Prophets in His Plan

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today share Peter’s Appeal to the people of his spiritual heritage and the invitation of Christ to draw new life from His Presence as we live out our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader.

Plans for Life

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Peter’s Speech in the Temple.

* [3:13] Has glorified: through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God reversed the judgment against him on the occasion of his trial. Servant: the Greek word can also be rendered as “son” or even “child” here and also in Acts 3:26; 4:25 (applied to David); Acts 4:27; and Acts 4:30. Scholars are of the opinion, however, that the original concept reflected in the words identified Jesus with the suffering Servant of the Lord of Is 52:13–53:12.

* [3:14] The Holy and Righteous One: so designating Jesus emphasizes his special relationship to the Father (see Lk 1:35; 4:34) and emphasizes his sinlessness and religious dignity that are placed in sharp contrast with the guilt of those who rejected him in favor of Barabbas.

* [3:15] The author of life: other possible translations of the Greek title are “leader of life” or “pioneer of life.” The title clearly points to Jesus as the source and originator of salvation.

* [3:17] Ignorance: a Lucan motif, explaining away the actions not only of the people but also of their leaders in crucifying Jesus. On this basis the presbyters in Acts could continue to appeal to the Jews in Jerusalem to believe in Jesus, even while affirming their involvement in his death because they were unaware of his messianic dignity. See also Acts 13:27 and Lk 23:34.

* [3:18] Through the mouth of all the prophets: Christian prophetic insight into the Old Testament saw the crucifixion and death of Jesus as the main import of messianic prophecy. The Jews themselves did not anticipate a suffering Messiah; they usually understood the Servant Song in Is 52:13–53:12 to signify their own suffering as a people. In his typical fashion (cf. Lk 18:31; 24:25, 27, 44), Luke does not specify the particular Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus. See also note on Lk 24:26.

* [3:20] The Lord…and send you the Messiah already appointed for you, Jesus: an allusion to the parousia or second coming of Christ, judged to be imminent in the apostolic age. This reference to its nearness is the only explicit one in Acts. Some scholars believe that this verse preserves a very early christology, in which the title “Messiah” (Greek “Christ”) is applied to him as of his parousia, his second coming (contrast Acts 2:36). This view of a future messiahship of Jesus is not found elsewhere in the New Testament.

* [3:21] The times of universal restoration: like “the times of refreshment” (Acts 3:20), an apocalyptic designation of the messianic age, fitting in with the christology of Acts 3:20 that associates the messiahship of Jesus with his future coming.

* [3:22] A loose citation of Dt 18:15, which teaches that the Israelites are to learn the will of Yahweh from no one but their prophets. At the time of Jesus, some Jews expected a unique prophet to come in fulfillment of this text. Early Christianity applied this tradition and text to Jesus and used them especially in defense of the divergence of Christian teaching from traditional Judaism. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 8 contrasts God’s Grandeur with Human smallness.

* [Psalm 8] While marvelling at the limitless grandeur of God (Ps 8:2–3), the psalmist is struck first by the smallness of human beings in creation (Ps 8:4–5), and then by the royal dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them (Ps 8:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke presents the Appearance to the Disciples in Jerusalem.

* [24:36–43, 44–49] The Gospel of Luke, like each of the other gospels (Mt 28:16–20; Mk 16:14–15; Jn 20:19–23), focuses on an important appearance of Jesus to the Twelve in which they are commissioned for their future ministry. As in Lk 24:6, 12, so in Lk 24:36, 40 there are omissions in the Western text.

* [24:39–42] The apologetic purpose of this story is evident in the concern with the physical details and the report that Jesus ate food.

* [24:46] See note on Lk 24:26. (Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB, n.d.)

Larry Hopp comments that in today’s Gospel we find Jesus offering His peace to His disciples.  Jesus understood the human propensity of His disciples - as well as with all of us - to have difficulty in truly grasping who Jesus is and what His incredible gift of salvation truly means.   Jesus went the extra mile to help His disciples grasp -at least for the moment – that Jesus really was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world.

What then are we to do with this gift ?    

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to remain in awe of who you really are and all that you have done for each of us.  Help us to use our lives to clearly point others to you.  To help them to embrace your command to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins and to be born again into an everlasting walk with you.  In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen (Hopp, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The Easter Alleluia,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church; but when we go on our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God. But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God. You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God. If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent but your actions will cry aloud, and God will perceive your intentions; for as our ears hear each others voices, so do God's ears hear our thoughts. " (excerpt from commentary on Psalm 148) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 24:35-48 comments that the Holy Spirit can be our companion every time we open a Bible or listen to the readings at Mass. As he did for the first believers, he can open up the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection for us. He can tell us how Jesus has freed us from sin and death. He can fill us with the joy of our redemption. And he can set our hearts aflame with a desire to share the good news with our loved ones.

