Today is April 25, Friday in the Octave of Easter.
We read at today’s Mass, “But many of those who heard the word came to believe, and the number of men grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:4).
Easter continues! Every day of this sacred octave is another celebration of the Resurrection — a full week of solemnities to proclaim that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
In today’s first reading, Peter and John are brought before the religious authorities. Why? Because they healed a man and dared to speak the name of Jesus. That’s it. Their proclamation and the miraculous healing it confirmed were enough to stir unrest.
What’s striking is how simple their witness is. Peter doesn’t launch into a grand defense. John doesn’t present a flawless argument. They don’t try to game the system or craft a perfect rhetorical strategy. All they say is that Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, is risen, and by his power, this man has been healed.
Transforming hearts
This kind of bold, humble clarity calls to mind Jesus’ own words in the Gospel of Matthew: “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak … For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
How often we overthink our witness. We worry about finding the perfect words, especially when we long for loved ones to return to the faith. But the most powerful testimony isn’t necessarily the most eloquent. It’s the one that names Jesus, crucified and risen. That’s our task: to proclaim his name with confidence — not because of our skill, but because the Holy Spirit gives us voice.
Remember today that the simplest witness, offered in faith, can transform hearts. Not by our power, but by his.
Let us pray,
Almighty ever-living God, who gave us the Paschal Mystery in the covenant You established for reconciling the human race, so dispose our minds, we pray, that what we celebrate by professing the faith, we may express in deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
