June 2nd 2019. The Ascension of Our Lord
GOSPEL Luke 24:46-53
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL Luke 24:46-53Jesus said to his disciples:
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
raised his hands, and blessed them.
As he blessed them he parted from them
and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage
and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and they were continually in the temple praising God.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Jesus’ Ascension shows us that our ultimate destination is the Father. Thus, our final goal is not really a place but a relationship with the God who made us. This goal becomes the yardstick or measuring the value of everything in our lives. If something does not lead me to heaven, then it must be rejected. But how can we live our lives as a journey to the Father? Jesus instructs us to stay in the “city”, to remain with the community of the Church, in the things of God. It is here that we will be clothed with the Holy Spirit. In Genesis, Adam breaks his relationship with God. He doubts God’s paternal embrace and seeks to hide from him. He covers himself with fig leaves, the things of the earth. We too distrust God and try to cover ourselves with the things of the earth – vainglory and success. And no matter how much we try to cover ourselves, we remain  incomplete. In Christ we gain a new garment, a new covering that is utterly unlike the worldly things that we use to hide ourselves. What is this garment? It is the gift of the Holy Spirit which gives us a childlike dependency on the loving providence of God. It is one thing to try to confront reality purely with our own abilities, and it is another matter entirely to hand our lives over to the Father, moment by moment. In these days between Ascension and Pentecost, let us begin to turn away from our worldly dependencies and prepare ourselves to be clothed in the providence of God.

Jesus’ Ascension shows us that our ultimate destination is the Father. Thus, our final goal is not  really a place but a relationship with the God who made us. This goal becomes the yardstick for measuring the value of everything in our lives. If something does not lead me to heaven, then it  must be rejected
This Sunday we see the Lord Jesus ascending to the Father, and we contemplate the revelation that the final destination of the risen Lord is not here below, but heaven. What lies beyond death? Our heavenly Father! Christ, in fact, does not rise just to resume living, but to bring to completion the human life that he assumed and bring it to the Father. Such is the goal of humanity. Our destination is not really a place, but a relationship. This can be experienced already in this life, every time we stop making absolutes of ourselves and open ourselves to a life as children of God. In those moments we enter into love and unleash our most authentic beauty. It is therefore vital to evaluate everything in the light of that joyful goal. If we are to live wisely, then we must apply a principle of discernment: what is not directed towards heaven has little value and must be neglected.

How can we live our lives as a journey to the Father? Jesus instructs us to stay in the “city”, to remain with the community of the Church. It is here that we will be clothed with the Holy Spirit.
We can ask ourselves: what does it mean to live life as a journey to the Father? In the Gospel passage
for Sunday, Jesus gives his disciples some directions: "Stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from above". These instructions are also for us today. The "city" is the place of the Christian
community, the place of the sacraments, the New Jerusalem, the liturgical assembly. The Lord
manifests himself in the Church's liturgy. If we "remain" in this assembly, then we receive the new
garment that comes down from above, the Holy Spirit.

In Genesis, Adam breaks his relationship with God. He doubts God’s paternal embrace and  seeks to hide from him. He covers himself with fig leaves, the things of the earth. We too distrust  God and try to cover ourselves with the things of the earth – vainglory and success. And no matter how much we try to cover ourselves, we remain incomplete.
The image of being clothed originates in Genesis: Adam sins and breaks his relationship with
God and realizes that he is naked. He doubts the paternal embrace of God and feels exposed and
fragile. And what does it do? He takes the things of the earth, the leaves from the trees, to cover
himself. But this does not give him the courage to face the gaze of that God whom he no longer
trusts. We dress with the things of the earth, with vainglory, successes, projects. And no matter how
much we try to cover ourselves, we remain incomplete and uncertain.

The Christian is clothed in the providence of God
But humanity receives in Christ a new garment, a new guise, a new role. What is a child of God dressed in? In the providence of God! The Gospel of Matthew says: "Do not worry, therefore, saying: ‘What shall we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ Your heavenly Father knows what you need." The heavenly garment, in other words, is the relationship with the Father, a childlike dependence that is the Holy Spirit. It is one thing to try to face reality with our own abilities and survival techniques, but it is another matter entirely to hand our lives over to the Father, moment by moment. These days between the Ascension and Pentecost are the time to strip ourselves of our earthly dependencies and be clothed from above. To ascend with Christ to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit is done "by remaining" in the city, in the Christian community, in the things of God. At that point, one is no more simply down here on earth; one lives "on earth as it is in heaven".

