A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Acts 25:13b-21
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea on a visit to Festus. Since they spent several days there, Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There is a man here left in custody by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and demanded his condemnation. I answered them that it was not Roman practice to hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusers and had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge. So when they came together here, I made no delay; the next day I took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in. His accusers stood around him, but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected. Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive. Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these charges. And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to John Jn 21:15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a 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. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. Reflecting on the final phase of the lives of these great figures, made me think of homes for elderly priests and religious sisters which he called “shrines of apostolic life and holiness”. In these homes, one will find “good elderly priests and sisters who live under the weight of solitude, and who wait for the Lord to come to knock at the door of their hearts”. Unfortunately, we tend to forget about these shrines. (Santa Marta, 18 October 2013)
FAUSTI - "Do you love me? These are the words of Jesus, who died and rose again to Peter. Every reader hears them addressed to himself, as the objective, or rather, the beginning of the whole Gospel. ...After the banquet, the respective roles of Peter and the beloved disciple are clarified. It is about Peter's service, his following and his martyrdom. His ministry is seen in close relationship with the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved. Every institutional aspect is animated and measured by love, otherwise it has nothing to do with Jesus and His commandment. The Church is an institution that has love as its beginning and freedom as its end. After the dialogue, centered on love, there is the call to follow the Beautiful Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. Jesus addresses Himself to Peter within the community of disciples. The wound of his triple denial, which Jesus predicted, still remains open. But this is not the final word. His sin opens him to a new history: it makes him capable of understanding the mystery of the Lord as forgiveness and weakness, his own and others', as a place of greater love. These words addressed to Peter and to each of us who hear them are striking. A God who asks me: "Do you love me?" is tender. After having revealed His extreme Love to us on the cross, He can now forcefully expose this request, which is fundamental for anyone who loves: love desires to be loved. . It is that love whose strength is the weakness of one who exposes, disposes and lays down his life for the beloved, washes his feet and gives himself to him without reserve, as in the morsel offered to Judas. Jesus asks Peter if he has accepted the love he has shown him. Now, after the cross, he can understand it. Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than others in order to reduce his claim to be better than others. But that's not all: love has "more" as its spring. It is in fact always a competition. But not with others, but with oneself, to overcome selfishness, pride and fear. Love is always a "more" - if it does not grow, it diminishes - in humility and dedication. It is our participation in the 'magis' of the 'majesty' of God Love, in whose image we are created. Our heart, in fact, is driven by the insatiable desire for more without end. Once is not enough: Jesus' question will always be repeated again and again. The consciousness of His Love must be without limits, like our fragility and capacity for oblivion. The words between Jesus and Simon of John are a healing dialogue. Peter's second answer is identical to the first. It confirms his friendship, founded not on himself, but on Him who knows everything. Jesus reaffirms His trust in Him. Pascular, a broader term of grazing, indicates the action of the Shepherd who leads the flock (Sl 23). This third time is emphasized in its diversity from the others and recalls the triple denial Jesus now questions him about what Peter twice said. Are you sure you are his friend? He wants to make him explicit that this security is there, but it does not come from his ability, but from the experience of the triple denial. Thanks to it he has experienced the forgiveness of the One who knows him better than he knows himself, because he loves him more than himself. Only then is he sure that nothing can now separate him from God's love. Not from his love for God, but from God's love for him in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:32-39). His certainty is no longer presumption, because it is based on "You know". Peter is opposed to the memory of his infidelity. Yet this is the very foundation of his "loving more". as Jesus asked him in the beginning. It is in his infidelity that he experiences who the Lord is, faithful and merciful. Peter still considers his infidelity as a shadow, a source of sadness, not as the light and joy of forgiveness. That is why Jesus continues the healing dialogue with him. The unity of brothers can only be based on forgiveness.
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
RispondiEliminaActs 25:13b-21
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea
on a visit to Festus.
Since they spent several days there,
Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying,
“There is a man here left in custody by Felix.
