Third Sunday of Easter
Intention: That we may be a people of life, standing for the dignity and needs of all people, especially the poor, the oppressed, the exploited, the misunderstood, and the forgotten.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 24:35-48
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them 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.”
From the Meditation for the Third Sunday After Easter | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
Because the joy of the just is caused by God’s love deep in their hearts and because this love is directed to a good that is inalterable, immutable, and eternal, it follows that the just cannot be disturbed in the possession of that delightful satisfaction as long as charity unites their souls to God.
Does your joy come from within? Or are you not sometimes self-absorbed by vain and entirely exterior joys?
Prayer
Eternal Father, you sent your Son to be our light in the midst of darkness and our sustenance in the midst of want. Open our eyes to your saving presence, especially in times of frustration and confusion. May we grow in faith, always ready to trust in your presence and follow your call to build your Kingdom. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.