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“Seeing is believing!” As a people of faith, we believe even though we do not see.  The Risen Lord revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples over a period.  Even after they saw the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus’ appearances, their faith was weak. Once Jesus appeared to them, He showed them the wounds of His passion.  He told them to “see’ and “believe”. 

Jesus, in today’s gospel, commissioned the Apostles to “Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” In the Acts of the Apostles, they tell the Sanhedrin that it would be impossible for them not to speak about what they have seen. Just as Jesus commissioned the Apostles, He has commissioned us to share the Good News of the Resurrection to everyone around us. After we have seen and heard all Jesus has done for us, how could we not share the Good News with others?

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it”. (Psalm 118: 24) This gospel acclamation is sung during the Easter Octave. Nathanael, Zebedee’s sons, and the two other disciples who joined Peter when he said, “I am going fishing”, were not rejoicing after spending a night on the sea of Tiberias without catching anything – not even a small fish.

When did you first hear about Jesus? My earliest memory is from a Christmas when I was about three years old. My parents told me the Nativity story and we had a little creche on a table. Jesus already knew me because I’d been baptized as an infant, but it’s the recounting of the story that stays with me. For many, perhaps, most Christians, knowledge of the Christ seeped into our consciousness little by little through Bible stories, sacraments, sacramentals, and daily prayers. The dawning awareness, whatever the source, always extends back across time and space to the eyewitnesses of the Resurrected Christ encountered in today’s readings.

Today’s first reading is an example of what it means to live the Christian life. Speaking to the limp beggar, Peter says, “I do not have silver or gold, but what I do have I give you.” As Christians, we are called to consistently give of ourselves, and often we do not have what is sought after. As Peter does, we must realize that even when we cannot give what is being asked of us, we still have something to offer to everyone we encounter. In our interactions with others, we should always represent Christ to them, showing them the love and dignity that He would show them.

Have you ever felt disappointed like the disciples in our gospel reading whose hopes and dreams were lost? I have had that kind of experience. Twenty years ago, I lived in San Antonio, Texas, when my world came crashing down around me. I lost the person I loved in the blink of an eye when our unborn baby died. My family lived 1,800 miles away, so I had no one to rely on for help dealing with this tremendous loss.

When we speak of the Dominican Charism and the centrality of preaching the Truth, we mean being a witness to the resurrection to which belongs every member of the baptized. By the very nature of the grace which floods our soul and to which we have been joined to Christ, have died and been raised, we are witnesses of the resurrection. We have experienced it! The risen Christ is in us and is closer to us than we are to ourselves. What a gift! Already this life has put on immortality.

In today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus calls Mary Magdalene to be the first witness and preacher of His resurrection from the dead.  For this reason, after leaving the Risen Christ, Mary Magdalene finds His disciples and tells them, “I have seen the Lord.”  This call reaffirms the important role of women in the Church for being faithful witnesses and proclaimers of the Risen Christ.  

The Commentary on the General Norms for the Liturgical Year after Vatican II stated, “The faithful should understand that the last three days of Holy Week are not a preparation for Easter but, as St. Augustine wrote, ‘the most sacred triduum of the crucified, buried and risen Lord’.”  Thus, our constant Catholic teaching explains that the solemnity of Easter has the same kind of preeminence in the liturgical year that Sunday has in the week.  We stand today on top of the mountain as we celebrate our greatest liturgical feast.  We are at the heart of the Paschal Mystery:  Christ has risen from the dead, and what is crucial for us is the age-old tenet of our faith:  Christ’s resurrection is also our resurrection!

Tonight’s solemn liturgy begins with the priest carving the number 2021 into the wax of the Paschal candle as he declares: “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end. . .” The acolytes will then kindle the Easter fire, a symbol of Christ’s victory over the darkness of sin and death. In his dying and rising celebrated this night, we will acclaim him as the Lord of the Eternal Sabbath.

The recurring theme in the readings is “to remember.” As we look toward the future, we imagine that we will remember these past twelve months vividly. They have been unlike anything else any of us had experienced before. We have experienced our vulnerability, distress, anxiety, weariness, restlessness, and many other feelings that make the pandemic difficult to forget. However, the readings ask us to remember not something unpleasant but instances of love events.

In today´s Gospel, we can appreciate how Judas and Jesus embraced their turning points. Juda´s turning point is marked by the expression ¨from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him (Jesus) over. ¨ His turning point was motivated by his ambition and the price of thirty pieces of silver. His turning point consisted of looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over. His turning point was a betrayal. It was a turning point that led him to anguish, fear, regret, desperation and finally, self-destruction.

The first sentence of today’s Gospel talks about betrayal. The last sentence of today’s Gospel talks about denying Jesus. We are clearly headed for something gloomy. Betrayal and denial are rearing their ugly head as Jesus prepares to enter his passion. We often associate the passion with the physical pain and torture that Jesus endured, but there was also the suffering caused by his disciples and followers. Judas literally sold him out, and Peter denied him three times.

Today's reading is a reminder for us on how God created human beings differently from all of His creations. He breathes forth His Spirit in us. We are so special and loved. This reading also is an inspiration to spread His Gospel as He believes in the goodness of His creation. He molded us in his likeness and goodness. The spirit of God in us will be our guide. The experiences we had in this life journey are opportunities for us to be wiser and better day by day. That wisdom will spring from within as long as we live our lives following His commands.

All twelve abandon Jesus. We know the name of a passer-by named Simon, of one called Simon in Gethsemane, and of a leper, Simon. The names of Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome who observed from a distance are familiar to us. There is one whose name we do not know who anointed the Anointed One and whose identity is she who anointed with remarkable extravagance of oil and heart.

Although the word ‘mercy’ is not actually used in this reading, the verbal imagery calls to mind the triumph of God’s Mercy over the forces of sin. The prophet’s use of strong positive verbs throughout the passage communicates very forcefully the power of God’s Will to forgive, to cleanse, and to restore a human condition shattered and broken apart by the most grievous offenses.

Focusing then on His “sheep” - among whom we are counted: Jesus reminds the crowd that His sheep hear His voice, He knows them, they follow Him, He gives them eternal life, they shall never perish, and no one can snatch them from His hands. The Father has given us to Yeshua. We are safe! It is less about our faithfulness than His faithfulness. “He has rescued us from the power of the wicked.”

“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will” (Psalm 40). What did the words of the psalmist mean for the Blessed Virgin Mary then and for us today? Do I sit quiet enough or long enough to hear what God is calling me to do today? Do I respond with trust and faith?

In the first reading from Daniel, we find three men being thrown into a furnace for not worshipping a golden image. They do not plead for their lives to King Nebuchadnezzar, nor do they beg God to save them. Rather, they acknowledge that God may save them if He so wills, but if not, they will die willingly rather than worship false gods. They did not blame, they accepted. In fact, they praised!