Resurrection’s Gifts:
The Second Sunday of Easter 2025
April 27, 2025
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Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118; Revelation 1:9-19; John 20:19-31
There’s so much to say about the importance of this passage, and Pope Francis often preached out of it because he wanted us to experience the joy of the Gospel. As people of faith, we trust that everything is put into perspective by the Resurrection. It means that we must live with less fear. One of the surprising moments of the visit by Jesus to the disciples is that he did not come back seeking vengeance or to have his friends own up to their own actions. He offered them forgiveness, forgiveness that was to become the way forward in life. Through this forgiveness, they are granted a lasting peace, where drama is balanced by Christ’s victory over the forces in the world. God’s way still has a chance.
Pope Francis helped us to realize that we need each other. While the Resurrection is a personal visitation, it is essentially a communal event. The story must be shared. After Mary, the mom of Jesus, met her son, she sought out the disciples. Mary Magdalene ran to Peter and John so they could understand the news together. Today, we find the disciples huddled together in the Upper Room where they find comfort in one another in their fear, and that fear is turned into rejoicing when the Risen Jesus returns for them. The disciples on the way to Emmaus are together. Joy happens when we share our stories with each other. Pope Francis knew this well when he spoke about a culture of encounter.
Even Thomas is important. As he was separated from the others, he encountered his natural disbelief, and it was not until he rejoined his friends that he could come to full understanding. We need community, especially when we are feeling disconnected and want to withdraw. This passage also shows us the importance of doubt because doubt is a necessary and essential aspect of faith. We are never to take words blindly. We are also to seek, to strive, to ask questions, to probe. Without it, we cannot come to faith. Doubt is a remarkable aid to our faith.
Thomas did not need to put his fingers into the wounds of Jesus. He needed to behold them and to see that they remain part of the Risen Jesus. Thomas discovered that we meet Jesus when we encounter the wounds of the world. We must see that pain and suffering of Jesus, and we must notice the pain and suffering of those around us. It means that we cannot look away. We cannot ignore or become indifferent. We must look at and then enter into the suffering of those around us to really behold Christ. This was the message of Pope Francis to us as he elevated the dignity of those who society casts aside through indifferent and other human pursuits. He raised out consciousness of those who are put on the outside of our areas of concern. He asked that we treat each other with mercy.
Doubt that Seeks understanding. Mercy. Community. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. These are the gifts of the resurrection. Pope Francis spoke about them so well. What a terrific world we can enjoy when we accept these gifts and share them. By doing so, we help others receive the Resurrection. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Acts 4) Peter and John return to their people after being released from the religious authorities. They prayed about their ordeal and the whole house shook and all were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday: (Acts 4) The community of believers was of one heart and mind and together they bore witness to the Resurrection. Joseph, called Barnabas, sold a property and give money to the Apostles.
Wednesday: (Acts 5) The high priest with the Sadducees jailed the Apostles but during the night the Lord opened the prison doors and the Apostles returned to the Temple area to preach.
Thursday: (Acts 5) The Apostles were brought forth again during their arrest and they were reminded that they were forbidden to preach. Peter said on behalf of the Apostles that they are to obey God, and not men.
Friday (Acts 5) Gamaliel, the Pharisee, urges wisdom for the Sanhedrin declaring that if this is of God, it cannot be stopped, but if it is of men, it will certainly die out.
Saturday (Acts 6) The number of disciples grew. The Hellenists complained to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected. The Twelve decided it was right to select seven reputable men (deacons) to take care of the daily distribution while they continued with prayer and the ministry of the word. Meanwhile the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Gospel:
Monday: (John 3) Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews comes to Jesus wondering about where he is able to do the great miracles and teachings. He tries to understand.
Tuesday: (John 3) Jesus answered Nicodemus saying, “you must be born from above” to accept this testimony.
Wednesday (John 3) God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through him.
