the second presence of Jesus Christ is realized, even more dense than his presence through the Word. Christ is really and truly present in what looks like bread and what looks like wine after the consecration. Therefore, even if a person does not receive communion, he or she already has an encounter with Jesus Christ by adoring him in the host.
It is not obligatory to receive communion at every Mass, especially if one recognizes that one is not in a spiritual condition to do so. But for those who receive communion, their encounter with Jesus will be to such a degree that they will come to form one Body with the risen Christ.
It is not obligatory to receive communion at every Mass, especially if one recognizes that one is not in a spiritual condition to do so. But for those who receive communion, their encounter with Jesus will be to such a degree that they will come to form one Body with the risen Christ. Let us, therefore, value Sunday as a day of encounter with the risen Lord Jesus, and let us do our best to participate with our minds fixed on him.