Good Shepherd Sunday: “I know my own and my own know me”

GOSPEL John 10:11-16.
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

“My own know me.” The sheep know what’s what.

Prayer for the Election of the Roman Pontiff

The prayer I read at the end of the podcast, from Father Z:

Prayer for the Election of the Roman Pontiff

O God the Father Almighty, who at the beginning of creation calmed the primordial waters by the hovering of the Holy Spirit, deign swiftly to send the same Spirit upon Your Church for the purpose of electing the Successor of the Holy Apostle Peter, so that, the new Roman Pontiff duly elected, tranquility may be fostered and expanded.

O God, Lord Jesus, whose Body is the Church founded by You on the Apostle Peter, grant, we beg You, that you defend with angelic protection and strengthen with many graces the Cardinals whose task it is to elect his Successor, so that in these days before and during the Conclave, their words and deeds, for the true good of You Church, will result in peace and the salvation of souls.

O God the Holy Spirit, Paraclete, Divine Breath of the Trinity, deign to waft through all the locales and dwellings of the Cardinals-elect, on our knees we beg You, to repel diabolical schemes, to crush external forces, to bring clarity and serenity to Your Church.

O God, Most Holy Trinity, in Your infinite mercy and according to Your ineffable providence for the Church, inspire, guide and gently urge, if necessary even with supernatural signs, the Cardinals in the Conclave to grant us a good and wise Pope, a kindly but strong Shepherd, a faithful and reverent Vicar of Christ, a praying and prudent Successor of Peter, a Roman Pontiff who loves and preserves the customs of our forebears, a steadfast, pious, virile and holy man, namely, one better than we deserve. Amen.

Holy Mother of God, intercede for us.
Saint Peter, intercede for us.
Saint Paul, intercede for us.
All Holy Popes, intercede for us.

Barnhardt Podcast #223: Well? We’re Waiting….

Download MP3 File

In this barn-burner episode, Art and Ann are joined by NonVeni Mark and Dr. Mazza for a wide-ranging conversation about the upcoming Conclave, its validity, historical precedents, possible nefarious dark horse candidates, and cautious optimism and faith in the visibility and continuity of Jesus Christ’s Holy Church, outside of which there is no salvation.

To every Cardinal, Prelate, and Cleric who has spent the last twelve years repeating incessantly, “We just have to wait for Bergoglio to die…”, a weary world cries out in unison the immortal words of Judge Elihu Smails:

 

Dr. Mazza’s Current Mini-Course – The Next Pope: Apostasy or Hope?

Dr. Mazza’s Upcoming Class: Converts to the Catholic Church

Fr. Z’s and Cardinal Burke’s beautiful prayers for the Conclave and the Papacy

Fr. Z’s excellent piece on why this upcoming Conclave is presumed valid

CollegeOfCardinalsReport.com

Leftist Cardinal Sturla wiki page

Leftist Cardinal Prevost wiki page

Council of Constance NewAdvent encyclopedia page

Papal Election of ARSH 1130 wiki page

“Psuedo-Cardinal” wiki page

Feedback: the email address for the podcast is Ann@barnhardt.biz

The Infant Jesus of Prague handles Ann’s financial stuff. Click image for details. [If you have a recurring donation set up and need to cancel for any reason – don’t hesitate to do so!]

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Saint Catherine of Siena’s disputation to the traitorous Cardinals who supported an obvious antipope

(Key passages featured here, for anyone who thinks those of us speaking up for truth are somehow in sin. God forbid. Link to the whole thing at the end. Wishing you a blessed Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church. St. Catherine, pray for us, we need it! -nvp)


Dearest brothers and fathers in Christ sweet Jesus: I Catherine, servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, write to you in His precious Blood: with desire to see you turn back to the true and most perfect light, leaving the deep shadows of blindness into which you are fallen. Then you shall be fathers to me; otherwise not. Yes, indeed, I call you fathers in so far as you shall leave death and turn back to life (for, as things go now, you are parted from the life of grace, limbs cut off from your head from which you drew life), when you shall stand united in faith, and in that perfect obedience to Pope Urban VI., in which those abide who have the light, and in light know the truth, and knowing it love it…

