SEVENTH STATION: JESUS GIVES HIS DISCIPLES THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS
P We adore You, O Risen Christ, and we bless You.
A Because by Your resurrection, You have given life to the world.
R From the Gospel according to John (Jn 20:19-23)
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Those sins you forgive are forgiven; those sins you retain are retained.”
Reflection on Pier Giorgio from a testimony by Father Giovanni Barberis
Each month, Pier Giorgio would bring the poor whom he was assisting through the St. Vincent de Paul Society to confession, and then the following day to Communion. He would recite the ritual prayers aloud for them, both the preparation for Communion and the thanksgiving which followed. It was moving and extraordinary to see that young man being followed by entire families, by 30-40 persons.
P Let us pray
A Oh Risen Jesus, with Your Resurrection, You have won for us the victory over sin and death. Help us to pursue holiness in our lives and to enthusiastically approach the sacrament of reconciliation, as Pier Giorgio did, whenever we fail. Amen.