Good News On The Shore

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Friday in Easter Week 

Today's Readings:
[ Acts 4:1-12; Ps 116:1-8; Jn 21:1-14 ]

In the readings for Friday in Easter Week, we are drawn into a powerful tension between fear and boldness, scarcity and abundance, failure and restoration. And right in the middle of it all stands the risen Christ, quietly present, yet utterly transformative.

In Acts, Peter—once the one who denied Jesus—now stands before the authorities with astonishing courage. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he proclaims, “there is salvation in no one else”. This is not the voice of a man relying on his own strength. This is the fruit of resurrection grace. 

Then in Psalm 116, we hear the intimate gratitude of one who has been delivered: “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.” This is the prayer of someone who knows they have been lifted from the brink. It echoes the Franciscan spirit of joyful dependence—recognizing that every breath, every rescue, every mercy is gift.

Finally, in the Gospel reading, we find the disciples back at their nets—back to what they know, after all the upheaval. They fish all night and catch nothing. How familiar that feels. How often do we return to our own efforts, our own strength, and come up empty?

And then... Jesus.

Unrecognized at first, standing on the shore, He simply says, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat.” And suddenly, abundance. Not because the disciples became better fishermen, but because they listened.

Franciscan spirituality invites us into that same posture: simplicity, trust, and attentiveness to Christ’s voice. It is not about striving harder, but about surrendering more fully.

Peter, realizing it is the Lord, throws himself into the sea—impulsive, imperfect, but utterly devoted. And what does he find on shore? Not rebuke. Not disappointment. But a meal already prepared.

This is the heart of the Gospel: Christ meets us in our failure, calls us again, and provides what we could not secure for ourselves.

Today, we are invited to listen. To trust. To cast our nets where He directs.

And to recognize that even now, the risen Christ is waiting on the shore.

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