Thursday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 264
Lectionary: 264
As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John,
all the people hurried in amazement toward them
in the portico called "Solomon's Portico."
When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,
"You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,
and why do you look so intently at us
as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence,
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
Now I know, brothers and sisters,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away,
and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment
and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus,
whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration
of which God spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets from of old.
For Moses said:
A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.
Everyone who does not listen to that prophet
will be cut off from the people.
"Moreover, all the prophets who spoke,
from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days.
You are the children of the prophets
and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors
when he said to Abraham,
In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you
by turning each of you from your evil ways."
all the people hurried in amazement toward them
in the portico called "Solomon's Portico."
When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,
"You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,
and why do you look so intently at us
as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence,
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
Now I know, brothers and sisters,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away,
and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment
and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus,
whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration
of which God spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets from of old.
For Moses said:
A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.
Everyone who does not listen to that prophet
will be cut off from the people.
"Moreover, all the prophets who spoke,
from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days.
You are the children of the prophets
and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors
when he said to Abraham,
In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you
by turning each of you from your evil ways."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 8:2AB AND 5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (2ab) O Lord,
our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, our Lord,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, our Lord,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaPS 118:24
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 24:35-48
The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."
Meditation: Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures
Aren't we like the apostles? We wont believe unless we
can see with our own eyes. The Gospel accounts attest to the reality of the
resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Jesus goes to great lengths to assure his
disciples that he is no mere ghost or illusion. He shows them the marks of his
crucifixion and he explains how the Scriptures foretold his death and rising.
Jerome (347-420
AD), an early church bible scholar, comments:
"As he showed them real hands and a
real side, he really ate with his disciples; really walked with Cleophas;
conversed with men with a real tongue; really reclined at supper; with real
hands took bread, blessed and broke it, and was offering it to them... Do not
put the power of the Lord on the level with the tricks of magicians, so that he
may appear to have been what he was not, and may be thought to have eaten
without teeth, walked without feet, broken bread without hands, spoken without
a tongue, and showed a side which had no ribs." (From a letter to Pammachius against John of
Jerusalem 34)
The door to heaven and key to paradise is
through the cross
The centrality of the Gospel message is the cross - but fortunately it does not stop there. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemies - death and Satan and won pardon for our sins. His cross is the door to heaven and the key to paradise. The way to glory is through the cross. When the disciples saw the risen Lord they disbelieved for joy! How can death lead to life, the cross to victory? Jesus shows us the way and he gives us the power to overcome sin and despair, and everything else that would stand in the way of his love and truth. Just as the first disciples were commissioned to bring the good news of salvation to all the nations, so, we, too, are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all who live on the face of the earth. Do you witness the joy of the Gospel to those around you?
The centrality of the Gospel message is the cross - but fortunately it does not stop there. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemies - death and Satan and won pardon for our sins. His cross is the door to heaven and the key to paradise. The way to glory is through the cross. When the disciples saw the risen Lord they disbelieved for joy! How can death lead to life, the cross to victory? Jesus shows us the way and he gives us the power to overcome sin and despair, and everything else that would stand in the way of his love and truth. Just as the first disciples were commissioned to bring the good news of salvation to all the nations, so, we, too, are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all who live on the face of the earth. Do you witness the joy of the Gospel to those around you?
"Lord Jesus, open our minds to understand the
Scriptures that we may fully comprehend the truth of your word. Anoint us with
your power and give us joy and boldness to proclaim the Gospel in word and
deed."
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, LUKE 24:35-48
Thursday within the Octave of Easter
(Acts 3:11-26; Psalm 8)
Thursday within the Octave of Easter
(Acts 3:11-26; Psalm 8)
KEY VERSE: "He stood in their midst and said to them, `Peace be with you'" (v. 36).
