THURSDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER - Gospel (Lk 24:35-48) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.“ (Ga 21,6)

FIRST READING - Acts 3:11-26

A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles

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.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 24:35-48

From the Gospel according to Luke

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."

THURSDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER - Gospel (Lk 24:35-48)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God for today reveals that Jesus always loves and accompanies His disciples. When Jesus died, the disciples were very afraid, worried, and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus understood the hearts of His disciples, so He appeared to strengthen their faith in the truth of His resurrection. At the same time, He continued to guide, explain, and enlighten them, reminding them of the words written about Him in the Bible and the Psalms—from the time of Moses to the time of the Prophets—all of which had to be fulfilled.

Today's Word of God reveals that, to strengthen the disciples' faith, Jesus appeared to them during a meal. He wanted to show them that He was truly alive, a real person, eating and drinking with them. He also allowed them to see and touch the nail holes from His suffering. Day by day, the Lord gave the disciples more and more faith that the resurrection of Jesus was real, not an illusion. The Lord also repeated the words of the Bible about Him: "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day." He Himself brought all the sins of mankind to the cross, to die and atone for sins and save humanity. His disciples would be witnesses to the words that the Lord taught and lived.

Today, God also wants His disciples to:

• Be witnesses for God, testifying to all the words and deeds that Jesus Himself lived and taught to mankind.

Moreover, God wants His disciples, as well as all of humanity, to:

• Listen to and practice what God has taught: to believe absolutely in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to save humanity. Those who live in that faith will be saved by God.

Thanks be to God. Amen.