May 26^th 2019. Sixth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL  John 14:23-29

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL  John 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.'
If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . .

- Obedience flows from love: Jesus tells us that if we love him then we will keep his word. It is love that produces true obedience, not vice-versa. Yes, there is a form of slavish obedience that is possible without love, but what Jesus desires from us is the higher obedience that flows naturally out of love.

- If I keep Jesus’ words, then God makes himself present in my life: If we cherish Christ’s words, then this wonderful process begins: "My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him". God will be present in our daily lives and actions!

- The Holy Spirit has two functions: The Holy Spirit will become our teacher and guide. According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit teaches us and guides our memories.

- Is the Spirit’s teaching limited to certain areas? What does the Spirit teach us? Particular instructions for the “religious” part of our lives! No, the Holy Spirit’s function is to teach us everything! If there is an area in which I think I know everything, then I can be sure that this area is marked by mediocrity.

- Humility is essential before the Spirit can teach us: “To teach” means “to write within”. If our inner hearts are already covered in our own beliefs and priorities, then it is more difficult for the Holy Spirit to write in us anew. In order to learn, we need the beautiful virtue of humility! We must allow our cherished ideas and prejudices to be rewritten by the Spirit.

- The Holy Spirit is the master of reading the past: My memory needs to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. He can help me to see how God’s loving providence was active, especially in the areas of my life in which I have failed. He brings peace and helps me to see that my anxieties are unfounded.

Love leads to obedience, not vice-versa

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." According to Jesus, obedience does not produce love. It is the very opposite that is true – love gives rise to obedience. In the spiritual life, obedience is certainly very important, but full and complete obedience flows from love, not vice-versa. There is slavish obedience and then there is a higher form of obedience that originates in gratitude and affection. The Gospel passage describes this noble process. If someone loves Jesus, then he "observes" his word - he cherishes what Jesus has told him. And this is something that becomes even greater as our love for Jesus deepens: ". . . and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him". God "will make a home" in that person; he will be present in his daily life and actions. This is the experience of being guided by the Holy Spirit. “Paraclete" means "one who is called neighbour". This closeness of the Spirit makes him our "Comforter".

The Holy Spirit has two functions, to teach and to help us remember properly

According to Jesus, the Paraclete does two things: "He will teach you everything" and "He will remind you of all that I have told you". Teaching is not so simple. The problem is that we often think we have nothing to learn. For example, we think we already know what love is, yet love is not something that can be learned once and for all. It is an ever-new art. To love you have to start afresh every day, and we need the Spirit to teach us how. The verb "to teach" means "to write upon". The Holy Spirit wishes to write something new in us, but our inner page is already covered in beliefs and priorities that are difficult to change. That is why the wonderful virtue of humility is essential for authentic learning. He who is without humility does not learn and does not correct himself. Such a life will have difficulties in learning how to love.

What do we need to learn? Everything! If we think there is an area in which we know everything then we can be sure that this is an area marked by mediocrity

We could ask: what do we learn from the Holy Spirit? How to pray? How to behave? Yes, this too; but Jesus says that the task of the Spirit is to teach us ... everything! We need to learn all we do over and over again. The beautiful thing about Christian life is that everything is a constant discovery! And if there is an area of ​​life in which we believe we have nothing to learn, we can be sure that this area is marked by mediocrity. Everything in us needs to be continually renewed by the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit illuminates our memory and helps us to see the loving action of God towards us in all that has happened

The other task of the Spirit is to remind us of what Jesus said. This is essential because it is from the word of Christ that one is born again and becomes a coherent follower of the Lord. God has actually been speaking to us from childhood. How much we still have to understand and discover about our past! Above all, we need to comprehend better those areas in which we have refused God or failed in some way. In those events, God was telling us something that perhaps we have not yet accepted. The Spirit is the master of memory, of reading the past. When he illuminates our memory, he brings to light and envelops our existence in its truth. The text of our lives is connected to its beginning and to everything that has happened in the meantime. The Spirit teaches us how to keep the word of Jesus in our memories. He triggers the process with which we come to see the loving providence of God in all that has happened to us. This is the pathway to inner peace, where everything that might cause us anxiety is seen to be small.

