APRIL 10, 2026: FRIDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER

 April 10, 2026

Friday in the Octave of Easter

Lectionary: 265

 

Reading 1

Acts 4:1-12

After the crippled man had been cured,
while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,
the priests, the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees confronted them,
disturbed that they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
They laid hands on Peter and John
and put them in custody until the next day,
since it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the word came to believe
and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes
were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest,
Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly class.
They brought them into their presence and questioned them,
"By what power or by what name have you done this?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a

R.(22)  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
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

Psalm 118:24

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

John 21:1-14

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with you."
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something."
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught."
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?"
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.

 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041026.cfm

 

 

Commentary on Acts 4:1-12

The next stage in the mission of the disciples now takes place—after the proclamation and healing comes the persecution and harassment, as promised by Jesus.

As in the Gospel, we see the contrasting reactions between the Jewish leaders and the people. The leaders, mostly Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection after death, are objecting to the Apostles’ teaching about the resurrection of Jesus, and put them under arrest together with the man they had healed.

Those arresting the Apostles include the priests, the captain of the temple guard and Sadducees. The priests were those responsible for the temple liturgies. The temple guard was composed of Levites, and their captain ranked next to the high priest. The Sadducees, among other things, were drawn from the priestly families and from the upper classes. The high priest was one of their members. They tended to be pro-Rome and hence found Jesus and his followers to be a dangerous element. The Sadducees were strongly opposed to and by the Pharisees.

As it is late in the day, Peter and John are thrown into jail for the night. The evening sacrifices ended about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and the temple gates would be closed after that. Judgements involving life and death had to be begun and ended during daylight hours.

In spite of the religious authorities’ actions, many of the people who had heard Peter’s preaching did believe in his message and their numbers had swollen to 5,000, up from 3,000 on the day of Pentecost—an amazing number in such a short time.

On the following day, Peter and John are made to stand before a meeting of the top leadership, including the high priest and members of his family. They are led by Annas. He was officially high priest from AD 6-15, but deposed by the Romans and succeeded by his son, Eleazar, and then by his son-in-law, Caiaphas (whom we meet during the account of Jesus’ passion). However, Annas was still recognised by the Jews as the real high priest. The John mentioned with him may be a son, while Alexander is otherwise unknown.

What strikes one in this scene is the boldness of Peter, when compared to his behaviour during the passion of Jesus. As Jesus had promised in his lifetime, Peter is filled with the Spirit, which gives him both his courage and his eloquence to speak out boldly. What they have done, they tell their accusers, has been done in the name of Jesus:

…this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.

Quoting from Psalm 118, Peter tells them about Jesus:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. (Ps 118:22)

In general, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies was important in early Christian preaching. This is especially the case with Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus, himself, was quoted as using this text about himself.

The passage ends with:

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.

The message is very clear. In the Roman world in the time of Acts, salvation was often attributed to the emperor, often hailed as a ‘saviour’ and a ‘god’. Peter, however, affirms that real salvation can only come from Christ.

A passage like this gives us encouragement. First, we ought not be surprised that we will be mocked and attacked for our faith in Christ and his gospel, and second, we can be assured that we will be provided with what we need when faced with hostility and even persecution.

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Commentary on John 21:1-14

Today we have a resurrection story which is unique to John and is in his final “extra” chapter, which may be a kind of appendix added on later by another author following the Johannine tradition. The text contains some peculiarities which are closer to Luke’s style, but others which are Johannine. It bears close resemblance to a similar story about a catch of fish in Luke (5:1-11), and another in Matthew (14:28-31), where Peter gets out of the boat to go to Jesus. Although it seems added to the original text, the chapter appears in all extant manuscripts of John.

Like most of John’s accounts, it is a story full of symbolism. We see a group of disciples, seven altogether, seemingly at a loose end with nothing to do. The seven are Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons (James and John) and two other disciples.

Nathanael, who is only mentioned in John’s Gospel, appears in chapter 1 of John as one who was called by Philip. This is the only mention of James and John in John’s Gospel, although they have a central role in the other three Gospels. Some speculate John may be the second of the two disciples called by Jesus in John 1 (the one named is Andrew), but he could also be the ‘Beloved Disciple’ (the “disciple whom Jesus loved”), not yet ready to be so called.