Oh, human blindness! Seest thou not, unfortunate man, that thou thinkest to love things firm and stable, joyous things, good and fair? and they are mutable, the sum of wretchedness, hideous, and without any goodness; not as they are created things in themselves, since all are created by God, who is perfectly good, but through the nature of him who possesses them intemperately. How mutable are the riches and honours of the world in him who possesses them without God, without the fear of Him! for to-day is he rich and great, and to-day he is poor. How hideous is our bodily life, that living we shed stench from every part of our body! Simply a sack of dung, the food for worms, the food of death! …

Oh, wretched man, the darkness of self-love does not let thee know this truth. For didst thou know it, thou wouldst choose any pain rather than guide thy life in this way; thou wouldst give thee to loving and desiring Him who Is; thou wouldst enjoy His truth in firmness, and wouldst not move about like a leaf in the wind; thou wouldst serve thy Creator, and wouldst love everything in Him, and apart from Him nothing. Oh, how will this blindness be reproved at the last moment in every rational being, and much the more in those whom God has taken from the filth of the world, and assigned to the greatest excellence that can be, having made them ministers of the Blood of the humble and spotless Lamb! Oh me, oh me! what have you come to by not having followed up your dignities with virtue? …

Now you have turned your backs, like poor mean knights; your shadow has made you afraid. You have divided you from the truth which strengthens us, and drawn close to falsehood, which weakens soul and body, depriving you of temporal and spiritual grace. What made you do this? The poison of self-love, which has infected the world. That is what has made you pillars lighter than straw. Flowers you who shed no perfume, but stench that makes the whole world reek! No lights you placed in a candlestick, that you might spread the faith; but, having hidden your light under the bushel of pride, and become not extenders, but contaminators of the faith, you shed darkness over yourselves and others. You should have been angels on earth, placed to release us from the devils of hell, and performing the office of angels, by bringing back the sheep into the obedience of Holy Church, and you have taken the office of devils. That evil which you have in yourselves you wish to infect us with, withdrawing us from obedience to Christ on earth, and leading us into obedience to antichrist, a member of the devil, as you are too, so long as you shall abide in this heresy.

Ah, foolish men, worthy of a thousand deaths! As blind, you do not see your own wrong, and have fallen into such confusion that you make of your own selves liars and idolaters…

https://www.virgosacrata.com/saint-catherine-of-siena-letter.html

Archbishop Viganò: ‘Cardinals’ created by Bergoglio ‘cannot validly elect a pope’

(LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is doubling down on his belief that the upcoming conclave is invalid due to irregularities with its members.

“At most, the College will be able to designate its own representative, someone who will renew and continue the usurpation of the recently deceased predecessor, and see the ongoing fraud further ratified by a complicit or cowardly episcopate,” His Excellency told Italian journalist Francesco Borgonovo this week.

Following Francis’ death, Archbishop Viganò has spoken out on a number of topics, not only about Francis’ legacy, which he has described as a “usurpation” of the Throne of St. Peter, but also about the upcoming meeting of the cardinals, which is set to kick off on May 7.

In an April 23 letter sent to an Italian television program, His Excellency commented that due to “Bergoglio’s acceptance of the Papacy [being] flawed,” the clergy he has named cardinals are “false.”

“Of the 136 Cardinal electors, 108 were ‘created’ by [Bergoglio]; which means that whatever Pope is elected in the upcoming Conclave – even if he were a new Saint Pius X – his authority will be compromised by having been elected by false cardinals, created by a false Pope,” His Excellency said.

Archbishop Viganò re-iterated that position in his interview with Borgonovo.

“A College of Cardinals composed of 108 ‘cardinals’ created by a Jesuit who usurped the Papacy for twelve years cannot validly elect a legitimate pope,” he stated.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-vigano-cardinals-created-by-bergoglio-cannot-validly-elect-a-pope/

Did Virginia Giuffre really Epstein herself?

