Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 24, 2025
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.”
Though “incredulous for joy” and full of wonder, the sudden appearance of Jesus leaves the disciples distressed and plagued by questions. We could characterize their emotional and intellectual response to this resurrection appearance of Jesus as a hopeful skepticism or perhaps a skeptical hope. The disciples want to believe in Jesus’ prophetic promise that he would rise from the dead, but their certainty of Jesus’ death prevents their immediate belief and celebration.
Luke refers to Jesus’ followers as the disciples: ”those who learn.” Learners everywhere face routine intellectual challenges that contribute to our own combination of skepticism and hope. We hope to write a stellar term paper, but we doubt our ability to commit the needed time amidst our relationships and other responsibilities. We hope to finally learn guitar, painting, or cooking, but we second-guess our progress and compare our gains to the achievements of experts.
This fusion of skepticism and hope spills over into our faith. We hope in the promises of everlasting life, but we also maximize our earthly experiences and enjoyment just in case the paradise of heaven isn’t as incredible as Jesus promises. We hope in God’s abundant mercy to forgive our sins while battling our disbelief that God could ever forgive someone so broken and sinful. The earthly attitude of skepticism needs the balm of hope—a theological virtue and a marvelous gift from God.
In the final verse, Jesus exhorts these learning disciples to a new status, one that requires stalwart conviction: witnesses of Jesus’ suffering, death, Resurrection, and proclamation of the forgiveness of sins. In these days of the Easter Octave, we pray that God’s great gift of hope tempers our skepticism so we can boldly and convincingly witness to the truth of the Paschal Mystery: Jesus died and rose to new life to save us all.
Prayer
In your appearances after the resurrection, Lord Jesus, you greeted your disciples with peace and showed them that your body, once dead in the tomb, was alive again. They became witnesses of your death and resurrection and preached your name to the ends of the earth, beginning from Jerusalem. Many centuries later, help us to know your life deep within us that we, too, might witness to you by all we do and say, and carry your good news to all we meet. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
As a lawyer, St. Fidelis gave special attention to the plight of the oppressed—in fact, he became known as The Poor Man’s Lawyer.
He was born as Mark Rey in Germany in 1577. The more he practiced law, however, the more disenchanted and disgusted he became with the lengths to which his colleagues would go in order to win a case. He decided to leave his life as a lawyer and dedicate his life to God in a religious community.
His brother was a Capuchin Franciscan, so he joined that order, took the name Fidelis, and was ordained a priest. He was zealous in his practice and proclamation of the faith, and once declared, “Woe to me if I should prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned captain!”
He was sent to minister in several different regions of Germany, where he reformed whole cities with his preaching. He also cared for the sick, especially during a severe outbreak of disease. Because of his effectiveness, he was chosen to head a party of Capuchins to go to Switzerland to convert people back to the Catholic faith there.
His preaching was enhanced by his own witness and the hours he would spend in prayer, and many people were inspired by his example. Opponents threatened his life, and tried to rouse people against him by claiming that he was a spy.
One night, his adversaries even shot at him when he was in the pulpit, and tried to storm the church. Friends offered to shelter him, but he declared that his life was in God’s hands, and while he was walking on the road home, he was attacked by a mob of armed men. He asked God to forgive the attackers as they killed him.
The relics of St. Fidelis rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus.
St. Fidelis, the “Poor Man’s Lawyer” who became a priest and was martyred for preaching the faith—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen is in the public domain. Modified from the original. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
