In the reading from Acts of the Apostles for this Seventh Sunday of Easter, focus is on the importance of finding a faithful replacement apostle so that the 12 apostles be united. The jury now in deliberation on the fate of convicted Botston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev can only call for his death if all 12 jurors agree. In gripping testimony, Sister Helen Prejean, who gained fame for her book Dead Man Walking, appeared as the last person to take the stand for the defense after having met with Tsarnaev five times in the past year. “I had every reason to think . . . he was genuinely sorry for what he did," Prejean told the court.

Homily hint: The last words of the defense lawyer to the jury deliberating on Tsarnaev’s fate were, “We’re asking you to choose life. Yes, even for the Boston Marathon bomber.” Our faith and our church calls us to do the same. Vengeance is not justice, and evil will not overcome evil. Choose reconciliation in the choices you confront in your own life.

For more on the Boston Marathon bomber sentencing, see: Boston Marathon bomber ‘genuinely sorry,’ Sister Helen Prejean tells jurors; Jury resumes deliberating sentence for Boston Marathon bomber