Of the two other disciples in the boat, one is presumed to be the Beloved Disciple who appears very soon in the story. The number seven suggests the fullness of the community. John likes the number seven—he records seven signs performed by Jesus, and seven ‘I AM’ statements.

Peter, the leader, decides to make a move and says, “I am going fishing.” It is what he knows best, and the others go along with him. Is there an implication that the great enterprise that Jesus began is over and they return to their old way of living?

After a whole night on the lake they get nothing. (Aristotle tells us that night-time was favoured for fishing.) Is there also an echo of words spoken at the Last Supper, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)?

As the light of dawn breaks Jesus is standing on the shore, but as usually happens in these post-resurrection scenes, they do not recognise him. He asks the question fishermen do not like to be asked:

Children, you have no fish, have you?

Reluctantly they have to admit, “no”. He then gives them some suggestions. On a natural level, it is possible he could see a movement of fish that was not visible from the boat, but the real meaning is deeper. He will lead the fish to them as he will lead people to them later on.

After following Jesus’ instructions, they make a huge haul of fish, so many that they cannot be brought into the boat. The exact number is given: 153. Is that an actual memory or is there a special symbolism in the number? St Augustine thought the latter and made his own speculations. St Jerome saw it as an expression of the universalism of the Christian mission, saying that the Greeks believed there were altogether 153 kinds of fish. The number is also the sum of the first 17 digits: 1+2+3…

However, that aside, the main point is to emphasise God’s generosity, recalling, for example, the amount of water changed into wine at Cana, the amount left over after feeding the crowds in the desert, the abundance of life that the Good Shepherd gives, the fullness of the Spirit, and the life-giving water that guarantees we are never thirsty. As well, the net was not broken. The net itself is, as in other texts, a symbol of the Kingdom of God.

This is all clearly a parable, a symbol of their future work as fishers of people, a work whose success will originate in the power of Jesus behind them and in their following what he tells them to do.

A similar incident had happened during Jesus’ earthly life and the “disciple whom Jesus loved” immediately saw the connection. He is the one with deeper insight into the presence and the ways of his Master. “It is the Lord!” he exclaims.

But if the “other disciple” was the one whom Jesus loved, Peter was the one who loved Jesus. And it is Peter, the impetuous one, who reacts first. He “put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off”* and jumps into the water to get to Jesus, leaving the others to bring the boat and fish to the shore. Such is his anxiety to be close to his Lord.

Says the New International Bible:

“It is curious that he put on this garment (the word appears only here in the New Testament) preparatory to jumping into the water. But Jews regarded a greeting as a religious act that could be done only when one was clothed.”

Peter is responding to the call “It is the Lord” and hears it as pointing to Jesus as someone special.

On the shore they find that Jesus has lit a fire. There is bread and some fish cooking. (Where did these fish come from? This is the kind of question we do not need to ask when reading a symbol-full passage like this.)

Jesus says to the Apostles:

Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.

“You”? Yes, literally they had pulled the fish in, but where had they originally come from? The same goes for much of what we claim to do. It is important to acknowledge God’s role in our actions, especially our successes.

In response to the command, it is Peter, the leader—now and in the future—who alone brings in the huge catch from the boat by the water’s edge. Peter alone dragging the net in is an image of the Kingdom coming (compare the parable beginning in Matt 13:47). His action also signifies the special position of Peter in the mission of the Apostles. Just now the whole group together could not haul the net into the boat.

Jesus then invites them to come and eat with him the meal he has prepared for them. Here, too, there are Eucharistic overtones. Now as they stand close to the friendly stranger, no one dares to ask “Who are you?” because they know quite well it is the Lord, the risen Jesus. Again we are being taught to find the presence of the Lord in all those who are kind to us, who do good to us in any way, and especially in those who share the Eucharistic meal with us. In the same way, we are called to be Jesus to everyone that we encounter.

If there were any questions remaining, Jesus’ identity is now confirmed by his taking the bread and the fish and giving it to them to eat. He broke bread; he celebrated a Eucharist with them.

We have here, then, some central pillars of our faith:

• recognising Christ in the kindly stranger and playing that role ourselves;
• expressing our love and solidarity with each other through our celebration of the Eucharist and breaking bread together;
• working with the power of Jesus to fill the net that is the Kingdom, becoming truly fishers of people.