 

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein, has died. She was 41.

Giuffre died by suicide Friday at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed.

“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors,” her family said in a statement. “Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure.”

Her publicist Dini von Mueffling described Giuffre as “deeply loving, wise and funny.”

“She adored her children and many animals. She was always more concerned with me than with herself,” von Mueffling wrote in a statement. ”I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in Australia is available by calling 13 11 14. In the U.S., it is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

The American-born Giuffre, who lived in Australia for years, became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein’s prolonged downfall.

FILE - Virginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York,...
FILE – Virginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Dr Seifert issues open letter to Cardinals Re and Farrell demanding investigation of the “papal heresy” of Bergoglio

(Note well, his base premise is false. The Bergoglian conclave of 2013 was invalid because the true Pope yet lived, and never validly resigned. But this is quite an essay, reprinted here for the record. -nvp)


An open letter from
Professor Dr. phil. habil. Josef Maria Seifert
Kartäuserstraße 16/6
3292 Gaming, N.Ö.
Austria

To His Eminence Cardinal Dean Gian Battista Re

Gaming, April 24, 2025

On the Need to Examine before the next Conclave the Formal Accusation of Heresy launched by Archbishop Viganò (and supported by many distinguished theologians, jurists and philosophers world-wide) against Pope Francis

Your Eminence, dear Cardinal Dean Giovanni Battista Re,

Most cordial Greetings in Christ. I address myself to you, dear and highly revered Cardinal Dean Re, because You alone now hold the authority to let an investigation of the accusation of heresy brought up against Pope Francis, take place before the upcoming Conclave.

You hold until the election of the next Pope the highest authority in the Catholic Church, will invite, in union with the Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell, the qualified Cardinals of the whole world under the age of 80 to elect the new Pope and can determine the date of the next Conclave.

I make my letter to you an open letter because of the short time that remains to settle issues of extreme importance and urgency.

I discovered through the text J’accuse of archbishop Viganò two – through the solemn invocation of the See of Peter and their declaration of being valid for all times – probably dogmatic and certainly most authoritative pontifical documents on the issue of “heretical Bishops, Cardinals and Popes” by Pope Paul IV and St. Pius V.

These texts seem to me to be of the highest importance for the Church at the present moment.

They solemnly demand that the Church proceed with an examination of accusations of Papal heresy.

Simply to have excommunicated an archbishop because he exactly acted as a prominent and a Holy Pope demanded solemnly to act when faced with a Pope who adhered to Heresies prior to, during and after his election to the Papacy, is, I think, gravely wrong and unjust. These charges should first have been examined, and if true, absolutely no punishment is proper for bringing them forth.

I think the Church owes it to an excommunicated archbishop and to at least four other persons excommunicated for the same reason, two Popes and to the faithful to address the firm insistence of Pope Paul IV that a Pope who professes heresy is no longer Pope and cannot demand any obedience, just as archbishop Viganò said, with the important aviso that the impropriety of any authority judging a Pope does not apply to a heretical Pope who just usurps the See of Peter but, in virtue of his heresy, is not truly Pope and has less authority in the Church than any orthodox Cardinal or bishop.

The crucial significance of ordering and completing this investigation prior to convening the next Conclave, resides in this:

The outcome of the next Papal election depends largely on the outcome of this investigation, because St. Pius V and Pope Paul IV decree that all nominations of Cardinals made by a heretical Pope are null. Thus, if the accusation of heresy prior to Pope Francis’s election, during and after it, prove to be correct, two thirds of the present college of Cardinals would be excluded from entering the Conclave. Therefore, the conclusion of this question needs to be reached before the next Conclave because otherwise the next Papal election is a priori invalid if it is not determined before whether the largest part of the members of the College of Cardinals are legitimate electors or not, and whether the future elected Pope belongs to the College of Cardinals or not.
Also two further strictly connected questions ought to be clarified before the upcoming Conclave:

1. whether the changes Pope Francis made of the rules governing Papal elections decreed by St. Pope John Paul II are valid or (if he was not a valid Pope) not, and

2. whether any of the Papal documents of Pope Francis are to remain in the Acta

Apostolica or removed from them (as Popes ST Pius V and Paul IV decreed for documents issued by a heretical Pope).

