Alleluia, Christ is risen.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:45-48
Jesus once again appears to a group of His disciples, and He once again gets straight to the point. He “opened their minds” so that they would understand all that the Scriptures revealed about Him. He helped them see that His death and Resurrection fulfilled the teachings of Moses and the prophets. And then Jesus says something new: “You are witnesses of these things.”
Jesus had to carefully explain to His disciples the meaning of what had just taken place. They needed to understand this on a level they couldn’t comprehend. They needed Jesus’ clear explanation, and their minds were opened to an understanding of these mysteries of faith.
We are no different from these disciples. It’s easy to believe in Jesus for insufficient reasons, resulting in superficial faith. Some believe simply because that’s what they were taught when they were young. Some believe because it makes them feel better about believing. Some believe because they don’t know of anything better to believe. But then some believe for the right reason. Like the disciples in this resurrection appearance, they have listened to Jesus speak clearly and in detail to them, such as through their study of Scripture, and through their prayers. Then they were given a special grace from God that “opened their minds” to an understanding far beyond human rational abilities alone. Are you one of those people?
If you are, then you have another duty. You must continue to live out these truths, allowing them to deepen and change your life entirely and totally, and you must also become a “witness” to these things. When you grow in an authentic knowledge of the faith revealed by our Lord, you must also share it with others. Genuine faith must be shared!
He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
Every blessing
Father Paul