TO KNOW: After the two pilgrims from Emmaus recognized Jesus "in the breaking of the bread" (v. 35), they returned to Jerusalem to announce the good news of the resurrection to the eleven Apostles and those with them. But they discovered that Simon (Peter) had already experienced the risen Lord. Then the pilgrims recounted how their hearts burned within them on their journey to Emmaus, how Jesus opened the scriptures to them, and that he was known to them in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking, Jesus appeared in their midst and imparted peace to his distressed followers. He reassured them that he was not a ghost by showing them the wounds of the crucifixion and by sharing a meal with them. He reminded them that he had told them that he would suffer, die and rise from the dead. Jesus declared that everything in the scriptures had been fulfilled by him. His followers were witnesses of these events, and were commanded to proclaim a message of "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (v. 47).
TO LOVE: In what ways do I bring the peace of Christ to those who are anxious and afraid?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, give me the courage to proclaim your resurrection.
Thursday 5 April
2018
Easter Thursday.
Acts 3:11-26. Psalm 8:2, 5-9. Luke 24:35-48.
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!—Psalm
8:2, 5-9.
The eyes of the soul see mysteries that are not understood by
this world.
Today’s readings help us to take that leap to faith. The man
healed by God’s mercy through Peter and John knew immediately that he had
received his cure through the power of Jesus. The two disciples on the road to
Emmaus knew him immediately in the breaking of the bread although they had not
recognised Jesus in the flesh. The psalm invites us to see the glory and
majesty of God in the wonders of nature around us as a sign of his loving care
for us.
Dear Lord, please give us the inner eyes of faith, especially
today as we continue the Easter celebrations. May we come to life with our
spiritual hearts and minds wide open, ready to receive all the blessings that
you promise.
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Saint of the Day for
April 5
(January 23, 1350 – April
5,1419)
Saint Vincent Ferrer’s
Story
The polarization in the
Church today is a mild breeze compared with the tornado that ripped the Church
apart during the lifetime of this saint. If any saint is a patron of
reconciliation, Vincent Ferrer is.
Despite parental
opposition, he entered the Dominican Order in his native Spain at 19. After
brilliant studies, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Peter de Luna—who would
figure tragically in his life.
Of a very ardent nature,
Vincent practiced the austerities of his Order with great energy. He was chosen
prior of the Dominican house in Valencia shortly after his ordination.
The Western schism
divided Christianity first between two, then three, popes. Clement VII lived at
Avignon in France, Urban VI in Rome. Vincent was convinced the election of
Urban was invalid, though Catherine
of Sienawas just as devoted a supporter of the Roman pope. In the service
of Cardinal de Luna, Vincent worked to persuade Spaniards to follow Clement.
When Clement died, Cardinal de Luna was elected at Avignon and became Benedict
XIII.
Vincent worked for him as
apostolic penitentiary and Master of the Sacred Palace. But the new pope did
not resign as all candidates in the conclave had sworn to do. He remained
stubborn, despite being deserted by the French king and nearly all of the
cardinals.
Vincent became
disillusioned and very ill, but finally took up the work of simply “going
through the world preaching Christ,” though he felt that any renewal in the
Church depended on healing the schism. An eloquent and fiery preacher, he spent
the last 20 years of his life spreading the Good News in Spain, France,
Switzerland, the Low Countries and Lombardy, stressing the need of repentance
and the fear of coming judgment. He became known as the “Angel of the
Judgment.”
Vincent tried
unsuccessfully, in 1408 and 1415, to persuade his former friend to resign. He
finally concluded that Benedict was not the true pope. Though very ill, he
mounted the pulpit before an assembly over which Benedict himself was
presiding, and thundered his denunciation of the man who had ordained him a
priest. Benedict fled for his life, abandoned by those who had formerly
supported him. Strangely, Vincent had no part in the Council of Constance,
which ended the schism.
Reflection
The split in the Church
at the time of Vincent Ferrer should have been fatal—36 long years of having
two “heads.” We cannot imagine what condition the Church today would be in if,
for that length of time, half the world had followed a succession of popes in
Rome, and half an equally “official” number of popes in say, Rio de Janeiro. It
is an ongoing miracle that the Church has not long since been shipwrecked on
the rocks of pride and ignorance, greed and ambition. Contrary to Lowell’s
words, “Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne,” we believe
that “truth is mighty, and it shall prevail”—but it sometimes takes a long
time.
