May the Lord give you peace and blessings in the Easter Octave. It is 25th April 2025.
We reflect on Acts 4:1–12 and John 21:1–14.
How often do we recognize the Risen Lord and His presence in our lives?
Pope Francis reassures us: “Do not bury hope! The Risen Jesus walks beside you. He calls your name and waits for you to begin again.”
One early morning in Buenos Aires, long before he was Pope, Cardinal Bergoglio was seen riding the subway in silence with a tattered Bible in his lap. When asked why, he said, “Because if I do not listen to the Word each day, I will forget the sound of the Shepherd’s voice.”
May we never forget the sound of that voice on the shore, calling us back to grace. “It is the Lord.” Whenever we are exhausted and feel empty and drained due to the work we love most and the relationship we invest, we just need to hear the Risen Lord.
And to recognize Him: “It is the Lord.” The Apostles felt the same, but when they heard and witnessed the presence of the Risen Lord, their faith deepened. In that moment, Peter doesn’t wait. He throws on his garment and dives headfirst into the water. That’s the heart of a man who knows failure, but also mercy.
The Light and Love of the Risen Jesus is echoing around in our life too. He is not going to condemn and abandon us because we have chosen to go back.
He wants to encounter us personally. The Risen Lord doesn’t rebuke them for going back to fishing. He meets them where they are, on familiar shores, with a charcoal fire, and breakfast.
And in today’s first reading, the boldness of Peter has matured. Once a man who denied Jesus in fear, now he proclaims before rulers and priests: “There is no other name by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
No matter what our past efforts were, we can still have boldness back when we are willing to meet the Lord. This is the transformation Easter brings—from night to dawn, from failure to mission, from fear to fearless witness.
Christ feeds us not only with bread and fish, but with purpose. Every encounter with Him is a commissioning.
May our encounter with the Risen Lord strengthen our hope, love, and faith in Him and the people around us.