April 26, 2025
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 266
Reading 1
Observing the boldness of Peter and John
and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men,
the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed,
and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them,
they could say nothing in reply.
So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin,
and conferred with one another, saying,
“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.”
So they called them back
and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Peter and John, however, said to them in reply,
“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.”
After threatening them further,
they released them,
finding no way to punish them,
on account of the people who were all praising God
for what had happened.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
118:1 and 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21
R. (21a) I will give thanks to
you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
Though the LORD has indeed chastised me,
yet he has not delivered me to death.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
R. I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sequence -- optional
Victimae paschali laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your
thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who
only is sinless,
Reconciles
sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The Prince
of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you
saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of
Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
The shroud
and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee
he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy,
victor King, ever reigning!
Amen.
Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042625.cfm
Commentary on
Acts 4:13-21
Today’s passage from Acts continues from yesterday’s First
Reading and describes the second half of the ‘trial’ of Peter and John before
the members of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin are astonished at the
self-confidence of the two Apostles, considering that they are uneducated
fishermen. They had no training in rabbinic schools, nor did they have any
standing in recognised religious circles. They were, in the eyes of their
judges, ‘only’ lay people.
It is important to remember that faith and convictions do
not depend on learning. It is also clearly implied that the source of their
strength and confidence is Jesus. The rulers, elders and scribes:
…when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and
realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men…were amazed and recognized
them as companions of Jesus.
Our Church consists of the highest intellectuals as well as
people who are completely illiterate; all have equal access to knowing and
loving God, and all have equal access to the highest levels of contemplation,
mysticism and sanctity.
The Apostles’ judges in this case are obviously intellectual
snobs, a kind not unknown in Christian circles. Because they could not deny the
extraordinary cure that had taken place in the full view of a large number of
people, the Jewish leaders could only tell the Apostles not to speak any more
about Jesus. In matters of this kind it seems that the accused, unless they
were rabbis, could not be jailed except for a second offence.
We can never be stopped from preaching the Gospel. Nor can
we ever obey such an order. As Peter told his judges:
Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you
rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what
we have seen and heard.
It reminds one of St Thomas More’s words to his accusers:
“The King’s good servant, but God’s first.” The judges felt obliged to
implement the law, but there are situations where the law cannot be followed.
Of course, we have to be careful that it is not our own
interpretation of the truth that we proclaim. At the same time, we are bound to
follow our conscience and follow the truth as we know it. If we are wrong, it
will be exposed. Eventually, real Truth will always come to the surface.
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Commentary on
Mark 16:9-15
This passage, known as the ‘Longer Ending’ of Mark’s Gospel,
is a kind of summary of all that we have been reading during the past week. The
end of Mark’s Gospel has verses many commentators believe are not part of the
original text. Most commentators believe the original text ends with verse
16:8. However, this ending is so abrupt that many feel the original ending was
somehow lost and this ending was put in its place.
Although the style shows it was not written by Mark, it has
long been accepted as a canonical part of the Gospel, and was defined as such
by the Council of Trent. It was known to Tatian and to Irenaeus in the 2nd
century, and is found in the vast majority of Greek manuscripts.
The text consists of brief summaries of longer stories which
appear in the other Gospels (Luke 24 and John 20), e.g. the appearance to Mary
Magdalene, the disciples going to Emmaus, and Jesus’ appearance in the upper
room.
The common theme is the incredulity of the disciples, who
could not accept that Jesus was truly risen. Right to the very end of his
Gospel, Mark continues to be harsh on the disciples’ lack of understanding. It
is, of course, not about them he is writing, but about us.
The passage seems directed at many of the early Christians’
contemporaries who would not accept the message of Christ risen. But, as we can
see from the First Reading today, the disciples very soon not only found faith,
but were more than ready to suffer and die for it.
In our times of doubt, let us remember their experience and
their example and the fruits of their work. It is a work that still urgently
needs to be done.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1017g/
Saturday,
April 26, 2025
Saturday within the Octave of Easter
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
your Son Jesus lived among us, flesh
of our flesh, blood of our blood. He died for our sake and you raised him back
to life.
