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(Acts 5:12-16;\xa0\xa0 Ps.118:1-4,22-27;\xa0\xa0 Rv.1:9-13,17-19;\xa0\xa0 Jn.20:19-31)\xa0 \u201cWhen I caught sight of Him, I fell down at His feet as though dead.\u201d But Jesus \u201ctouched [John] with His right hand and said, \u2018Do not be afraid.\u2019\u201d\xa0 Thomas exclaimed, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d as he humbled himself at the sight of the risen Christ who had appeared before him, and so he was blessed with faith.\xa0 The first believers \u201ccarried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.\u201d\xa0 And the sick and possessed brought forth \u201cwere all cured.\u201d\xa0 All \u201cthose who fear the Lord\u201d know His eternal mercy! Brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to humble ourselves in awe before the mighty Lord and the apostles He sends forth in His name and with the blessing of the Father.\xa0 We must set our hearts on \u201cthe first and the last, the One who lives,\u201d and let nothing keep us from the path to His grace, to the glorious vision of His holy face.\xa0 He waits.\xa0 He waits in expectation for all humble souls to turn to the blood poured out by the nail marks in His hands and the wound in His side.\xa0 He wishes not to have died in vain, and so with power He sends the Spirit out through the ministry and the sacraments of His Church on earth. \u201cMany signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles,\u201d and these same wonders and more are offered for our edification and our salvation this day.\xa0 The time of fulfillment is upon us and the Lord Jesus is not remiss with His graces: generously the fount of mercy gushes forth.\xa0 And as John was surrounded by water on the island of Patmos in the day of his divine vision, so are we surrounded with the blessings of the Lord, if we but come to His presence.\xa0 He is near.\xa0 He is waiting.\xa0 Do not doubt; but believe \u2013 and whatever ailment of body or soul, heart or mind, which seems to obstruct your reception of the glory of God, will be removed in an instant, if you but fall down at His feet in awe. Dead before Him we must be, dead to sin and sadness.\xa0 Alive in the Spirit we must remain, keeping His peace within us.\xa0 With John let us share\xa0\u201cthe distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus,\u201d and the distress will disappear and the kingdom come, even as we endure all in His name.\xa0 God\u2019s \u201cpeace be with you.\u201d Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Branch of the Vine" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, your mercy endures forever; help us to trust in you. YHWH, let us lay our broken bodies in the streets that your apostle might pass by and we be healed of our infirmity.\xa0 Let us fall down at the feet of your glorious Son and feel His hand upon us and hear His voice reassuring us.\xa0 May the risen Jesus be known to us that in faith we might proclaim, \u201cMy LORD and my God!\u201d\xa0 O let His peace be upon us!\xa0 May the Holy Spirit ever guide us. O LORD, let your divine mercy be upon our souls that we might be forgiven all our sins; all our doubts and fears be washed away in the blood of your Son. \xa0He has been rejected by the builders, but those who are pressed hard by the trials of this earthly life know the wonders He does for all who believe.\xa0 He was once dead but now is alive, and we who believe in Him are raised up from all sin to look upon Heaven.\xa0 In His wounds we find new life.