May 19^th 2019.  Fifth Sunday of Easter
GOSPEL   John 13:31-33A, 34-35

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   John 13:31-33A, 34-35

When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the Gospel, Judas leaves the Upper Room to betray Jesus, and Jesus immediately begins talking about the glory of God! It might seem like a strange thing to talk about glory just before the moment of betrayal and ignominious crucifixion. We think of glory in terms of the vain hype and spectacle of the sporting or entertainment worlds. But the Hebrew word for “glory” refers to the weight or value of a thing. The glory of God is related to his love. It is at this very moment that Jesus gives his new commandment: to love one another as he has loved us. In the Old Testament, I was asked to love my neighbour as myself. I was the measure of love. Now, with Jesus, everything changes. His sacrificial love becomes the measure of true love. How am I to achieve this kind of love? With willpower? With my own efforts and capacities? No! Unfortunately many people in the Church continue to believe that it is a matter of effort and application. But love that depends on my own capacities will never arise above mediocrity. It is only when we are invaded by the love that Christ has for us that we become capable of loving in return. When we are immersed in Jesus, he begins to love in us. A valley echoes back a voice which comes from outside of itself. We must become like valleys that echo back the love of God. Like a valley, we do not produce the sound, but we do have the capacity to make it reverberate! A true Christian is not distinguished by his wonderful personal talents, but by the fact that he echoes back the love that he has encountered in Christ. This is the glory of God, this is the glory of Easter, a passage from an existence based on myself, to an existence based on the love that Jesus has for me.

What is God’s glory? A big show of light and sound?

Judas leaves the Upper Room and at that moment Jesus begins a strange line of discourse: "Now the Son of man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him". What is the connection between the glory of Jesus and Judas who betrays him? What is the glory of God? Does it involve a big external show of light and sound? No! In Hebrew "glory" means the weight of a thing, its substance, its truth. The glory of God, its specific weight, is love. This is why the liturgy this Sunday is careful to include the mention of the person of Judah in the Gospel. The Lord loves this man who will lead him to being massacred. Jesus continues to love the one who is about to sell him out for money. It is in the light of utter benevolence towards Judas (and towards each one of us) that Jesus speaks of his glory.

A new measure of love: we are no longer the parameter for true love; Jesus sacrificial offering becomes the yardstick

It is in such a dramatic context that the new commandment is given: "love one another, as I have loved you ..." This is very distinct from the old commandment of the Old Testament: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself". Here the parameter of love was myself: as I love myself, so I must love my neighbour. With Jesus’ new instruction, everything changes: we are still asked to love one another, but not as we love ourselves. Now we are asked to love as Jesus loves us. The criterion of love is not found in us but in Him. After Jesus' Passover, the disciples will have time to look back and understand that each of them, like Judas, was loved by Jesus despite his defects. In fact, all of them failed but all were loved regardless. What is the meaning of this Easter time we are celebrating? It is the passage from an existence based on ourselves to a new parameter of existence - the love that Christ has for us. It is an entrance into the glory of God, which allows us to love, not in the impoverished way that we love ourselves, but as He alone knows how to do.

When love remains a mediocre effort

How many, even in the Church, are deceived and tortured into believing that love is a matter of willpower! So long as I continue to think that love originates in my own abilities and is based on my individual characteristics, it will never take me beyond myself. Love that depends purely on my capacities will never arise above mediocrity. Christ alone shatters this closed circle, loving us in a way that goes beyond our narrow logic.  In Jesus, we find ourselves visited by a love that is greater than ourselves. And once we are invaded by his love, we discover that Christ loves in us. He knows us and knows that we are fragile and weak. Our love becomes one of response to His. Think of it the following way. In certain valleys, if one shouts aloud, the cry resounds with an echo. What is it that comes back? The sound of our own voice. This is what God does in us. He loves us and we are like a valley, which receives a sound from outside of itself. We do not produce the sound on our own, but we do have the capacity to make it reverberate. Christians are not distinguished by their personal skills, but by the fact that they are an echo of the love they have encountered. They do not love because they are so capable, but because they themselves have been loved. They have seen the glory of God, his limitless mercy, the love that Jesus manifested in his Passover. This is what makes them suitable bearers of gratitude and forgiveness.