May we experience his love
and his presence to such an extent that we can never stop proclaiming what we
have seen and heard, and that people may give glory to you, our God. We ask
this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Gospel Reading - Mark 16: 9-15
Having risen in the morning
on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom he
had cast out seven devils. She then went to those who had been his companions,
and who were mourning and in tears, and told them. But they did not believe her
when they heard her say that he was alive and that she had seen him.
After this, he showed
himself under another form to two of them as they were on their way into the
country. These went back and told the others, who did not believe them either.
Lastly, he showed himself
to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their
incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had
seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, 'Go out to the whole world;
proclaim the gospel to all creation.
Reflection
Today’s Gospel
forms part of a broader literary unit (Mk 16: 9-20) which places us before a
list or summary of diverse apparitions of Jesus:
(a)
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, but the
disciples do not accept her testimony (Mk 16: 9-11);
(b)
Jesus appears to the disciples, but the others
do not accept their testimony (Mk 16: 12-13);
Jesus appears to the
eleven, he criticizes their lack of faith and orders them to announce the Good
News to all (Mk 16: 14-18); (d) Jesus ascends to Heaven and continues to
cooperate with the disciples (Mk 16: 19-20).
Besides this list of apparitions in
the Gospel of Mark, there are other lists of apparitions which do not always
coincide among themselves. For example, the list kept by Paul in the Letter to
the Corinthians is very different (1 Co 15: 3-8). This variety shows that at
the beginning the Christians were not concerned to prove the Resurrection by
means of the apparitions. For them faith in the Resurrection was so evident and
alive that there was no need to prove it. A person who takes sun on the shore
is not concerned in showing that the sun exists, because she herself, sun
burnt, is the evident proof of the existence of the sun. The communities,
existing in the midst of the immense Empire, were a living proof of the
Resurrection. The list of the apparitions began to appear later, in the second
generation in order to refute the criticism of the enemies.
•
Mark 16: 9-11: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene,
but the other disciples do not believe her. Jesus first appears to Mary
Magdalene. She goes to announce this to the others. To come into the world, God
wanted to depend on the womb of a young girl 15 or 16 years old, called Mary of
Nazareth (Lk 1: 38). To be recognized alive in our midst, he wants to depend on
the announcement of a woman who had been liberated from seven devils, also
called Mary, of Magdala! (This is why she was called Mary Magdalene). But the
others did not believe her. Mark says that Jesus appeared first to Magdalene.
In the list of apparitions, transmitted in the letter to the Corinthians (1 Co
15: 3-8), the apparitions of Jesus to the women are not mentioned. The first
Christians had difficulty to believe in the testimony of women. It is a sin!
•
Mark 16: 12-13: Jesus appears to the disciples,
but the others do not believe them. Without too many details, Mark refers to an
apparition of Jesus to two disciples, “while they were on their way into the
country.” This is perhaps a summary of the apparition of Jesus to the disciples
of Emmaus, narrated by Luke (Lk 24: 13-35). Mark insists in saying that “the
others did not believe them either.”
•
Mark 16: 14-15: Jesus criticizes the unbelief
and orders them to announce the Good News to all creatures. For this reason,
Jesus appears to the Eleven and reproaches them because they had not believed
the persons who had seen him resurrected. Once again, Mark refers to the
resistance of the disciples in believing to believe the testimony of those who
have experienced the Resurrection of Jesus. Why? Probably to teach three
things. In the first place that faith in Jesus passes through the faith in the persons
who give witness. In the second place, that nobody should be discouraged, when
the doubt or the unbelief arises in the heart. In the third place, in order to
refute the criticism of those who said that the Christian is naïve and accepts
without criticism any news, because the Eleven had great difficulty to accept
the truth of the Resurrection!
•
Today’s Gospel ends with the sending
out: “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Gospel to all creation!” Jesus
confers to them the mission to announce the Good News to all creatures.
Personal Questions
•
Mary Magdalene, the two disciples of Emmaus and
the eleven disciples: who had the greatest difficulty to believe in the
Resurrection? Why? With whom do I identify myself?
•
Which are the signs which can convince persons
of the presence of Jesus in our midst?
Concluding Prayer
May God show kindness and bless us
and make his face shine on us. Then the earth will acknowledge your ways, and
all nations your power to save. (Ps 67: 1-2)
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