3 April 2027 · Latin Rite
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“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”” Mark 16:15
The council looks at Peter and John and is puzzled. These are not scholars trained in the law; they are “uneducated and ordinary men,” fishermen from Galilee. Yet they speak with a boldness that cannot be explained by learning. Then the leaders understand where it comes from: they “recognized them as companions of Jesus.” Time spent with Jesus had left its mark. And there is something they cannot argue against: “When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” A man who had never walked now stands in the middle of the court. So they send the Apostles out and talk among themselves: “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it.” Their only plan is to stop the news from spreading: “let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
Peter and John give an answer that has inspired Christians in every age of persecution: “Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” They are respectful; they do not insult the council or stir up the crowd. But they will not be silent about the truth. They have seen the Risen Lord; they have heard his voice; to keep quiet would be to deny what is real. The leaders threaten them again and let them go, because “all of them praised God for what had happened.” The Psalm gives the Apostles' song of victory: “The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” And, from the lips of the risen Christ himself: “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.” The Church is bound to obey lawful authority in all that is just; but when any power commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, the Christian must answer as Peter did.
The Gospel is taken from the ending of St Mark, a short summary of the Easter appearances. Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene, “from whom he had cast out seven demons.” She goes and tells the disciples, who are “mourning and weeping,” but “they would not believe it.” He appears “in another form” to two of them walking into the country, the Emmaus disciples, and again “they did not believe them.” At last he appears to the Eleven at table, “and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” It is a surprisingly honest page. The first witnesses of the Resurrection were not credulous people looking for a miracle; they were slow, sad and hard to convince. That is why their faith, once it came, is so trustworthy.
And then, to these very men who had doubted, Jesus entrusts the whole world: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” He does not wait for perfect disciples. He sends the forgiven, the slow of heart, the ones who were rebuked a moment earlier. The two readings meet here: the Apostles who once would not believe are now the ones who “cannot keep from speaking.” The Octave of Easter ends tomorrow, but its message is just beginning. The Collect prays that God, who gives increase to the peoples who believe, may clothe the newly baptized with blessed immortality. In ancient Rome the neophytes wore their white baptismal garments all through this week and laid them aside at the end of it; the white garments were put away, but the life of Christ they signified was meant to be carried into every street and home.
Theme: “We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Companions of Jesus, obedience to God, and slow disciples sent to the whole creation.
“The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” Psalm 118:14
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.” Acts 4:13
Apply: Give the Lord a fixed quarter of an hour each day this week, so that your words may come from time spent with him.
“If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” Jeremiah 20:9
“for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
Apply: If you are pressed this week to stay silent about what is right, answer kindly and truthfully, and pray for the one who pressed you.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news,” Isaiah 52:7
“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”” Mark 16:15
Apply: Make a good confession before Divine Mercy Sunday, and then tell one person what the Lord's mercy means to you.
The Apostles were bold because they had been with Jesus, and they would not deny what they had seen.
The Risen Lord sends forgiven and once-doubting disciples into all the world.
Take-home resolution: Pray daily this week: “Lord, let me be with you, and send me.”
Dear friends, the leaders look at Peter and John and see ordinary men, fishermen without formal training. Yet they speak with a boldness that astonishes everyone. And the leaders understand: they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
That is the secret of every true witness. Not cleverness, not money, not position, but time spent with Jesus. If we pray, read the Gospel and come to Mass, people will see it in our faces and hear it in our words.
The council orders them never again to speak in the name of Jesus. Peter and John answer: whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19–20). They are respectful, but they will not deny the truth.
The Gospel tells us something surprising. The Eleven did not believe Mary Magdalene. They did not believe the two disciples from Emmaus. When Jesus came, he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness (Mark 16:14). The Apostles were not easy believers. Their faith was won by the Risen Lord himself.
And yet, to these same slow disciples, Jesus says: go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). He does not wait until we are perfect. He sends us as we are, forgiven and loved.
Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday. Today is a good day to make a good confession and finish the novena. Let us ask for the grace to be with Jesus, so that we too cannot keep from speaking of him. Alleluia. Amen.
Children, some leaders told Peter and John: do not talk about Jesus! But they said: we cannot stop, because we have seen him alive!
Jesus wants us to tell everyone that he loves them. Who can you tell about Jesus today?
O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with favour on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Let us also pray: Lord Jesus, you were patient with disciples who were slow to believe, and you sent them into all the world. Keep us close to you, so that people may see that we have been with you; give us the courage of Peter and John, and let us never keep silent about what we have seen and heard. Alleluia. Amen.