Saint Vincent Ferrer is
the Patron Saint of:
Builders
Businessmen
Reconciliation
Businessmen
Reconciliation
LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 24,35-48
Lectio Divina:
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Easter Time
1) OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God and Father,
Jesus died for us on the cross
and You raised Him from the dead.
Jesus died for us on the cross
and You raised Him from the dead.
We have not seen the marks of the nails
in His hands
nor touched the wound in His side,
but we believe that He is alive
and present here among us.
Open our hearts to His word
and let us touch Him in the bread of the Eucharist,
that He may raise us above our sins
and change us into new people.
May we thus bear witness to Your risen Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
nor touched the wound in His side,
but we believe that He is alive
and present here among us.
Open our hearts to His word
and let us touch Him in the bread of the Eucharist,
that He may raise us above our sins
and change us into new people.
May we thus bear witness to Your risen Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
2) GOSPEL READING - LUKE
24:35-48
The disciples of Jesus recounted what
had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the
breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their
midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled
and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them,
"Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost
does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for
joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He
said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still
with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the
prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to
understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, "Thus it is written that
the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that
repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
3) REFLECTION
• In these days after Easter, the Gospel
texts narrate the apparitions of Jesus. At the beginning, in the first years
after the death and the Resurrection of Jesus, the Christians were concerned
with defending the Resurrection through the apparitions. They themselves, the
living community, were a great apparition of the Risen Jesus. But in the
measure in which the criticism of the enemies against the faith in the
Resurrection increased, and that internally, and as there arose criticism and
doubts concerning diverse functions in the community (cf. 1 Co 1:12), they
began to recall the apparitions of Jesus. There are two types of apparitions:
(a) those which stress the doubts and the resistance of the disciples in
believing in the Resurrection, and (b) those who call attention to the orders
of Jesus to the disciples – men and women – conferring some mission to them.
The first ones respond to criticisms from the outside. These show that
Christians are not naïve and credulous persons who accept everything and
anything. Au contraire! They themselves had many doubts in believing in the
Resurrection. The others respond to the criticism from within and establish the
community functions and tasks, not on human qualities which are always debatable,
but on the authority and orders received from the Risen Jesus. The apparitions
of Jesus in today’s Gospel put together two different aspects: the doubts of
the disciples and the mission to announce and to forgive received from
Jesus.
• Luke 24:35: The summary of the story of Emmaus. Returning to Jerusalem, the two disciples found the community together and they shared with them the experience that they had lived. They told them what had happened along the road and how they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The community gathered together, and in turn, shared the apparition of Jesus to Peter. This was a reciprocal sharing of the experience of the Resurrection, as it also happens today when the communities gather together to share and celebrate their faith, their hope and their love.
• Luke 24:36-37: The apparition of Jesus causes great fright in the disciples. At this moment, Jesus becomes present among them and says, “Peace be with you!” This is the most frequent greeting of Jesus: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). But the disciples, upon seeing Jesus, were frightened and did not recognize Him. Before them is Jesus in person, but they think that they are seeing a ghost, a phantasm. They cannot believe it. It is now the encounter between Jesus of Nazareth and the Risen Jesus.
• Luke 24:38-40: Jesus helps them to overcome fear and unbelief. Jesus does two things to help the disciples overcome fear and unbelief. He shows them His hands and His feet, saying, “It is I Myself!”, and tells them to touch His body saying, “A ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have!” Jesus shows His hands and feet because on them is the sign of the nails (cf. Jn 20:25-27). The Risen Christ is Jesus of Nazareth, the same one who was nailed to the Cross and not a phantasm Christ as the disciples imagined when they saw Him. He orders them to touch His body, because the Resurrection is the Resurrection of the whole person, body and soul. The Resurrection has nothing to do with the theory of the immortality of the soul, which the Greeks taught.
