Homily for the 2026 Mass of Reparation for Sins against Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Saturday of the Octave of Easter

April 11, 2026
St. Mary of the Assumption Church
Fort Worth, Texas

Acts 4:13-21
Psalm 118:1 and 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21
Mark 16:9-15

We offer this Mass during the Octave of Easter, the highest of the holiest season of the Church’s liturgical season, in which we enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s triumph over sin and death. The readings proclaim with confidence Christ’s triumph of Mercy over Sin, His triumph of Life over Death, His triumph of Truth over Deception.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles manifests the responsibility of Christ’s Apostles and His entire Church of believers to witness to the fullness of the Truth revealed only in Christ Jesus. The Sanhedrin conspire together when confronted with this truth by the witness of Peter and John, “What are we to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign was done through them, and we cannot deny it. But so that it may not be spread any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name.”

The devil loves secrets and conspiracy because they must involve the denial of the truth who is Christ Himself. Secrets and conspiracy leverage power through the intimidation of shame and manipulation of the truth. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught rightly that God saves us through the truth, the truth in fact and the truth fully revealed in Christ, both of which align with our intellects and draw us more closely to God in love as our ultimate end. Any direct denial of the truth, or even the exaltation of a partial truth at the expense of the full truth, gives offense to God because at the heart of this matter is a rejection of God’s love and a direct refusal to believe and to accept our own sinfulness and the immense gift of salvation offered to us by God’s mercy poured out in His own Son’s Precious Blood through His glorious wounds.

The boldness of the Apostles Peter and John, given to them only as Grace through their encounter with the glorious wounds of Christ, prompt them to boldly say to the Sanhedrin, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” Remember that the Sanhedrin is composed of the same men from whom Peter and John had hidden on that night between the first Holy Thursday and Good Friday. They themselves were guilty of conspiring with the Romans for the murder of Jesus. This shows us that the Apostolic witness to the Truth to be made by every member of the Church, especially those entrusted with offices of leadership, is a Grace humbly received and not the product of human strength or virtue alone.

The Gospel proclaims that Peter and John are among the Apostles who initially disbelieve the witness of His Resurrection by Mary Magdalene. They preferred to exist at that time in their mourning and weeping for their shameful part in the trauma of the Crucifixion. They are among the Eleven gathered at the table of Eucharist and who encounter the Risen Christ and receive His rebuke “for their unbelief and hardness of heart in rejecting the witness of those who saw Him after He had been raised.” It is only at the table of the Eucharist where they encounter the Risen and gloriously wounded Christ that they understand the full truth, repent of past sins with a firm purpose of amendment, are forgiven, and from which they are sent by Christ to proclaim the Good News of His triumph over sin and death — a witness that includes the audience of the Sanhedrin, for whom Christ also died.

Today on this glorious Easter weekday, like the Eleven mentioned in the Gospel, we too are gathered at the table of the Eucharist only because of His Grace. We too at this Eucharistic table receive His just rebuke for our sins of disbelief of those who came to us and our predecessors with courageous witness to the truth made with hope that we who attest to be Christ’s grateful followers would humbly believe their testimony with the confidence born of faith in Christ’s triumphant Resurrection.

We cannot deny the truth and remain believers in the fullness of Jesus Christ. We must accept the Cross and the Resurrection joined together in His love and truth. We must take refuge in the glorious wounds of Christ alone by which we are healed, not in human policies, programs, or even practices no matter how important. We beg for His mercy that Christ would make us just and merciful. We contritely make a firm purpose of amendment, and trust that only through Him can we make satisfaction and experience healing with all who have been harmed by our disbelief in Christ’s triumph of Mercy over Sin, His triumph of Life over Death, His triumph of Truth over Deception.