May 12^th 2019.  Fourth Sunday of Easter
GOSPEL   John 10:27-30

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)

GOSPEL   John 10:27-30

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . This Gospel tells us so much about the spiritual life and about true discipleship! How are we to follow Jesus? How do we encourage others to follow Jesus? Should we give them a moral lecture, telling them all the norms that they need to observe? Should we frighten them into submission, warning them about the dangers of not following Jesus? All too often, our preaching has been of this sort! But in the Gospel for today, Jesus outlines a completely different way. He tells us that his sheep hear his voice. He knows them and they follow him. As a consequence, he gives them life, and this life leads them into communion with the Father. There is no imposition here or blind obedience! In fact, the Hebrew word for “obey” means “to listen”. Jesus speaks his word to us. If we are receptive to that word, then it penetrates within us and we feel known and understood by the Lord. This is what prompts us to follow Jesus! Of all the five senses, listening is the most important when it comes to receiving the Lord’s word. This listening leads us to be known by the Lord. To be known in Hebrew does not mean to have knowledge but to be in an intimate relationship. The foundation of my stability and security derives from my memories of the times when I have felt known and understood by the Lord. Let us cultivate our memory of these occasions! My weakness and my misery are not decisive! What is decisive is that the Lord has spoken his word to me, that he knows and loves me, and that he calls me to follow him in freedom.

Jesus is not looking for mechanical obedience from us; he is looking for true listening and openness to his word

The analogy of the sheep and the shepherd illuminates the relationship between God and us: the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd and they find pasture by his guidance. So too for us the sense of listening is vital: for faith, listening is the most important of the five senses, since the relationship with the Lord is conveyed by the reception of his word. In Hebrew the verb "to obey" does not exist. Instead, the verb "to listen" is used, because true listening implies an authentic openness to what the other person is saying. But for Jesus this listening leads to the deepest level, that of "knowing", which in Hebrew does not mean having information about someone or something, but being in an intimate relationship with someone. Being known by Jesus means experiencing intimacy with him and it is this which leads us to follow him.

We are called to follow Jesus, not in the sense of superficially agreeing with some code of behaviour, but because we listen to him and are loved by him

How beautiful it is when someone understands us deeply! Love implies understanding and the ability to perceive what is in the innermost centre of the other, in his heart. Jesus knows us - even if we do not fully know ourselves - and it is He alone who knows how to reveal our true identity. We are Christians not because we are superficially in agreement with what Jesus says, but because we feel known to him. Following him flows naturally from listening to his word and experiencing the relationship with him, which is something indelible and which marks us in a permanent and beautiful way.

The Lord speaks his word to me. If I receive that word with openness then I will know myself to be visited and understood by the Lord. This is the foundation of my self-confidence. The eternal has visited me. My misery and weakness are no longer decisive

The stability of our existence derives from our memory of the occasions in which we felt visited and understood by the Lord. If we succeed in keeping alive in our hearts the memory of such moments, no one will be able to shake us, because we are those sheep who "will not be lost ". In fact, that which is eternal has entered us through the word we have heard and through what we have celebrated in the sacraments. That I am weak and miserable matters less than the fact that Jesus really loved me. No-one can erase this fact that is written in my heart.

The word that the Lord is speaking to us draws us into unity with the Father and with each other. We may be anxious sometimes, but if Jesus is our shepherd then no harm can befall us. We must stick close to him and he will draw us into communion with the Father

And there is more: to know Jesus is to know the Father, or He who is "greater". There is always a certain anxiety lurking in our hearts, but to be Jesus' sheep means, precisely, to experience the Father who "is greater than all", and no one can tear anything from the hand of the Father. Saint Paul says: "If God is for us, who will be against us?" (Rom 8:31). No power in heaven and on earth, including death, can separate us from God's love. How much we torture ourselves with useless anxieties! We are like sheep that move away from the shepherd to affirm our independence, but all we succeed in doing is reducing our existence to a great chaotic struggle. Instead, we are called to live united to the very simplicity of God, hidden in that grand final phrase - "The Father and I are one" - which opens to communion without limits and to complete unity. This unity is love and it is the secret of God. We were born to receive a word from the Lord that makes us feel known (“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me . .”). That word leads us to the union that only the love of God can create. Union with Him and between us.

