“Seeing is believing!” As a people of faith, we believe even though we do not see.  The Risen Lord revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples over a period.  Even after they saw the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus’ appearances, their faith was weak. Once Jesus appeared to them, He showed them the wounds of His passion.  He told them to “see’ and “believe”. 

Jesus, in today’s gospel, commissioned the Apostles to “Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” In the Acts of the Apostles, they tell the Sanhedrin that it would be impossible for them not to speak about what they have seen. Just as Jesus commissioned the Apostles, He has commissioned us to share the Good News of the Resurrection to everyone around us. After we have seen and heard all Jesus has done for us, how could we not share the Good News with others?

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it”. (Psalm 118: 24) This gospel acclamation is sung during the Easter Octave. Nathanael, Zebedee’s sons, and the two other disciples who joined Peter when he said, “I am going fishing”, were not rejoicing after spending a night on the sea of Tiberias without catching anything – not even a small fish.