So turn to the Spirit as you ponder today’s Mass readings. Ask him to take the words printed in the Bible and make them come alive for you. If you are feeling lost and alone, let him convince you of his unconditional love. If you are struggling with temptation, let him give you confidence and courage. If you are burdened with guilt, let the good news of Jesus’ never-ending mercy set you free.

Jesus truly is risen! He can open your mind. He can open your heart. Let his Spirit in!

"Holy Spirit, breathe your life and love into me as I meditate on your word!" (Meditation on Luke 24:35-48, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the proclamation of the kerygma by Peter in a very Jewish way to the Jewish people in the Temple citing Moses to identify Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. Jesus appears to the disciples in His Resurrected Body about which theologian Karl Rahner declares “without a body we are not body”. Friar Jude asks how we are doing in sharing the forgiveness of sin in the unfolding of God’s plan as understood by the Stoic Luke.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Episcopal Bishop Barbara Harris (1930–2020) who explores how we can celebrate Easter, even in the midst of difficult “Good Friday” circumstances.

Easter people are believers. We believe not only in the possible, we believe also in the impossible. We believe that the lame were made to walk, and the mute made to speak, that lepers were cleansed and the blind received their sight…. We can believe also that with the helpful presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we are strengthened and sustained on our earthly pilgrimage. Further, we can believe that we can fashion new lives committed to love, to peace, to justice, and to liberation for all of God’s people.   

Easter people grieve and need to be comforted. And, yes, Easter people get angry … but we must seek to channel that anger in constructive ways. Be angry enough to say and to seriously mean, I will commit my life to living out the Baptismal Covenant: seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself, striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.   

Easter people hang in until the end. Like the women who stood by the cross, Easter people live by the words of the old spiritual: “I will go, I shall go to see what the end will be.” [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

We are gifted with a body and the Spirit to guide us in being Easter People who bring new life to our environment through our truth, compassion, and love.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/3?11 

Hopp, L. (2025, April 24). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/042425.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24?35 

Meditation on Luke 24:35-48. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/04/24/1261356/ 

Psalms, PSALM 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Easter People in a Good Friday World. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/easter-people-in-a-good-friday-world/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Opened Their Minds to Understand the Scriptures. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=apr24 

Law of Love and Humility

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to embrace our experience of childhood and children as possible sources of understanding the centrality of love, trust, awe, imagination, and humility to our fullness of life in the human community.

Becoming Great

The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel describes eating of the Scroll prior to speaking to the house of Israel.

* [3:3] As sweet as honey: though the prophet must foretell terrible things, the word of God is sweet to the one who receives it. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

Psalm 119 praises the Glories of God’s Law.

* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus indicates true Greatness and shares the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

* [18:3] Become like children: the child is held up as a model for the disciples not because of any supposed innocence of children but because of their complete dependence on, and trust in, their parents. So must the disciples be, in respect to God. (Matthew, CHAPTER 18, n.d.)

Kimberly Grassmeyer remembers Grandma Alice who expressed her faith and her love of Jesus in her treatment of her grandchildren – never lording over but rather, as the Gospel reading from Matthew suggests, becoming humble and receiving each of us as a gift from God.  

Jesus called us to love our neighbors as ourselves and, in this reading, to humble ourselves and become like children.  I don’t believe he is asking that we forego the responsibilities and seriousness that accompany adulthood.  But I do believe that he is imploring us to not become so cynical and sinful that we can no longer engage with and appreciate God’s creation through the innocent, trusting and joyful eyes of a child. 

Jesus is also asking us, through his parable of the shepherd, to never give up on our ‘strays’ – those around us, young and old alike – who venture away from their faith.  God doesn't desire that anyone be lost, and it is our charge to remain hopeful, trusting, and joyful in our faith so as to inspire others and find our place in God's Kingdom.  

I hope for you that you see the smile, hear the singing, or experience the joy of a child today – and that when you do, you are reminded that Jesus has given you permission - in fact, has invited you! – to join in.   God bless you! (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “What it means to become a child of God,” by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century).

"Here the Lord not only repressed the apostles' thoughts but also checked the ambition of believers throughout the whole world, so that he might be great who wanted to be least. For with this purpose Jesus used the example of the child, that what he had been through his nature, we through our holy living might become - innocent, like children innocent of every sin. For a child does not know how to hold resentment or to grow angry. He does not know how to repay evil for evil. He does not think base thoughts. He does not commit adultery or arson or murder. He is utterly ignorant of theft or brawling or all the things that will draw him to sin. He does not know how to disparage, how to blaspheme, how to hurt, how to lie. He believes what he hears. What he is ordered he does not analyze. He loves his parents with full affection. Therefore what children are in their simplicity, let us become through a holy way of life, as children innocent of sin. And quite rightly, one who has become a child innocent of sin in this way is greater in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives such a person will receive Christ." (excerpt from INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 27) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 comments that it isn’t always easy to recapture our childlike innocence and trust—especially if we’ve been hurt in the past. That means we may get discouraged when we find ourselves falling back into patterns of cynicism or world-weariness or pride.

