Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 19, 2020
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Jesus offers the disciples the greeting, “Peace be with you,” three times. In the midst of the apostles’ uncertainty, the shattering of their dreams, the apparent waste of their three years following Christ, and their fear for their lives, Christ brings them peace. After their misunderstandings of his passion, their betrayal, and their ensuing fear, Christ does not come to destroy them, but to call them back again.
What does it mean to let Christ speak peace into being in our lives? The next line gives us a clue. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. Peace is not sitting content in our current state. Christ offers a dynamic and life-giving peace that is stronger than fear and impels us to bring the Gospel into the world, forgive others, and be blessed because we “have not seen and yet have come to believe”.
In this time of uncertainty, when death is more present to many of us than it was before, how do we believe without seeing the cure come as quickly as we want? How do we believe when we see loved ones and friends departing this world or grieving? I realized that I am not called merely to be resigned to “shelter at home” orders but to embrace with faith the challenges and sacrifices that come with it. I am still called to live on mission for the Gospel. In my senior year, I may have been sent from Notre Dame for the last time before I expected but not before Christ called me to a mission of peace here. Jesus invites us to live a life of peace in whatever place we find ourselves today. We are called to encounter those around us in the same words Christ did: “Peace be with you”.
Prayer
Jesus, you are merciful, compassionate, and understand our human weakness. You know our fears—the things that hold us back from trusting you and from becoming fully ourselves—but you won’t let us use those things as an excuse. There is always a challenge to grow, and with the challenge comes the grace to meet it. Thank you for caring so much about us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
James Duckett is patron saint of booksellers and publishers because he was martyred in 1601 for spreading Catholic books throughout England while the monarchy was suppressing the faith.
He was a devout Protestant apprenticed to a book printer in London, where he found a book about the foundations of the Catholic tradition. The book convinced him to become Catholic and he was thrown into prison, but released when his book printing master paid his bond. When he persisted in his Catholic faith, he kept landing in jail. Finally, his master finally broke ties with him. In one of his stays in prison, he was formally instructed in the Catholic faith by an old priest who was also incarcerated.
When James was released from prison, he married a Catholic widow and they had a son together, who went on to lead an important monastery. As a bookseller, he continued to offer books on the Catholic faith to anyone he could find, and continued to be arrested. In fact, of the 12 years he was married, he spent nine in prison.
Peter Bullocks, a former fellow employee of James’, had landed on death row. Hoping to save his own life, Peter betrayed James by accusing him of publishing a treasonous text. James denied the charge, but acknowledged that he had many other Catholic books. When a jury condemned James to death, he said, “I take it for a great favor from Almighty God that I am placed among the thieves, as he himself, my Lord and master, was.”
James bore no ill-will towards Peter, who was not granted a stay of execution for his betrayal. In fact, the two were to be executed together—they were carried in the same cart to the place of their hanging. James assured Peter of his forgiveness and kissed him as they both stood on the platform awaiting their death.
Blessed James Duckett, you were the convert who was martyred for your faith, and patron saint of publishers—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Blessed James Duckett is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
