“Trusting in the goodness of the Lord and with hope in the mercy of the Lord, let us, tell the Lord, ‘Yes, Lord, I love you!’”

(Based on Acts 25:13b-21 and Jn 21:15-19 – Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter)

A young man was supposedly crazy about his girlfriend.

He spent an entire evening telling the girl how much he loved her.

He said that he couldn’t live without her…
… that he would go to the ends of the earth for her
… yes, go through fire for her, or die for her.

But as he was leaving he told her,
“I’ll see you tomorrow night dear…
…. if it doesn’t rain!!”

A whole evening was spent on lavishing sweet words of love…

But as he left her…
…. he made conditions in his expression of love
… he put forward clauses in his demonstration of love

How often is our love also such..

We tell to people in our live that we love them…
… but fail to show it in actions
We tell to others that we care for them a lot…
… but do not show them in deeds

And how much more true is this in the case of our love of God…
… we profess our sentiments of love, but fall short of living it up in our commitment

The Gospel of the day presents St Peter grappling with his weaknesses in expressing his love for his Master…
… and Jesus, knowing very well the frailties of his chosen one, entrusting great responsibilities on him.

Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles, engages in a special one-to-one conversation with the Peter, the leader of the chosen ones…

It’s interesting to see the choice of the Lord for Peter as the leader of His chosen ones.

Peter was a fisherman by profession…

Like the waves, his faith and trust in the Lord would also often waver…
Like the winds blowing heavily, his zeal for the Lord would also often vacillate…

Yet, the Lord chooses him to be a “fisher of man” for His Kingdom…. expecting him…
… to be like the fish – finding life and vibrancy only by being in the waters of grace and mercy
… to be like the net – gathering up the children of God and keeping them together
… to be like the boat – not being stuck on the shores, but ready to launch into the deep waters of evangelisation

Peter had undoubtedly a lot of interest and zeal in the Lord… and in His Mission.

Yet by nature, he tended to be more emotional… indecisive…fluttering
And this caused him to deny the Lord three times, during the passion of the Lord..

But the Lord, in His infinite mercy, restores the brokenness in the relationship, with His healing love.

Our lives too, so often, resembles that of Peter.

We fluctuate in our commitments to the Lord…

We easily break many of the resolutions made to the Lord…
We very often go astray, despite having experienced much love from the Lord…

Yet, Jesus does not abandon us.

Like the Shepherd, who comes after His lost sheep…
Like a Potter, who remoulds His work when dis-shaped…
Like a Physician, who attends with patience for His ailing patient…
The Lord comes to us…
And with much hope puts forward the same question, that He asked Peter:
“Do You love Me?”

The Lord awaits an answer…

It will be easy to jump in and say “Yes, Lord, I do love you”.

But…

Let our answer, not just be triggered by emotional feelings…
Let our answer, not be simply impelled by a ritualistic custom…

Rather, from the depth of our inner-being…
… acknowledging our sinfulness and failures…
… realising our weaknesses and shortcomings…

Yet…
… trusting in the goodness of the Lord
… hopeful in the mercy of the Lord
Let us tell the Lord…
“Yes, Lord, You know everything….

You know, I love you!!”

Let us today seek the intercession of St Norbert of Xanten (c. 1075-1134) – a nobleman, courtier, ascetic, legendary peacemaker, and an exemplar of the apostolic way of life
… a priest who founded the Norbertine Order in the 12th century on the basis of love, selfless sharing and radical hospitality.

Let us give heed to his words: “You will never enjoy the sweetness of a quiet prayer unless you shut your mind to all worldly desires and temporal affairs.”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society

Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents.
Each and everyone should be generous and tireless in forgiving one another for offenses, quarrels, injustices, and neglect.
Mutual affection suggests this.

The charity of Christ demands it. (CCC # 2227)