__________________________

*That is, he was naked. Some of our translations use all kinds of euphemisms (e.g. ‘lightly clad’, New American Bible) to express this. Does it shock us that the first pope could go around like this? Male nakedness was much more acceptable in Peter’s society. A redeemed people should have no problem with an unclothed body. It was only after their sin that Adam and Eve became ashamed of their nakedness. Jesus reversed that by dying naked on the cross. We need to remember, too, that Peter is still under a cloud after denying his Master three times. Nakedness is only for the innocent. So, the moment he hears the person on the shore is his Lord, perhaps it is shame and guilt that make him cover himself. It is possible that all the others were naked also, but had no reason to cover themselves. Very soon, however, there will be a reconciliation between Jesus and Peter.

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Friday, April 10, 2026

Easter Time

Opening Prayer

Our God and Father,

through our risen Lord, Your Son Jesus Christ, You have given us a message of hope and a person to live for.

Free our faith from triviality and routine and fill us with His Spirit of courage, that we may learn to live with the insecurities of the change of renewal ever- demanded by the gospel and by the needs of the times.

May our Christian living bear witness to the name of Him by whom we are saved, Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 21: 1-14

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the numbe r of fish.

So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the

bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.

Reflection

Chapter 21 of the Gospel of Saint John seems like an appendix which was added after the Gospel had already been written. The conclusion of the previous chapter (Jn 20: 30-31) makes one suspect that it is an addition. However, whether it is an addition or not, it is the Word of God, which presents to us the beautiful message of the Resurrection on this fifth day of Easter week.

•            John 21: 1-3: The fisherman of men returns to be a fisherman of fish. Jesus has died and has risen. After three years of life together with Jesus, the disciples returned to Galilee. A group of them find themselves together at the lakeshore. Peter goes back to the past and says: “I am going fishing!” The others answer: “We will come with you!” Thus, Thomas, Nathanael, John and James together with Peter go to the boat to go fishing. They go back to the life of the past as if nothing had happened. But something did happen. Something was taking place! The past did not return! “We have caught nothing!” They return to shore, tired. This had been a night filled with frustration.

•            John 21: 4-5: The context of the new apparition of Jesus. Jesus was on the shore, but they did not recognize Him. Jesus asks, “Little children, have you anything to eat?” They answer, “No!” In the negative response they realize that the night had been deceiving because they had caught nothing. They had been called to be fishermen of men (Mk 1: 17; Lk 5: 10), and they go back to be fishermen of fish. But something had changed in their life! The experience of three years with Jesus produces in them an irreversible change. It was no longer possible to return to the past as if nothing had happened, as if nothing had changed.

•            John 21: 6-8: “Throw the net out to the right of the boat and you will find something.” They did something which perhaps they had never done in their life. Five experienced fishermen obey a carpenter who orders them to do something which is in contrast to their experience. Jesus, that unknown Person, who is on the shore, orders them to throw the net on the right side of the boat. They obey; they throw the net and behold the unexpected result. The net was full of fish! How was this possible? How to explain this surprise so unexpected, unforeseen! Love makes one discover. The beloved disciple says, “It is the Lord”. This intuition clarifies everything. Peter jumps into the water to get close to Jesus very quickly. The other disciples follow him, pulling the boat, and dragging the net full of fish.

•            John 21: 9-14: The kindness of Jesus. Coming ashore, they saw a charcoal fire which had been lit by Jesus, where He was roasting fish and bread. He asked them to take some of the fish they had caught, and immediately Peter went to the boat and towed the net containing one hundred and fifty-three fish. A great number of fish and the net did not break. Jesus calls the multitude, “Come and eat!” He had the kindness to prepare something to eat after a disappointing night during which they had caught nothing: a very simple gesture which reveals something of God’s love for us. “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn 14: 9). None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, “Who are you?” because they knew He was the Lord. Recalling the Eucharist, John the Evangelist contemplates: “Jesus stepping forward took the bread and gave it to them.” Thus, he suggests that the Eucharist is the privileged place for the encounter with the Risen Jesus.

Personal Questions

•            Has it ever happened to you that someone told you to throw the net to the right side of your life, to do something contrary to your experience? Did you obey and throw in the net?

•            The kindness of Jesus. How is your kindness in the small things of life?

•            Do you recognize Jesus only after signs and miracles, or do you see Him in the simple acts of life, such as making a meal?

Concluding Prayer

Give thanks to Yahweh for He is good, for His faithful love endures for ever. Let those who fear Yahweh say, “His faithful love endures for ever.” (Ps 118)

 

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