Popes St Pius V and Paul IV decreed and fixed for perpetual times: that all decisions, nominations and elevations of bishops and Cardinals and that all writings of a heretical Pope should be declared null.

According to these Papal documents and according to natural law, the Cardinals whom Pope Francis has chosen, cannot remain electors if the accusation of heresy or apostasy proves to be true.

I address myself to you, dear and highly revered Cardinal Re, because you alone, in union with the Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell, now hold the authority to let this investigation take place before the upcoming Conclave.

Since you, dear Cardinal, now, until the election of a new Pope, dispose over the supreme authority in the Church, you could take action immediately, determine the members of the jury among the Cardinals nominated by Popes prior to Pope Francis who would make a judgment on the question of heresy and validity of Pope Francis.
For this reason, I humbly urge you, dear Cardinal Dean, to exercise your authority in such a dramatic moment in the history of the Church, and to act on the authority of two Popes who demand such an action.

I think presently only you could be, comparable with St Athanasius, who, still Deacon, when confronted with the Arian crisis and a wavering Pope, was able, (in spite of his 2 excommunications during the process), to prepare the way for some Councils that condemned the Arian heresy, that, if accepted, would have been deadly for Christian faith. But the heresy that God wants the plurality of religions including non-Christian ones, and others attributed to Pope Francis are even more antithetical to true Christian faith than Arianism was.

Therefore, I suggest and humbly implore you that you ordain before the impending Conclave a just and fair examination of the many accusations of heresy and (in view of the Abu Dhabi declaration that God wanted the plurality of religions from Creation on, and of the Pacha Mama worship in the Vatican) also of possible apostasy of Pope Francis.
I think that by this action you could save the Church from a historically speaking unique confusion of catastrophic proportions.

You would stand on the firm ground of the documents of Paul IV and St. Pius V, both of whom taught solemnly that even if ALL CARDINALS HAD ELECTED THE POPE FREELY, HIS ELECTION WOULD BE NULLIFIED by heresies he defended before and after his election.
This has nothing to do with you acting against the Church or against the Pope: on the contrary, it is an act of supreme love for the Church and Francis: for IF the accusation of heresy, having been launched formally and informally by high doctrinal and theological authorities against Francis, will be found true in a due ecclesiastic process, the Church will confront the faithful with the truth (and already Socrates said in the Gorgias) that no more precious gift could be bestowed on a person than freeing him from an error. The chance to free Francis during his life-time of errors, has now, given his death, been missed. But if Pope Francis did hopefully revoke any error before his death and certainly recognizes them now, to condemn them and to free the Church’s doctrine from them, would still be an act of love for Pope Francis and above all for Jesus’s bride, the Church, freeing it from the tremendous evil of heresies.

I think that, if the accusation of heresy is true, a valid official verdict that Francis is a heretic and therefore was not a valid Pope, as has been done with regard to several Popes before, also posthumously, would be of greatest benefit for the future of the Church. For even if Pope Francis would have resigned his office, just as Pope Benedict XVI did, this would not at all have been enough to heal the terrible wound of a heretical Pope, because the destructive elements and poisonous fruits of his Pontificate would remain:

1. The Acta Apostolica would continue to contain uncondemned heresies.

2. Heretical moral teachings such as those expressed in AL would seemingly remain official Church teaching and seduce the faithful to commit grave sins.

