BROADCASTS.com

b'Today, which is the first Sunday following Pascha, is known as Thomas Sunday. On this particular Sunday we in the United States, as well as many other countries around the world, are celebrating Mother\\u2019s Day. The Orthodox Church teaches that mothers are co-creators with God and that the soul and the body are conceived together in the mother\\u2019s womb at the same time. It is in the Fall that the human body, once immortal, becomes mortal. In the Orthodox Church the body is to be highly respected because it is not simply a prison for the soul as was taught in Platonism, which effected the Church in Corinth. The Gospel lesson taken from John 20:19-31 describes for us Jesus\\u2019 first appearance to His disciples, who were in hiding for fear of the Jews. Jesus\\u2019 physically Resurrected body appears to them on two separate occasions, with the ability to pass through walls and yet still remain physical as He allows Thomas to touch His hands and side. Father Gregory shares with us a message of hope that through God\\u2019s Grace and mercy we too will receive a resurrected body like Jesus, who is the first fruits of the dead. Today\\u2019s Gospel gives us a glimpse into what our body\\u2019s will be like in the Resurrection and we live with hope that we will be known to one another in Paradise according to the teaching of the Father\\u2019s of the Church.

click the link below to read Fr. Gregory\'s sermon notes:

https://churchlinkfeeds.blob.core.windows.net/notes/40362/note-136207.html'