Presence

The more we call on the Lord, the more we can feel His presence. Day by day, He draws us closer to His loving heart.

Freedom

“In these days, God taught me
as a schoolteacher teaches a pupil.” (Saint Ignatius).
I remind myself that there are things God has yet to teach me,
and I ask for the grace to hear them and let them change me.

Consciousness

Lord, You are present in all things
and when I take time to simply sit and be with You,
my mind rests
and I feel Your peace.

The Word of God

¹After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. ²Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ³Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. ⁷That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. ⁸But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

⁹When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Inspiration

We read here that Peter felt hurt that Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?‘ We know that Peter had already met Jesus alive and there had been a reconciliation, hence Peter’s eagerness to jump out of the boat to come to Jesus. We too have been reconciled with God through his forgiveness of our sins. Let us be eager to meet him now in prayer.

Peter said, ‘Lord, you know everything.’ We can say, ‘Lord, you know too my lack of love, but you know that I want to love you.’

Conversation

On reflecting on today’s Gospel, is there anything I believe God wants me to hear or know at this time? What truth does He want to speak into my life today?

Conclusion

I thank God for His gift of love
as I go forth with joy and hope
to serve His people.

Amen