Thursday (John 3) Jesus explains that he was come from above and speaks of the things that are from above. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
Friday (John 6) Near a Passover feast, Jesus miraculously feeds the hungry crowds as a good shepherd would. He reminds the people that the actions in his earthly life were precursors of the meal that they are to share. They are to eat his body and drink his blood.
Saturday (John 6) Jesus then departs to the other side of the sea. When a storm picks up, he walks on the turbulent waves and instructs them not to be afraid. He is with them. He has power over the natural and supernatural world.
Saints of the Week
April 28: Peter Chanel, priest, missionary, martyr (1803-1841), is the first martyr of the Pacific South Seas. Originally a parish priest in rural eastern France, he joined the Society of Mary (Marists) to become a missionary in 1831 after a five-year stint teaching in the seminary. At first the missionaries were well-received in the New Hebrides and other Pacific island nations as they recently outlawed cannibalism. The growth of white influence placed Chanel under suspicion, which led to an attack on the missionaries. When the king’s son wanted to be baptized, his anger erupted and Peter was clubbed to death in protest.
April 28: Louis of Montfort, priest (1673-1716), dedicated his life to the care of the poor and the sick as a hospital chaplain in Poitiers, France. He angered the public and the administration when he tried to organize the hospital women's workers into a religious organization. He was let go. He went to Rome where the pope gave him the title "missionary apostolic" so he could preach missions that promoted a Marian and Rosary-based spirituality. He formed the "Priests of the Company of Mary" and the "Daughters of Wisdom."
April 29: Catherine of Siena, mystic and doctor of the Church (1347-1380), was the 24th of 25th children. At an early age, she had visions of guardian angels and the saints. She became a Third-Order Dominican and persuaded the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon in 1377. She died at age 33 after receiving the stigmata.
April 30: Pope Pius V, Pope (1504-1572), is noted for his work in the Counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent, and the standardization of the Roman Rite for mass. He was a fierce conservative who prosecuted eight French bishops for heterodoxy and Elizabeth I for schism. The Holy League he founded defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto whose success was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
May 1: Joseph the Worker was honored by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in an effort to counteract May Day, a union, worker, and socialist holiday. Many Catholics believe him to be the patron of workers because he is known for his patience, persistence, and hard work as admirable qualities that believers should adopt.
May 2: Athanasius, bishop and doctor (295-373), was an Egyptian who attended the Nicene Council in 325. He wrote about Christ's divinity but this caused his exile by non-Christian emperors. He wrote a treatise on the Incarnation and brought monasticism to the West.
May 3: Philip and James, Apostles (first century), were present to Jesus throughout his entire ministry. Philip was named as being explicitly called. James is called the Lesser to distinguish him from James of Zebedee. Little is known of these founders of our faith.
This Week in Jesuit History
- April 27, 1880. On the occasion of the visit of Jules Ferry, French minister of education, to Amiens, France, shouts were raised under the Jesuit College windows: "Les Jesuites a la guillotine."
- April 28, 1542. St Ignatius sent Pedro Ribadeneira, aged fifteen, from Rome to Paris for his studies. Pedro had been admitted into the Society in l539 or l540.
- April 29, 1933. Thomas Ewing Sherman died in New Orleans. An orator on the mission band, he was the son of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. He suffered a breakdown, and wanted to leave the Society, but was refused because of his ill health. Before his death he renewed his vows in the Society.
- April 30, 1585. The landing at Osaka of Fr. Gaspar Coelho. At first the Emperor was favorably disposed towards Christianity. This changed later because of Christianity's attitude toward polygamy.
- May 1, 1572. At Rome, Pope St. Pius V dies. His decree imposing Choir on the Society was cancelled by his successor, Gregory XIII.
- May 2, 1706. The death of Jesuit brother G J Kamel. The camellia flower is named after him.
- May 3, 1945. American troops take over Innsbruck, Austria. Theology studies at the Canisianum resume a few months later.
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