'Tis the Thursday within the Octave of Easter: Easter-link, Octave-link, Wikipedia-link Easter Week, & Wikipedia-link Octave.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday within the Octave of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter three, verses eleven thru twenty-six;
Psalm Eight, verses two(a/b) & five, six & seven, & eight & nine;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter twenty-four, verses thirty-five thru forty-eight.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel the risen Jesus appears to his eleven disciples. They were understandably terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus is quick to disabuse them of this notion: "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."Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
While they were still amazed and incredulous for joy, he stunned them further, saying, "Have you anything here to eat?" With that, they gave him a piece of baked fish, which he ate in their presence.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus—as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep—is the great sign that heaven and earth are coming together. A body that can be touched and that can consume baked fish has found its way into the realm of heaven.
What does this mean? It means that bodies are not finally alien to God. We have indeed an Advocate in the heavenly places. Were the Resurrection a convenient story or a clever myth, the two realms of heaven and earth would be as separate as ever.
†
Otherwise, 25 April would be the festival of Saint Mark, Evangelist (died circa 68, A.K.A. John Mark), inspired author of the Gospel according to Mark: Evangelist-link ūnus, Evangelist-link duo, Wikipedia-link Evangelist, & Wikipedia-link John Mark; Gospel-link & Wikipedia-link Gospel.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
'Twould also be the festival of Blesseds Robert Anderton & William Marsden, Priests & Martyrs (both circa 1560-1586), martyred in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth I, two of the one hundred fifty-eight Martyrs of Douai: Martyr-link Romeo Alpha, Martyr-link Whiskey Mike, & Wikipedia-link; Martyrs-link Douai & Wikipedia-link Douai.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Pedro de San José Betancur, Religious, O.F.B. (1626-1667, the "Saint Francis of the Americas;" also spelt Betancourt), founder of the Order of Bethlehemite Brothers (O.F.B.): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link O.F.B.
'Twould also be the festival of Saint Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Priest (1841-1913), founder of the Paimartinis, formally the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth (F.N.) & the Congregation of the Sisters, Humble Servants of the Lord: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link F.N.
'Twould also be the festival of Blesseds Mario Borzaga, Priest (O.M.I.), & Paul Thoj Xyooj, Martyrs (died 1960), martyred by the Communist Pathet Lao, two of the seventeen Martyrs of Laos: Martyr-link Mike Bravo, Martyr-link Papa Tango X-ray, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Laos.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"The dynamism of new life is at work throughout history in apostolic service & in the mandate to pass on the Gospel. In order to touch everyone's heart it must be translated into understandable & easily accessible language."Little Flower Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul Ii the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)
"Do all in your power to detach your heart from earthly cares… then be assured Our Lord will do the rest."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church (1873-1897, feast day: 1 October)
"Look into your own heart. I've looked into mine. I've had a great deal of suffering in the eighty-three years of my life—physical suffering & other suffering. It should never have happened, & it has lasted for many years. Yet, as I look back, I know very well that I have never received the punishment that I deserved. God has been easy with me. He has not laid on me burdens that were equal to my failures. If we look into our own souls, I think that we will also come to the same conclusion, for God speaks to us in various ways. As C. S. Lewis put it, 'God whispers to us in our pleasures, he speaks to us in our conscience, and he shouts to us in our pain.' Pain is God's megaphone. And unlike the ripples that are made in a brook or that you see when you throw a stone in a pond, the ripples of pain, instead of going out to distant shores, narrow & narrow & come to a central point where there is less of the outside of the circle & more of the center. Not the ego, but the real person & the real self. And one begins to find oneself alone with God. That is what happens in pain."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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