Author Archives: Friar Musings

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About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

Post-Easter Gospels

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Each Easter season the gospels are always taken from the Gospel of John. This is intentional and deeply theological. By consistently drawing from John during Easter, the Church ensures a theological and spiritual progression from the Resurrection to the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, helping the faithful grow in understanding and living out the Paschal Mystery drawing on the following:

Johannine Themes of Resurrection and New Life – The Gospel of John provides a profound theological reflection on Jesus’ Resurrection, emphasizing themes of new life, belief, and the presence of the risen Christ among His disciples. These themes align perfectly with the Easter season, which celebrates Christ’s victory over death and the new life He offers.

Post-Resurrection Appearances –  Many of the post-Resurrection accounts, including Jesus’ encounters with Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and the disciples by the Sea of Galilee, are found in John (chapters 20–21). These readings reinforce the reality of the Resurrection and its transformative power in the lives of believers.

The Good Shepherd and the Promise of the Holy Spirit – The Fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday,” and the Gospel is always taken from John 10, where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd. The later Sundays of Easter (especially leading up to Pentecost) feature readings from John 14–17, known as the “Farewell Discourse”, where Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, preparing the Church for Pentecost.

Liturgical Continuity and Catechesis – The Easter season is a time of mystagogy—a deepening of faith for the newly baptized. The Gospel of John, with its rich sacramental theology (e.g., Baptism, Eucharist, the gift of the Holy Spirit), provides ideal material for instructing and strengthening the faithful.

Image credit: The Meal – Jesus and his Apostles | James Tissot, ca.1890 | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US

Doors

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There are all kinds of doors in life.  

Doors that lead to new life.  We pass through them and life is changed.  Passing through the doors of high school graduation to the new world called college.  Entering a common life through the doors of marriage – or vows as a Franciscan friar.  What was the most significant/memorable door you have passed through into a new life? I bet almost everyone’s passing was accompanied by trepidation, uncertainty – maybe a tinge of fear – and yet we commit and we pass through to new life.

Not so with all doors.  There are doors that lock us out.  

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In my time

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Most of the regular readers of FriarMusings either know or have deduced that I am a graduate of the US Naval Academy – Class of 1974 to be exact. As a loyal alumni I follow the Academy via various channels and outlets. Recently the school made national news when it was reported that, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, some 381 books were removed from the school library. Removing these books was part of the current administration’s effort to eliminate DEI content from federal agencies and in this case from government military schools. Which books were removed? Hard to say as no list has been published – and, in any case, this post is not a comment about the action. The US Naval Academy is not a private university. It is a military installation with a base commander and all the midshipmen (students) are on active duty in the US Navy. In other words, they were given valid orders.

The Academy, as part of an ongoing lecture series, invited Ryan Holiday to speak to the midshipmen on April 14th.  Mr. Holiday had spoken at the Academy several times before. 

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The Ninth Beatitude

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In response, Jesus told Thomas, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Thomas came to believe because he saw the risen Lord, but Jesus did not praise Thomas’ pathway to faith; rather, he pronounced a blessing upon those who have not seen the risen Jesus yet have believed in him nevertheless. These are those who hear or read the witness to Jesus borne by the disciples and confirmed by the Spirit (15:26–27). This is the second pronunciation of blessing by Jesus in the form of a beatitude in the Fourth Gospel (cf. 13:17: “If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.”)

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Thomas

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This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. The gospel is taken from John 20:19-31, the scene in the Upper Room on the evening of the Resurrection. In today’s post we briefly consider the passage known as the “Doubting Thomas” verses:

“…do not be unbelieving, but believe.”  24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

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The Spirit and forgiveness of sin

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This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. The gospel is taken from John 20:19-31, the scene in the Upper Room on the evening of the Resurrection.  In today’s post we briefly consider:  22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

The sacred writer had already introduced the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 7 in a scene during the Feast of Tabernacles in which the Spirit is promised at a future time when Jesus was glorified. In the Fourth Gospel it is at the crucifixion that Jesus is glorified in that his willing obedience manifests the nature of God, which is love. It is there on the cross that Jesus delivers the Spirit into the world (19:30), symbolized immediately afterward by the flow of the sacramental symbols of blood and water. 

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Unforeseen Destiny

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It began as a childhood dream and took flight before he had even been to the Naval Academy. Through combat missions, test pilot school and into space— MajGen Charles Bolden ’68, USMC (Ret.) shares his remarkable story of how a single letter launched a journey he never could’ve imagined, nor will he forget. In this Legacy of Valor: Vietnam War video, Bolden, a 2018 Distinguished Graduate, shares how leadership and courage are built far beyond the battlefield—because sometimes, the hardest moments are what prepare us for liftoff.

Charles Frank Bolden Jr. is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions, and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with the class of 1968.

Bolden was a Marine aviator flying the A-6 Intruder in combat in Vietnam, later becoming a test pilot, and later became an astronaut, flying four Space Shuttle missions. After his service as an astronaut, he became Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy.

On May 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Bolden as Administrator of NASA.

Behind the Scene

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In the gospel reading for today we share the story of the two disciples on that first Easter heading home discouraged by the events that had unfolded with the death of Jesus. By the time that Cleopas and his unnamed companion had walked with Jesus the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, the evening darkness had descended upon them. When Jesus acted as if he would continue walking, they implored him, “stay with us, for the day is almost over.” And so they had dinner at Emmaus.

During the day the men hadn’t recognized the resurrected Jesus, but at dinner “their eyes were opened” in the breaking of the bread and they understood what had happened. They immediately returned to Jerusalem and told how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. They added their testimony to the earlier testimony of the women who’d visited the empty tomb.

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So I send you

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This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. The gospel is taken from John 20:19-31, the scene in the Upper Room on the evening of the Resurrection. In today’s post we consider the phrase, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  The Fourth Gospel often speaks of Jesus being sent into the world by the Father: to do his will (6:38–39; 8:29), to speak his words (3:34; 8:28; 12:49; 14:24; 17:8), to perform his works (4:34; 5:36; 9:4) and win salvation for all who believe (3:16–17). 

That these same actions would be expected of the disciples, continuing the words and works of Jesus, is foreshadowed at various places in the Gospel.

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Holy Water

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An empty church in Heerlen, Netherlands, is set to receive a second life, with plans underway to convert the vacant building into a public swimming pool called Holy Water. The St. Francis of Assisi Church was last used as a space for religious activity in 2023, and Dutch architecture firms MVRDV and Zecc Architecten were tapped to design the renovation of the building. The plans will preserve the church’s historic features while giving it a new way to serve the community.

The project’s website says: “A swimming pool will be added to the nave, and current designs show the pool with an adjustable flooring to create different depths. If raised all the way for special events, the floor will hold a shallow layer of water to create the illusion of walking on water while reflecting the interior of the church.”

In the United States, the Catholic Church learned to remove all religious elements of a church once it is deconsecrated. There were stories of an early sale of a church in Portland where the the space was turned into a night club and the confessionals become “phone booths.” Could be apocryphal, but it is something to consider.

One person speculated that the pews would become pool-side benches, the ambo/pulpit a lifeguard stand, the confessionals changing booths, and the list went on.

It is sad that the facility is not longer needed or maintained as a church. But as a former competitive swimmer….