3. Many other heretical remarks of the Pope that contradict directly the solemn words of Christ and Church dogmas would not be stricken from the corpus of Church teaching, such as:

a. Francis’s (private but repeated) “teaching” of an empty hell and the non-existence of eternal punishment,

b. the affirmation of an annihilation instead of eternal punishment of incurably grave sinners, a typical teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses incompatible with several dogmas.

c. The sentence in the Abu Dhabi declaration of God willing from creation on the plurality of religions (including those that deny the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity, redemption through Christ alone, etc.) that is more apostatic than just heretical, would not be removed from the Acta Apostolica but remain prescribed to all Bishops and Rectors of seminaries in the world to teach in seminaries in the una, sancta, catholica et apostolica Ecclesia as part of the preparation of Seminarians for the holy orders. This apostatic sentence would remain in the eyes of the faithful “Church teaching” but is in reality not only un- or even anti-Catholic but also anti—Christian and this would do immense harm to faith and morals if left in the Acta Apostolica.

3. Besides, only if Francis, after the Church examining and condemning his heresies that are far, far worse than those of any previous Pope such as John XXII, were declared posthumously not to have been the true Pope, many actions the Pope took (Papal praise and celebration of reformation day, statue, stamp and praise of Luther; Pacha Mamma cult in St Peter; blessings of homosexual and adulterous couples, the false claim that through their conscience adulterous and remarried couples can know that God wants them to remain in the sin of adultery, rather than following the perpetual teaching of the Church on marriage expressed in Familiaris Consortio 83 etc., etc.), could no longer be considered legitimate Catholic actions and teachings, nor would his documents remain accepted as part of true Catholic teaching.

In consequence, according to Paul IV’s and St. Pope Pius Vth, in my estimation, infallible Papal teaching, likewise Francis’ having nominated 80 % of Cardinal-electors (who will, humanly speaking, be likely to elect a Pope that might continue teaching the heresies of Francis) will be retracted and cease to remain a horrible threat to the upcoming Conclave and election of a new Pope.

For all these reasons, dear Cardinal Gianbattista Re, I implore you in the name of Jesus Christ, of his and our beloved mother who kills all heresies, and in the name of St. Joseph, the terror daemonum, to consider whether you might not be called to help freeing the Church from the mentioned evils.

I ask you on my knees to examine whether God does not call you, in his name and that of Jesus Christ, to become a human instrument of saving the Church from the abyss toward which it seems to be rushing.

This step seems to me the only right one, and the negative results it could provoke, the actual occurring of a division in the Church between the Bergoglio-Church and the true Church would be a much lesser evil than a tranquil church of disorder plunged into error; in fact, it would be a true blessing because it would lead to a revival of the true UNA, SANCTA, CATOLICA ET APOSTOLICA ECCLESIA founded UPON THE TRUTH. I am also sure that countless Catholics would welcome this step.

I pray that you, dear Cardinal, in this exceedingly important point in Church History, will receive the fullest grace of the Holy Spirit and have the full fortitude that will make you capable to undertake whatever dangerous mission HE wants from you, whether this be what I think it is or something entirely else that you will learn from the Holy Spirit directly in prayer and meditation.

Therefore, dear Cardinal Gian Batista Re, may you imitate, in a weaker, human way the glorious St. Michael and perform a human shadow of his fight against the devil in heaven, smaller but in some respects of no lesser value than his angelic action.
Lastly: without a Saintly dignitary of the Church preserving the doctrine of the Church from being sullied by Papal heresy, I am afraid only a direct intervention of Jesus or his blessed mother, can save the ship of the Holy Church from sinking into a hellish abyss of error, confusion and destruction, which God swore never to allow.

But I think, as St. Ignatius said, God wants us to believe that everything depends on God, but to act as if everything depended on us. Aided by His grace, let us take up the armor of the Holy Spirit and fight the powers of darkness, with St Michael and his heavenly host of holy angels, Maria, Queen of all Saints, under the protection of St. Joseph, terror daemonum.

In the love of Jesus who gave His Life for the Church and shed his holy blood for all of us, and whom I want to serve with all my heart and as humble servant to your far more perfect service to Him and the Holy Church,
In Christo Mariaque
Yours in Christ

Josef Seifert

Strangely enough, none of the multiple calls of different groups of theologians and philosophers for Francis’ resignation, except for J’accuse, cites these two most authoritative pontifical documents on the issue of “heretical Bishops, Cardinals and Popes”.

