Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” March-April 2024

3rd Sunday of Easter (B)
3rd week psalter

FIRST READING

From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19)
In those days, Peter said to the people: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant [Gesù], whom you handed over and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him; but you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead: of this we are witnesses. Now, brothers, I know that you acted out of ignorance, as did your leaders. But God thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, namely, that his Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and change your lives, so that your sins may be blotted out.” – The Word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

In Peter’s first preaching, the theme that [Gesù] also announces in the Gospel read on this third Sunday of Easter is taken up: namely, that [Gesù] had to suffer to save us from our sins. This was simply impossible to understand, or at least the apostles, when [Gesù] said that he would be killed, did not want to accept it. Suffering is also a problem for us. If God is good – we ask ourselves – why does he allow so much pain and so many tears? The answer is he himself, his innocent suffering. The God-Man pays for everyone and brings us into full reconciliation with the Father. Our suffering today is therefore participation in the life of Christ, reparation for sins, and a proclamation of liberation and eternal life. No one ever said it would be easy to understand; it was not easy even for the apostles. Then, when they understood this reality, they willingly suffered, even dying as martyrs for Christ.

SECOND READING

From the first letter of the holy apostle John (1 Jn 2:1-5a)
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father: [Gesù] Christ, the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins; not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him: if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God is truly perfected. – The Word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

There is a significant point in the apostle John’s reading. He begins by saying that [Gesù] has paid for everyone and is expiation for our sins. Immediately afterward he says that knowing this truth requires us to keep his commandments. What does our moral conduct have to do with knowing Christ? It does, because one cannot know the Lord without becoming involved in his mission. God does not lend himself to being an object of study or admiration; he is love, and love involves us completely. I cannot love a friend and do the exact opposite of what he wants. Love is not a concept; it is realized through concrete actions. Does a mother give birth to her child and not make breastfeeding her first act of love? She is not content simply to contemplate him and look at him with satisfaction, but immediately concerns herself with his basic needs. So it is with [Gesù]: he brought us into the world (the true one, the world of Redemption), and remaining in it, through obedience to the commandments, is for us a simple expression of gratitude.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:35-48)
At that time, [the two disciples who had returned from Emmaus] recounted [to the Eleven and those who were with them] what had happened along the way and how they had recognized [Gesù] in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about these things, [Gesù] himself stood among them and said to them: “Peace be with you!” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them: “Why are you troubled, and why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet: it is truly I! Touch me and see; 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. But since they still did not believe for joy and were filled with wonder, he said to them: “Have you anything here to eat?” They offered him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. Then he said: “These are my words that I spoke to you when I was still with you: everything written about me in the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them: “Thus it is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

The apostles’ feelings, on seeing the risen [Gesù], swing from one extreme to the other: at first they are terrified, then filled with joy. It is certainly something to believe! What would you say if you saw a dead person, whose funeral you had attended and whom you had watched being buried, appear before you several days later, sit down at the table, and eat baked fish? You would be utterly astonished, but you would certainly say that this person was alive! The Lord’s appearances during the forty days before his Ascension into heaven have this demonstrative purpose: [Gesù] must convince his apostles that he is truly alive; once he has confirmed them in this faith, he can pass from the external visible world to the interior world of the soul. The risen [Gesù] is in us if we are in God’s grace, and we no longer need to see him with our eyes, but it was necessary to know that the apostles had seen and recognized him. The Lord does not appear today because he wants us to trust the faith handed down by the apostles, an undeniable and certain faith. The Church calls itself “apostolic” for this reason. The Kingdom of God is within us, and the presence of the risen Christ is in our hearts: this is what the apostles handed down to us.