• Luke 24:41-43: The other gesture to help them overcome unbelief. But it does not suffice! Luke said that they could not believe because their joy was so great that they became dumbfounded. Jesus asks them to give Him something to eat. They offer Him some fish and He eats before them, to help them to overcome doubt.
• Luke 24:44-47: A key to understanding the new significance of the Scripture. One of the greatest difficulties of the first Christians was that of accepting the Crucified as the promised Messiah, because the Law taught that a crucified person was a “person cursed by God” (Deut 21:22-23). For this reason, it was important to know that Scripture had already announced that “Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that in His name, conversion and forgiveness of sins would be preached to all peoples.” Jesus shows them what had already been written in the Law of Moses, in the prophets and in the psalms. Jesus risen from the dead, alive in their midst, becomes the key to opening to them the total significance of Sacred Scripture.
• Luke 24:35: The summary of the story of Emmaus. Returning to Jerusalem, the two disciples found the community together and they shared with them the experience that they had lived. They told them what had happened along the road and how they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The community gathered together, and in turn, shared the apparition of Jesus to Peter. This was a reciprocal sharing of the experience of the Resurrection, as it also happens today when the communities gather together to share and celebrate their faith, their hope and their love.
• Luke 24:36-37: The apparition of Jesus causes great fright in the disciples. At this moment, Jesus becomes present among them and says, “Peace be with you!” This is the most frequent greeting of Jesus: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). But the disciples, upon seeing Jesus, were frightened and did not recognize Him. Before them is Jesus in person, but they think that they are seeing a ghost, a phantasm. They cannot believe it. It is now the encounter between Jesus of Nazareth and the Risen Jesus.
• Luke 24:38-40: Jesus helps them to overcome fear and unbelief. Jesus does two things to help the disciples overcome fear and unbelief. He shows them His hands and His feet, saying, “It is I Myself!”, and tells them to touch His body saying, “A ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have!” Jesus shows His hands and feet because on them is the sign of the nails (cf. Jn 20:25-27). The Risen Christ is Jesus of Nazareth, the same one who was nailed to the Cross and not a phantasm Christ as the disciples imagined when they saw Him. He orders them to touch His body, because the Resurrection is the Resurrection of the whole person, body and soul. The Resurrection has nothing to do with the theory of the immortality of the soul, which the Greeks taught.
• Luke 24:41-43: The other gesture to help them overcome unbelief. But it does not suffice! Luke said that they could not believe because their joy was so great that they became dumbfounded. Jesus asks them to give Him something to eat. They offer Him some fish and He eats before them, to help them to overcome doubt.
• Luke 24:44-47: A key to understanding the new significance of the Scripture. One of the greatest difficulties of the first Christians was that of accepting the Crucified as the promised Messiah, because the Law taught that a crucified person was a “person cursed by God” (Deut 21:22-23). For this reason, it was important to know that Scripture had already announced that “Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that in His name, conversion and forgiveness of sins would be preached to all peoples.” Jesus shows them what had already been written in the Law of Moses, in the prophets and in the psalms. Jesus risen from the dead, alive in their midst, becomes the key to opening to them the total significance of Sacred Scripture.
• Luke 24:48: You are witnesses of this.
In this last order is enclosed the whole mission of the Christian communities:
to be witnesses to the Resurrection, in such a way that the love of God which
accepts us and forgives us will be manifested, and which wants us to live in
community as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters with one another.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Sometimes unbelief and doubt beset the
heart and weaken the certainty that faith gives us concerning the presence of
God in our life. Have you ever experienced this? How have you overcome
it?
• Our mission is that of being witnesses to the love of God revealed in Jesus. Am I a witness to this love?
• Our mission is that of being witnesses to the love of God revealed in Jesus. Am I a witness to this love?
• Can I identify those things in my life
which cast doubt on my faith? How do I defend against these attacks?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
What are human beings
that You spare a thought for them,
or the child of Adam that You care for him? (Ps 8:4)
that You spare a thought for them,
or the child of Adam that You care for him? (Ps 8:4)
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