Holy Father Pope Francis, in his reflection at the Regina Coeli, on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, conveyed that the Liturgy continues with the intention of helping us rediscover our identity as disciples of the Risen Lord. Reflecting on the Acts of Apostles, His Holiness Pope highlighted that “St Peter openly declared that the healing of a crippled man was accomplished in the ‘Name of Jesus’ because there is no salvation through anyone else.”

As reported by Vatican Radio, Holy Father Pope Francis remarked that “In the crippled man who was healed we see ourselves and our communities. We can all be healed of our spiritual infirmities if we put our very being in the hands of the Risen Lord.” Further, His Holiness added, “The second part of the Gospel shows us the relationship that must exist between us and the Lord. “I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says, I know my own, and my own know me, as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. This is not simply an intellectual knowledge but rather, a personal relationship, a reflection of the love between the Father and the Son. Jesus knows us intimately, in the very depths of our hearts.”

Holy Father concluded his remarks by warning that if our communities see the desire to follow Jesus cool, we will fall into “new ways of thinking and living,” which are not consistent with the Gospel.