Though I thought “a priori” that such documents must exist and was searching for them for a few years, I owe my knowledge of these two probably dogmatic and at any rate crucially important Church documents solely to archbishop Viganò.

There is a complete (and in the present situation tragic) lack in CANON LAW, as far as I can see, of applying the teaching of these two Popes concretely. But now, after his death, there is no problem at all but a clear duty of the Church to investigate whether these accusations of heresy and (in the claim hat God wanted from creation on the multiplicity of religions including those which deny the most central truths of Christ’s Revelation) apostasy are justified or not.

Dear Tradland, you might want to think twice before trashing the Divine Mercy

Originally posted

Trad Hate for the Divine Mercy devotion is so cringe to me. Yes, I know all about the problematic parts of St. Faustina’s diary, and there are many problems. Saints make mistakes, even to the point of sin. It happens. Sister Lucia made mistakes too. Also, it’s not the fault of St. Faustina if the Divine Mercy has overtaken devotion to the Sacred Heart, and/or diminution of the Rosary… none of that should have happened. If you are a regular reader of this space, you know of my ardent devotion to the Sacred Heart, AND His Eucharistic Heart, AND Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, AND the Most Holy Rosary. You can have ALL of these things, if you direct your will towards them, and act.

But the subject we are dealing with today is a fact, a revealed truth, not up for debate: Divine Mercy. You are free to reject St. Faustina’s revelations completely and remain a good Catholic, as they are private revelation. But the Divine Mercy itself is not private revelation, it’s Scriptural.  The administration of Divine Mercy is the very business of the Church. It’s what She was built for. It’s why you’re aboard Her. (Fans of Star Trek TOS will recognize that device)

I also think it’s totally appropriate for this feast to occur on the Octave Day of Easter. It doesn’t mean the Octave Day of Easter has been suppressed… that’s like claiming that calling it Low Sunday or Dominica in Albis or Quasimodo diminishes the Octave. Furthermore, the TLM (1962) readings for today miraculously appear to be perfect selections to instruct us on the Divine Mercy, even though the old missal obviously pre-dates the institution of the feast. Have you ever noticed that? Yes, I said miraculous. God knows what he is doing.

EPISTLE I John 5:4-10. “Beloved: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory which overcameth the world: Our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit which testifieth that Christ is the truth. And there are Three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit and the water and the blood. And these three are one. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God, which is greater, because he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth in the Son of God hath the testimony of God in himself.”

How can you read that and not have the image of Divine Mercy come to mind?

Note that the Epistle and Gospel are both from St. John the Apostle.

GOSPEL John 20:19-31. “At that time, when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: “Peace be to you.” And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: “Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them: “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said: “Peace be to you.” Then he said to Thomas: “Put in thy finger hither and see my hands. And bring hither the hand and put it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to him: “My Lord and my God.” Jesus saith to him: “Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed.” Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name.”

So here we read, on Divine Mercy Sunday and the Octave Day of Easter, of the institution of the Sacrament of Confession. Is that not wholly appropriate? The preaching today inevitably focuses on St. Thomas, with the earlier portion of the Gospel ignored. Which is too bad, since the Sacrament of Confession is also largely ignored in the N.O. Church today, except for 3:00-3:15pm on Saturdays and by appointment only. A billion “Catholics” all over the world who think they don’t need Confession, who effectively reject it as a sacrament, wherefore rejecting the Divine Mercy. Woe to them. Christ’s offer of peace, cited twice in today’s Gospel, comes only through the Spirit, blood, and water of Divine Mercy, conferred by Grace.

Christ instructed Sister Faustina: “My daughter, tell the whole world about my inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls and especially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of my tender mercy are opened…the divine floodgates through which grace flows are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet…Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the font of my mercy.”

“even though its sins be as scarlet…” <raises hand>

Thanks be to God for His Divine Mercy.