Third Sunday of Easter (C)

“Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.”
Jn 21:1-19

So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.

Some commentators say that the catch was not a miracle. In W. M. Thomson’s book, “The Land and the Book” he says that he saw two men fishing. One was in the water throwing the net and the other was on the bank giving directions on where to throw the net. The water was clear and he could see where the shoal of fish was. Jesus did the same thing for Peter. Jesus guided him.
Let us pray that our people will be ready to listen to God’s voice as we elect our government officials.

So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

There is a cartoon showing learned men looking for Jesus. But they could not find him. But there were two children who found him. But Jesus was motioning to them to keep quiet as if only they are supposed to find him.

The disciple whom Jesus loved was St. John and he was the youngest apostle. And perhaps, because he still had the heart of a child that it was he who recognized the Lord.

What does it mean to have the heart of a child in order to see God? Scientists have been able to detect a certain kind of radiation in outer space that supports the Big Bang theory. One of them said: “We just saw the hand of God creating the uni-verse.” To have the heart of a child means to be able to accept that there is somebody greater than you—God.

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.

Why couldn’t Peter wait for the boat to reach the shore? Because he was deeply attached to Jesus.

Our eagerness to pray, to participate in the Sunday Liturgy is an indicator of how attached we are to the Lord.

Why did he have to put on all his clothes? Because according to Jewish practice, to greet someone was a religious act and hence, must be properly dressed. It was also an act of respect for Jesus.

There used to be the Sunday best. We don’t need to dress like that. Neverthe-less, the way we dress reflects on our attitude towards the Mass.

When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.

This story tells us what the Resurrection is and what it is not. First, it is not a vision. A vision is “seen” but not with physical eyes. When Our Lady appeared to Bernadette, only she saw the Blessed Mother. The Resurrection is a physical experience. In fact, Jesus prepared breakfast which they ate.

Jesus said that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. At the Last Supper, he washed their feet. After the Resurrection, he prepared breakfast for them. What is he doing for us now? He is preparing a place for us in heaven. In other words, Jesus is continuing his work to save us even today.

So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.

St. Cyril of Alexandria interpreted the number this way: 100 represents all non-Jews (Gentiles); 50 for the remnant of Israel and 3 for the Trinity.

St. Augustine offers this interpretation. 10 for the Ten Commandments; 7 for the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit; 7+10=17. 153 is the sum from 1 to 17.

St. Jerome. There are 153 kinds of fish. On the last day, all men will be gathered to the Lord.

God wants all men to be saved and to the knowledge of truth. But let us remember that we have the power to say no to God. God who created us without our con-sent can not save us without our consent. And sin is saying no to God.

2nd Sunday of Easter (C)

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
Jn 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst.
The body of Jesus was transformed in the resurrection. It no longer had the limitations of an earthly, physical body.

Peace be with you.
Shalom is the normal greeting among the Jews. But now it has a new meaning. At the Last Supper Jesus said: “My peace I give to you.” The peace that Jesus gives is salvation. “Salvation I give to you.” And why not? Through his death and resureection, Jesus has paid the price of our salvation.

He showed them his hands and his side.
Because Jesus was resurrected his appearance changed. Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize him either. His wounds were his ID. For his apostles to recognize him, he had to show them his wounds.
What are our identification marks? If people were to identify us by pointing out our qualities, would it be easy for them to name positive qualities? Or would they find it easier to identify us with our negative qualities?

A man went to work as an OFW. There he met a former colleague, an engineer. While they were reminiscing those days when they were still working in the Philippines, the engineer wanted to ask about another colleague. But he forgot his name. So he said: “Kumusta na si….yun bang mainitin ang ulo.”

If people were to describe us by our qualities, would they find it easier to point out positive qualities or negative qualities?

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In St. John’s gospel, the sending of the Holy Spirit occurred on Easter Sunday. On the other hand St. Luke reports that the sending of the Holy Spirit took place 50 days later, on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The great feast of the "Jewish Pentecost" is kept in remembrance of the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai, 50 days after the liberation of the slavery from Egypt (the Passover).

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his Church the sacraments of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood. On Easter Sunday, Jesus gave his Church the sacrament of Confession.

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
Sometimes when we are asked a question and we do not know the answer, we jokingly say that we were absent when the teacher taught that particular topic. Absence can be a problem. The search for a better future for their children force one or both parents to become OFWs and thus, are absent while their children a growing up. This may cause potential problem-children. But sometimes parents may be physically present but emotionally absent. There is a Readers’ Digest article about fathers who are emotionally absent, that is, they are emotionally distant from their children. It is the male children who are most negatively affected by this.

Students absent themselves from class by cutting classes. This does not only mean that these students miss learning a topic but it may lead to forming bad habits and attitudes towards studies. And since we are talking about studies, we should also mention that there are parents who are absent at school meetings and school activities. Parents must remember that the education children is a home and school partnership.

Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Do you believe that I have a P1000 bill in my pocket?

Once you see, you no longer believe. You already know. The bible says that to believe is to have confidence in things that we do not see. That is why when we reach heaven, we no longer need faith. There is no longer the need to believe in God. We already know there is God because we see him face to face.

St. John Bosco had this to say in his Memoirs of the Oratory: “I was not yet two years old when the merciful Lord hit us with a sad bereavement. My dearly loved father died unexpectedly.” And a little further, he notes the words of his father to his mother. “Strengthened by all the comforts of religion, he recommended to my mother confidence in God, then died, aged only thirty-four, on 12 May 1817.” Do we not have here two examples of great faith?

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas made a profession of faith here. He recognized Jesus as God.

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
Have believed what? That Jesus is alive? That Jesus is God? That Jesus is savior? What do you believe about Jesus? What do you believe about God?

Easter Sunday

I was looking at the schedule of a Baptist Church in Illinois. They do not have Mass but they do have an Easter Sunrise Service. While we have a dawn Mass for Christmas, we do not have a dawn Mass for Easter. Yet it seems to me that celebrating Easter at dawn is meaningful. Why? Because sunrise symbolizes very well the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What we have instead are the Easter Vigil and the Mass of Easter Day.

The liturgical rule is very strict regarding the time of the Easter Vigil. The first rule is: It can only be celebrated any time between nightfall and before dawn. The second rule is: you can not also celebrate it at the time you usually celebrate the anticipated Sunday Mass. Consequently instead of using sunrise to symbolize the risen Christ, we have to use the Paschal or Easter Candle.

What does the Resurrection of Jesus mean to us? Let us answer that question by reflecting on the symbolism of darkness and of light.

Darkness symbolizes death. What do you see outside the house when someone dies? You see a black cloth with the name of the funeraria (Funeraria De Mesa or Funeraria Dionisio). (To die is to rest. Dionisio is the best.) Light symbolizes life. When is the time of greatest activity? During the day. The city or town comes to life during the day.

Darkness symbolizes sin and evil. White symbolizes grace and goodness. When I was in kindergarten, our religion book had 2 drawings to illustrate a boy in the state of sin and a boy in a state of grace. The boy in a state of sin had a black heart and his guardian angel was crying. The boy in a state of grace had a white heart and his guardian angel was smiling.

Darkness is associated with fear and terror. When I was spiritual moderator, I would bring our retreatants toTagaytay. At night I would sleep with them in the dormitory. My bed would be near the door so that if anyone would need to go to the toilet but was afraid because it was dark, he could wake me up. On the other hand, light makes us brave. It gives us courage. When I was young, I used to watch Gabi ng Lagim. It is about ghosts, aswang and manananggal. If I were alone, I would close all the windows and open all the lights in the house. The lights made me brave.

Darkness goes with sadness and light with happiness. What do we say when dark clouds cover the sky and rain starts to fall? The heavens are crying (sadness). What do we say about a person who makes us happy? There is a song with the words: “You are the sunshine of my life.”

Hostile forces attack under cover of darkness. Almost everyday I visit the website of Pinoy Photorgraphy dot org. One day I was shocked to read about the death of one of the members. He was held up and shot to death. When did it happen? At night just outside their subdivision. On the contrary, friends do not hide under cover of darkness. They do not say things or do things behind your back—unless they are planning a surprise birthday party for you. You feel safe with your friends. You trust them. Danny Javier, Boboy Garrovillo, and Jim Paredes of the Apo Hiking Society can attest to this after more than 30 years of friendship starting at the Ateneo when they were still students.

What is our conclusion? Darkness is almost always associated with whatever is negative while light is almost always associated with whatever is positive.

The first part of the Easter vigil is the lighting of the Paschal Candle. There was darkness but the darkness gave way to the light when the Paschal candle was lighted. That means that Jesus can take away the darkness in our lives.

Then during the procession of the Paschal Candle, we lighted our own candles from the Paschal Candle. It means that Jesus can take away the darkness in our lives and fill it with light only if we go to him.

Are we under the power of sin? Let us go to Jesus so that he can flush out sin with his grace. Do we feel evil inclinations in our hearts? Let us go to Jesus so that he may awaken the goodness that is already there. This is why Don Bosco recommended confession and communion.

Are we confused and troubled? Let us go to Jesus so that he may give us his peace. Are we discouraged? Let us go to Jesus so that he may give us the strength to go on. Do we feel overburdened? Let us go to Jesus so that he may give us rest. This is why Don Bosco recommended visits to the Blessed Sacrament.

The things that I have said about Jesus, are they for real? Does he really do these things? Once Time magazine interviewed Mother Teresa. She was asked: “What is your greatest fear?” Her answer? “I have Jesus, I have no fear.” For Mother Teresa, Jesus is for real. He really makes a difference. Jesus too can make a difference in your life. All you have to do is go to him and give him a chance.