But remember, becoming like children means coming to your heavenly Father. And like any good father, he is always proud whenever a child of his takes even a small step of progress. He rejoices every time you notice a fault and ask his help in overcoming it.

When Jesus said, “It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost,” he wasn’t just talking about children (Matthew 18:14). He was talking about all of God’s “little ones”—each one of us who is trying to live as his own beloved child. God doesn’t want you to get “lost” in the maze of “grown-up” life in this world. He wants to help you. He is always ready to forgive you, encourage you, and strengthen you.

“Lord, help me let go of my pride and self-centered ways so that I can become more like the child of God you created me to be.” (Meditation on Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the psychological state of Ezekiel as he tastes the sweetness of the Scroll of the Word and experiences the bitterness of lamentations therein. Three messages in Matthew today involve childlike acceptance of Mystery, awe and wonder, and the concept of a guardian angel. Friar Jude reminds us that we may not appreciate the need that moves the Shepherd to seek the one missing from the ninety-nine.

On the Memorial of St. Teresa Benedictia of the Cross, today, Joe Egerton, awarded the Robert Schuman Silver Medal for European Unity in 1985, explains why the philosopher Edith Stein – St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Discalced Carmelite, who was murdered at Auschwitz and who, in 1999, Pope St John Paul II made one of the six patron saints of Europe, matters to us today. 

An important further contribution of Edith Stein to political philosophy is her denial that the nation is the largest community to which a human being can belong. She is emphatic that each of us belongs to an overarching community, which is the whole of humankind…. That argument can only be valid if all humanity – especially those most disadvantaged – benefit, if the common good of all people of all nations is the aim.

Co-patroness of Europe

In Fides et Ratio, Pope St John Paul II gave us a reason to pay attention to Edith Stein’s writings:

One thing is certain: attention to the spiritual journey of [Edith Stein] can only give greater momentum to both the search for truth and the effort to apply the results of that search to the service of humanity[17].

When he went on to mark the coming of a new millennium by proclaiming St Edith Stein, St Bridget of Sweden and St Catherine of Sienna as co-patronesses of Europe, he set the former’s life before us as an example:

Today's proclamation of Edith Stein as a Co-Patroness of Europe is intended to raise on this Continent a banner of respect, tolerance and acceptance which invites all men and women to understand and appreciate each other, transcending their ethnic, cultural and religious differences in order to form a truly fraternal society.[18]

As we face the turmoil of Brexit and the reappearance of authoritarianism and anti-Semitism, we can ask St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to intercede for us and ask for the aid of the Holy Spirit in order to turn this vision of Europe into a reality. (Egerton, 2018)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that after being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, theologian and author Kate Bowler worked intensively to know and love her body and its ways of both serving and failing her. 

But God knows what it’s like to live in flesh. . . . If God too lived in a body, then God knows the ache of growing pains and the feeling of goosebumps on a brisk day and the comfort of a warm embrace. He felt the gurgle of a hungry stomach and the annoying prick of a splinter after a day of hard work. He wept over the death of a friend. Ours is a God who sneezed and rubbed His eyes when He was sleepy. Ours is a God who knew longing, heartbreak, excitement, frustration—the full range of what it means to be human . . . [and] live in a body.

So when my own body drags me down, when my muscles ache, when my worries keep me up at night, when my fear for the future leaves me motionless, when I feel lonely and exhausted and burdened, I do not worship a God who is far off.

This is a God who knows my humanity inside and out. God has counted every hair on my head (Matthew 10:30) and bottled up every tear I have shed (Psalm 56:8). Not simply because the Word formed us (Genesis 1:27), knit us together in our mothers’ wombs (Psalm 139:13), was there from the very beginning . . . but because God wore our skin. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are sometimes made aware of our inner child by the prompting of the Spirit as we journey in search of truth, beauty, and love for all.

References

Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080922.html 

Egerton, J. (2018, August 8). Edith Stein: truth at the service of humanity. Thinking Faith. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/edith-stein-truth-service-humanity 

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/3 

Matthew, CHAPTER 18. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18?1 

Meditation on Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/09/464974/ 

Psalms, PSALM 119. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?14 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/knowing-and-loving-our-bodies-2022-08-09/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug9