Catholic Gospel Reflection: The Apostles' First Apostles | Easter Sunday (Year A)

Can small acts of faith change the world?

On this Easter Sunday 2026, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by looking at the "forgotten co-conspirators" of the Paschal Mystery. While the world focused on the powerful, God was working through an underground network of Catholic women, children, and social "nobodies" to make the Resurrection known.

In this episode of Rebel Saints, Nicole Olea dives into the lives of those who stayed when others fled. From the financial support of Joanna and Susanna to the bold witness of Mary Magdalene, we explore why the Catholic Church honors these women as the first apostles to the Apostles.

Inside this Easter Episode:

• The Women of Galilee: How their "yes" provided the means for Jesus’ public ministry (Luke 8).
• St. Dismas (The Good Thief): A deep dive into the patron saint of "latecomers" and why his plea for mercy is the ultimate Easter message.
• Hidden Heroes: The roles of Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and even the boy with the five loaves and two fish.
• The Power of Small Fidelities: Why your tithe, your parish volunteering, and your quiet prayers are the "underground network" building the Kingdom today.

Key Scripture & Catholic Teaching Mentioned:

• Luke 8: The women who accompanied Jesus.
• John 19-20: The Passion and the Empty Tomb.
• 1 Corinthians 1:26-29: God choosing the weak to shame the strong.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): On the reality of the Resurrection and the Mercy of God.

Topics covered in this episode: Catholic Easter Reflection, St. Dismas and the Good Thief, Women in the Gospel, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Catholic Women's Ministry, Joseph of Arimathea, Biblical History, Catholic Saints, Mercy of God, and the Paschal Mystery.

A Message for the "Restless Heart": Whether you feel like a "nobody" in the Church or you're a busy parent struggling to raise children in the faith, this episode is for you. Easter proves that no one is too far gone for God’s infinite mercy. Just show up. Say yes.

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Transcript

Rebel Saints - Easter Sunday 2026

00:00:11 Speaker: Hello. Happy Easter. He is risen. Welcome to Rebel Saints podcast. My name is Nicole and I am your host. You know, Easter usually comes at us with those big, beautiful, triumphant moments. The empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus joy just bursting out of everyone's pores. That's amazing and wonderful. As I was thinking about, what I wanted to talk about today. I started thinking. Thinking about the people, surrounding the events of the resurrection and all through Jesus public ministry. That essentially made the resurrection story possible.

00:00:51 Speaker: You know, like we always say, we wouldn't have had Jesus without Mary's fiat. Right? Like without her. Yes. Well, I kind of was thinking maybe the resurrection wouldn't have been possible without the people that supported Jesus's ministry. You know, the ones who actually kept the movement alive when it looked like it was collapsing. And which led me then to thinking about, you know, the people in our local churches. For my I myself have worked or volunteered in churches for most of my, my adult life. And oftentimes the people that help our churches run, most of them are volunteers, right? So their giving of their time and treasure to their local churches. And so too did the people who helped ensure Jesus's ministry could move forward. We're talking about the ones who fed him and housed him during his public ministry. And we're there, you know, with him at the foot of the cross and in those dark moments after his crucifixion. And, you know, as we read through the text, it does become clear, I think, that there was this kind of underground network of people the Gospels barely name, right. Women, children, essentially nobodies, ordinary human beings whose small. Right. So I'm always thinking about Saint Theresa's small, faithful actions created conditions for everything that happened. And right at the center of that network was a dying criminal named Dismas, The Good Theif who in his final breaths, shows us why Easter belongs first to people like him. And when you see how their lives are connected to the Paschal Mystery, it changes how we understand our own place in the story. And kind of what got me thinking about that is, last week, on Facebook, one of my friends, father Ian VanHeusen, he, posted, you know, a commentary on, on something he was writing, like comparing something he wrote and then putting it in AI and having them like, um, decipher it essentially. But one of the things that he had written and I had never kind of heard it phrased this way and it's like, you know, like when you read something and it kind of is just like, okay, that's going to live with me like forever. And what he said was the soul participates in God's eternity. And so I was like, wow, that's like, I mean, I didn't even know like what to think about it, honestly. Um, but really it's kind of amazing. right? All of these people, these souls, participated in God's eternity. And, you know, they they were essentially. Uh, a motley crew, right? A bunch of rebels. and it's amazing. Honestly, like when when you think about it, and if you read the passion accounts carefully, especially in the gospel of John,

00:04:13 Speaker: you can see kind of a shift that happens once Jesus is arrested. Because up until that point, in the movement, you know, the teaching crowds, miracles, public presence, there is that sense that something's building. And in Luke chapter eight, Jesus is traveling from town to town with the twelve, preaching the kingdom, right. Building that kingdom. And in the text it says some women were there with them too, right? Mary Magdalene, who had been healed of seven demons. Joanna, the wife of Chuza who managed Herod's household. Susanna and many others. Luke tells us they were helping to support them out of their own means. Think about what that actually meant in real human terms, right? Like we do that too. Like when we volunteer, when we tithe, when we're giving of our own time and treasure, we are helping further God's kingdom, right? And sometimes we think, well, what I can't, I don't have a lot to give. I don't have a lot of time. But the smallest of things, we don't know how much consequence that one little thing can have. And so. Their decision to support Jesus came from something that had already happened inside of them, an encounter with him that changed their lives so completely they were willing to risk their money, their reputations, their safety. Joanna. Especially like she kind of stands out to me because she's married into the very power structure that will eventually execute Jesus. Her support, like, isn't theoretical, right? Like, it's like, okay, yeah, like I'm going to like, she is there physically doing this so it can cost her something. And because she and the others choose to give from what they had, the ministry could keep moving. The preaching could continue their relationships with Jesus, could grow deeper. But then also they could be there when he was gone, um, to continue. His ministry. But that financial and practical faithfulness, right? It didn't just happen once, it carried them all the way to the cross. And I imagine there had to have been times where, you know, they they did this despite having doubt, despite being afraid, despite not knowing even what the obviously what the outcome would be. Some of them were there and they witnessed the miracles, right? Or they heard foretell of these miracles. So maybe we can think, oh, it's easier for them. But I think, like I said in my last episode, sometimes we just have to show up, right? And Jesus will use us. God will use us. We just have to show up. And that's what they did. So when the apostles scatter in fear during the passion, which makes sense. I mean, they are they're human. And that threat was real. The women stayed. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all record that fact. They are at the foot of the cross. They watch the suffering. They see the body taken down. Their presence there is the direct result of the loyalty that began back in Galilee. Now you have to understand the cultural context too, I think, to see how significant this is. In the first century, women weren't considered reliable witnesses in legal or public matters. Their testimony did not carry the same authority as men's testimony. That was the reality of the society the Gospel was written in. So if you are trying to construct a convincing account of the resurrection, if your goal is to persuade, right? You don't place the credibility of your claim in the hands of people whose testimony would be dismissed. And yet the gospel writers do exactly that. They record that the first witnesses of the resurrection are women. What this tells us is that the gospel is not structured according to what would be most persuasive by human standards, right? It is structured according to what actually happened. And what actually happened is that the people who remained close to Jesus at the end were not the ones with the most authority. They were the ones who showed up and refused to leave. Then comes the burial. There are also men in the story who appear briefly, but their actions however big or small. Let's say they were essential to moving this process, like to the entire process.

00:09:18 Speaker: And no, they weren't essential during the public ministry. But at the moment when there is nothing to gain essentially and everything to risk, they act right? because they don't know the resurrection is coming. They don't have that information that we have. And so one of them is Joseph of Arimathea, right? He's described as like a respected member of the council, which means he has standing influence. And I think obviously something to lose. And, you know, I think he was like an incognito disciple or like a secret disciple because maybe he was afraid at first, because he did, he had a lot to lose, right? Until after Jesus's death, he saw this innocent person be crucified and something happened. Something happened. Like something clicked in him, right? And so he found the courage to ask Pilate for the body. And he offered his own tomb. Without him, Jesus's body could have been discarded, which was common for people who had been crucified. Another figure is Nicodemus. He first came to Jesus under the cover of Night in John three. Then he shows up publicly after he's. He's died with a hundred pounds of burial spices. So yes, Joseph Arimathea provided the tomb. Nicodemus brought the spices. But it's the women who prepared the body and planned to return at dawn on Sunday. Their love creates the practical next step. Someone has to go back to the tomb. That decision, born from their fidelity and care, puts them exactly in the right place at the right time. So when the stone is rolled away and the angel speaks, they're the first ones to hear it. Their witness becomes the spark that reignites the apostles. When you put the pieces together, the pattern becomes clear. You can kind of see the cause and effect right? Their earlier. Yes. In supporting the ministry led to their yes at the cross, which led to their yes at the tomb. And because God chose to reveal the resurrection first to them, in a culture where a woman's testimony carried no legal weight, the entire Church is built on the foundation of the overlooked. Being trusted with the greatest news. That's how the theology of the Paschal Mystery works. In one Corinthians chapter one, verses twenty six through twenty nine, we learn that God raises what is lowly, so that no one can boast in their own strength. And then if we go back, we want to talk about lowly people, people who were considered, I think, like without a whole lot of value in this time were children. Right? And have you ever noticed in the Gospels, Jesus kept drawing attention to them, not as like a cute, like, oh, come here, you cute little thing, but as something essential to understanding the kingdom in Matthew nineteen.

00:12:26 Speaker: The disciples tried to shoo the kids away, but Jesus says, let the little children come to me. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Why? What is. What does that even mean? Right? The children receive. Without calculating the status of earning points. They trust. They bring whatever small thing they have. And so if we remember the boy in John six with the five loaves and two fish, the text calls him a little boy. He doesn't have a name. He doesn't have a plan, but he hands over his lunch when he needs. When the need is obvious, that small, unselfish offering becomes the material for the multiplication that feeds thousands. The cause is simple human generosity, right? Or maybe, I don't know. Maybe he felt intimidated. But, I mean, most kids will tell you, like, like whatever they're thinking and be very honest, right? And so seeing this generosity from someone too young to overthink it. The effect is a miracle that reveals who Jesus is, right? He's like, oh yeah, I can help. Like, here, take it. You know, like so cute. Even on Palm Sunday. It's the children shouting Hosanna in the temple while the adults are negotiating Jesus quotes. Uh, Psalm eight out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise. Their pure, unfiltered response creates space for truth. When the powerful stay silent, the kingdom advances because of how children simply show up and believe. Did you get that? They simply show up and believe. We have to try to have that same kind of childlike innocence and trust in God and just show up. Simon of Cyrene was minding his own business and got pulled from the crowd and ended up carrying the cross. Right? Mark even mentions his sons, Alexander and Rufus, because the early church knew the family. One reluctant act of service becomes part of the redemptive story. And his household ends up woven into the community. Paul later greets in Romans sixteen. It's crazy. And there are more nobodies, essentially, right? We have the dude carrying the water jug in Mark fourteen. We don't even know his name. Jesus tells the disciples to follow him into the house for the upper room. In that culture, a man carrying water was unusual because it was woman's work. We learned that at the at the well. The guy is deliberately signaling he's the safe house operator, the one who prepared the room in advance. No name, no title, he cooperated. And that makes the Last Supper possible. Okay. Each of these small fidelities the room, the tomb, the spices, the carried cross created the next link in that chain. Without them, there is no place for the Last Supper, no dignified burial, no woman at the tomb on Easter morning. The underground network wasn't glamorous. It was human beings saying yes in the most ordinary of moments.

00:15:34 Speaker: But each of those yeses compounded into the conditions for the resurrection. And then right in the middle of the crucifixion itself, we met the most radical member of this network. Um, and the crazy thing is he, he probably didn't even know that, that he, he would have been until the last moment. And that is the man. Tradition calls. Saint Dismas And, you know, if you go back to Luke twenty three, the scene unfolds. You've got two criminals being crucified alongside Jesus. One is mocking him, saying, save yourself and us. But the other turns and rebukes him and he's like, don't you fear God? Like, what is wrong with you, bro? Since you were under the same sentence, we are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he looks at Jesus and says, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. It is very easy, to begin thinking of salvation as something that can only be earned over time, as the result of consistent moral effort, or as a reward for those who manage to live well enough. Like, yeah, he did okay. But the church absolutely teaches that we are called to live virtuously, to grow in holiness and to cooperate with grace one hundred percent. But the story of Dismas prevents us from turning salvation into a system we control. Dismas is dying in agony. He's guilty. He admits it openly. There is no time left for good works, no chance to fix his past. But something in the sight of Jesus innocent suffering still radiating mercy. Even while nailed to that wood cracks open his heart. He sees the truth of his own sin. He sees the innocence of Christ, and that recognition produces the only thing he can offer a plea for mercy. Jesus response is immediate and complete. Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Not tomorrow. Not after some period of purification. Today, Catholic theology has always seen this as the perfect image of the infinite reach of the Paschal Mystery. The Catechism teaches that the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ is the fulfillment of all salvation history. And you can read that in the Catechism ccxi five hundred seventy one. And right there between two thieves, Jesus chooses to be executed in the company of human failure so that no one, no matter how broken and we're all broken here, okay, can ever say the mercy is not for them. Tradition gives us a beautiful legend about Dismas that years earlier, during the Holy Family's flight into Egypt, he was one of the robbers who encountered them on the road. Something in the face of the infant Jesus moved him and he let them pass unharmed. Thirty three years later, give or take, he meets those same eyes again on Calvary. Whether the legend is historical or devotional, the truth. It points to is real.

00:18:56 Speaker: One genuine encounter with Christ can reorient an entire life. Even at the very end. Now Dismas didn't earn Paradise through heroism. Quite the opposite, But he received it through trust in the reality of his last hours. He was naked, bleeding, suffocating. And he chose to throw himself on the mercy of the man dying next to him. And because God's mercy is not limited by our timetable or our track record, The first person to enter heaven with the risen Christ was a condemned criminal. And this is why Easter belongs first to the criminals and the lowly and the overlooked. I think this is where the Paschal Mystery reveals something deep about how God works with human reality. He doesn't wait for the perfect, the powerful, or the put together. He works through the women whose support kept the mission alive, the children whose trust modeled the Kingdom, the nobodies whose small contributions built that bridge that led us to Resurrection Sunday. And the thief whose last breath, opened the gates of Paradise. Saint Augustine put it in this way. There is no one so wicked that he cannot still hope for mercy, since even the thief was given Paradise. Pope Saint John Paul the second called, Dismas the saint of perfect contrition, a single honest act of turning toward God. That is enough. And that's why Easter belongs first to the criminals, the failures, the ones who know they don't deserve it. Because resurrection. It's not a reward. It is the victory of mercy poured out on the weak.

00:20:54 Speaker: The underground network shows us that every small act of faithfulness matters. Dismas shows us that it's never too late to say yes. As we enter into this Easter season, I challenge you to look for the co-conspirators in your own life. People whose faithfulness have carried you in moments when you've been the nobody who showed up anyway. You know, and something kind of just occurred to me. I've been calling like the people like nobody like because I kind of wrote that in my notes. Like they were they like there were nobody, we had no name for them, but obviously there was somebody that everybody counts. Every humans person matters. I want to just clarify that. they're not named in the Bible because. some of the most amazing things that happen in our world we never know the names of people that are doing these things, right. So they're not nobodies. there were obviously somebody we just we just don't know who they were. And so if you feel like a nobody is what I'm trying to say, you're not, you are somebody and you matter and you have dignity and you are beloved by God. Let's pray in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, thank you for the women who stayed, the children who trusted, the nobodies, who said yes in hidden ways. Thank you for Saint Dismas, who shows us that your mercy reaches even into our final breath. Help us to join this underground network right where we are with whatever small offering we have. And when our own last hour comes, let us hear those words spoken to Dismas, Today you will be with me in Paradise. Saint Dismas, pray for us. He is risen. And because of that, so can we. Happy Easter everyone. That's all I have for you for this episode of Rebel Saints podcast. I hope it helped you today. And if it did, please, uh, scroll right down and leave a review. Hit that follow button wherever you listen. And please share this with a friend. Share a link to this episode on your socials. Send it in a text, whatever. Um, it would mean so much to me and it really would help the show, um, get to a larger audience. God bless you. I love you and have a great week and I will see you, um, for the next episode. Bye.