When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews
brought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.
I answered them that it was not Roman practice
to hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusers
and had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.
So when they came together here, I made no delay;
the next day I took my seat on the tribunal
and ordered the man to be brought in.
His accusers stood around him,
but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected.
Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.
Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy,
I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem
and there stand trial on these charges.
And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody
for the Emperor’s decision,
I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 21:15-19
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a 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.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. Reflecting on the final phase of the lives of these great figures, made me think of homes for elderly priests and religious sisters which he called “shrines of apostolic life and holiness”. In these homes, one will find “good elderly priests and sisters who live under the weight of solitude, and who wait for the Lord to come to knock at the door of their hearts”. Unfortunately, we tend to forget about these shrines. (Santa Marta, 18 October 2013)
FAUSTI - "Do you love me? These are the words of Jesus, who died and rose again to Peter. Every reader hears them addressed to himself, as the objective, or rather, the beginning of the whole Gospel. ...After the banquet, the respective roles of Peter and the beloved disciple are clarified.
RispondiEliminaIt is about Peter's service, his following and his martyrdom. His ministry is seen in close relationship with the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved. Every institutional aspect is animated and measured by love, otherwise it has nothing to do with Jesus and His commandment.
The Church is an institution that has love as its beginning and freedom as its end. After the dialogue, centered on love, there is the call to follow the Beautiful Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep.
Jesus addresses Himself to Peter within the community of disciples. The wound of his triple denial, which Jesus predicted, still remains open. But this is not the final word.
His sin opens him to a new history: it makes him capable of understanding the mystery of the Lord as forgiveness and weakness, his own and others', as a place of greater love.
These words addressed to Peter and to each of us who hear them are striking.
A God who asks me: "Do you love me?" is tender. After having revealed His extreme Love to us on the cross, He can now forcefully expose this request, which is fundamental for anyone who loves: love desires to be loved.
. It is that love whose strength is the weakness of one who exposes, disposes and lays down his life for the beloved, washes his feet and gives himself to him without reserve, as in the morsel offered to Judas.
Jesus asks Peter if he has accepted the love he has shown him. Now, after the cross, he can understand it.
Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than others in order to reduce his claim to be better than others. But that's not all: love has "more" as its spring.
It is in fact always a competition. But not with others, but with oneself, to overcome selfishness, pride and fear. Love is always a "more" - if it does not grow, it diminishes - in humility and dedication. It is our participation in the 'magis' of the 'majesty' of God Love, in whose image we are created. Our heart, in fact, is driven by the insatiable desire for more without end. Once is not enough: Jesus' question will always be repeated again and again. The consciousness of His Love must be without limits, like our fragility and capacity for oblivion.
The words between Jesus and Simon of John are a healing dialogue.
Peter's second answer is identical to the first. It confirms his friendship, founded not on himself, but on Him who knows everything. Jesus reaffirms His trust in Him. Pascular, a broader term of grazing, indicates the action of the Shepherd who leads the flock (Sl 23). This third time is emphasized in its diversity from the others and recalls the triple denial Jesus now questions him about what Peter twice said.
Are you sure you are his friend? He wants to make him explicit that this security is there, but it does not come from his ability, but from the experience of the triple denial. Thanks to it he has experienced the forgiveness of the One who knows him better than he knows himself, because he loves him more than himself.
Only then is he sure that nothing can now separate him from God's love. Not from his love for God, but from God's love for him in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:32-39).
His certainty is no longer presumption, because it is based on "You know".
Peter is opposed to the memory of his infidelity. Yet this is the very foundation of his "loving more". as Jesus asked him in the beginning. It is in his infidelity that he experiences who the Lord is, faithful and merciful. Peter still considers his infidelity as a shadow, a source of sadness, not as the light and joy of forgiveness.
That is why Jesus continues the healing dialogue with him.
The unity of brothers can only be based on forgiveness.
--> " FOLLOW ME ! " Jh 21,18 - 19
RispondiElimina