Thursday Within the Octave of Easter
When the risen Jesus appears to His disciples, their first reaction is not joy but fear. They are “startled,” “terrified,” and “troubled”—caught between hope and disbelief, unsure whether what they are seeing is real. And into this swirl of emotion, Jesus offers not an argument, not a rebuke, but His humanity.
“Look at my hands and my feet. Touch me and see.”
Blessed Columba Marmion once wrote, “All the holiness God has destined for our souls has been placed in the humanity of Christ, and it is from this source that we must draw.” The disciples’ peace is restored not by ideas, but by encounter—by the nearness of the One who bears wounds, breathes peace, and eats a piece of baked fish in their presence simply to reassure their trembling hearts.
Jesus knows the anxieties and questions that rise within us. He knows how easily fear can overshadow faith. And so He meets us the same way He met them: with His humanity. With His nearness. With His peace.
“Peace be with you.”
These are not words of dismissal but of restoration—words that steady the heart and open it again to hope.
Peter’s preaching in today’s readings reminds us that repentance and conversion are not burdens but gifts. They are how God leads us into “times of refreshment,” how He blesses us “by turning each of us from our evil ways.” Renewal is not something we manufacture; it is something we receive when we turn toward the One who draws near.
Easter renewal comes through the humanity of Christ—through His wounds, His presence, His peace. He meets us in our fear and restores us with His love.
Scripture: “Look at my hands and my feet… Touch me and see.” (Luke 24:39)
Question: Where is Jesus offering you His peace today—quietly, gently, through His nearness?
Smitten With Goodness 