Scripture Reflections for Third Sunday of Easter

"Today’s gospel is set in the evening of Easter Sunday. The two disciples journeying to Emmaus have now hurried back to Jerusalem and report to the community of disciples that they recognised the Risen Lord ‘in the breaking of bread’. Then suddenly Jesus himself is in their midst. The same person it is stressed – ‘It is I indeed’. Now no longer bound by space and time but Lord of all space and all time...."

Fr. John Farrell. "The Mission of the Resurrection." Torch. April 13, 2021

"“Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Jesus appears to his disciples after the Resurrection. They know that he was killed. They know that his body had disappeared from the tomb. So they know he is not simply alive again, in the sense that he didn't really die, but instead because they know he did die, they think they must be seeing a..."

Fr. David McLean. "Risen in the Flesh." Torch. April 14, 2015

"The scope of the appearance of the risen Jesus given in the gospel extract from Saint Luke today is very great. The full setting of his teaching was not explicitly evident in the missioning of his earthly life; he was the Galilean who had appeared with gifts of healing which entailed their divine endowment with which some passages in the later part of Isaiah's prophesy anticipated. His doctrinal and moral teaching were the elements of..."

Fr. Edward Booth. "The Risen Messiah." Torch. April 22, 2012

"Today's Gospel shows the first disciples having difficulties and doubts about the Resurrection. Is it real, did it really happen, or is it an illusion, are we misinterpreting the evidence? Traditionally, the Church has distinguished between difficulties and doubts. According to John Henry Newman, 'Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt'. As reasoning people, we naturally apply our minds to our religion, including to what happened in the aftermath of the Crucifixion. There are..."

Fr. Aidan Nichols. "Doubt No Longer." Torch. April 26, 2009

"I've often wondered just what it is that people who claim to have seen ghosts actually see. Whatever ghosts actually are, they are objects of fear, and I suppose that is partly because they are signs of the grave. But there is something else that is true about ghosts. In the standard kind of stories we tell about them, they are not just frightening, but also pitiable. They are often thought to be tortured souls,..."

Fr. Peter Hunter. "Things That Go 'Bump' in the Night." Torch. April 30, 2006

"When we became believers - we could say also for some of us, when we were invited to follow in the footsteps of St Dominic - it was not in order to follow a rule of life, however holy. It was to taste this joy. It was to be set free from the darkness that overshadows human living, set free to share a joy, a joy that no one can take from us. If we..."

Fr. Robert Eccles. "So great was their joy." Torch. May 4, 2003

"One of my favorite movies is M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs.” It’s a cross between Robert Benton’s “Places in the Heart” and Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day,” and probably a couple other movies I’m forgetting at the moment. Anyway, one of the marked features of the movie is its foreshadowing. Shyamalan introduces all sorts of strange themes associated with the different characters who surround Fr. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), an (Anglican?) priest who’s lost his faith and..."

John Bergsma. "Third Sunday of Easter." The Sacred Page. April 18, 2021

"The common theme of today’s readings is the challenge to adjust our lives to the living presence of the risen Lord as we grow daily more aware of the presence of His Holy Spirit within us and surrounding us. This awareness should strengthen our hope in His promises, bring us to true repentance for our sins and the renewal of our lives, and lead us to bear witness to Christ by our works of charity...."

Father Lawrence Obilor. "Passed from death to a new life." A Catholic Moment. April 18, 2021

"The Easter season coincides with the “home straight” of the academic year, which means that many students in schools, colleges and universities will shortly be facing examinations. Probably at some point those preparing for exams will experience confusion as they seek to order their thoughts and their studies. Part of a revision process is about making connections between the various things we have studied; but we all mix things up from time to time, and..."

Fr. Benjamin Earl. "Redeeming Confusion." Torch. April 11, 2018