May 5^th 2019.  Third Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL   John 21:1-19

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   John 21:1-19

At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with you."
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something."
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught."
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?"
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus 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."
Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."
Jesus said to him the third time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was distressed that Jesus 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."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The disciples have gone back fishing but they are catching nothing. Isn’t this often true in the life of the Church? How often we seem to be doing nothing, having no results, going nowhere! Why does that happen? Because we take our eyes off the risen Lord! When Jesus appears and tells the disciples to throw the nets in a new direction, then a bountiful catch results. It is when we cease depending on our own egos and become attentive to the word of the Lord, that our lives become fruitful. But that is not all that happens in this Gospel. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Thus he leads Peter through a process of correction and healing for the threefold denial at the Passion. In fact, at the beginning of this Gospel, Peter was behaving just as he had during the Passion! He said, “I’m going fishing!” It is the old impetuous Peter who is following his own will. Jesus calls Peter to stop relying on himself and instead allow himself to “stretch out his hands and be led where he does not want to go”. In fact, the last line of this passage is, “Follow me!” This lesson is for all Christians. It is only when we cease to rely on ourselves and follow the Lord that our lives begin to bear fruit.

The apostles seem lost. They have gone back fishing but they are catching nothing. The Church often seems to be ineffective? Why? Because we fail to keep our eyes on the risen Christ.

The twenty-first chapter of John’s Gospel narrates the situation of the Church after the Resurrection of Christ in a symbolic and profound way. Simon Peter goes fishing with his brothers, but things do not go well and they catch nothing. In every age of history, there are times when the Church is ineffective, misunderstood and apparently lost. But why? The text deals precisely with this question, telling of an occasion when the risen Lord appears but is not recognized. The disciples’ failure to recognize him is not because of his inaccessibility but rather their own obtuseness: they fail to notice that Jesus is present.

Then the Lord enters the scene and gives them an instruction to do something new

Then the Lord bursts in with a question: "Children, do you have nothing to eat?" This forces them to recognize that things are not going well. Having obtained the admission of their own bankruptcy, he supplies the solution: "Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something". Behind this instruction there is a depth of meaning - as always in John’s Gospel - but at the basic level there is simply the indication to fish in a new way, according to the word of an Other, not depending simply on one's own initiative, as appears in the opening sentence of Peter – “I’m going fishing”. Following the instructions of this stranger, things start to work all of a sudden. The disciples go from a poor catch to bountiful results. This is what happened in the early Church when the disciples ceased to focus their efforts only on the children of Abraham and opened up to the pagan multitudes. The nets of the Church thus experienced a bountiful catch as crowds of Gentiles entered the legacy of the Messiah of Israel. All of this happened because Peter and his brothers stopped fishing in the old way and began to do something new. In the Gospel passage, the miraculous catch is followed by a shared meal, which represents the rediscovered intimacy with the Lord. It is an image of the Eucharistic liturgy where we truly encounter the Risen One.

Peter is led by the Lord through a process of healing and correction. It is only when we cease depending on our own egos that we bear fruit. It is only when we case our nets according to the instruction of the Lord that we can hope for a bountiful catch

But this intimacy with the Lord is not enough by itself. The Church must also be liberated from error. The Church is always in need of healing.  Peter is now asked three times to declare his love to the Lord because he had denied him three times. During this narrative we see the sadness of Peter. This sadness is the necessary and painful liberation from the mistake that he made, a consequence of the unacceptable attitude that led him to his betrayal. In fact, at the beginning of this Gospel passage, Peter had actually repeated his previous mistake: he had started on his own initiative - "I'm going fishing" - similar to his impetuous assertion before the Passion, "I'll give my life for you!" This is precisely the point: Peter will only give his life for Christ when he has learned not to rely on himself, but to cast the nets according to the word of his Lord, to live by letting himself be carried where he does not want to go. Previously, Peter had been enslaved by his own ego; now he has put on a new garment and is finally following Jesus. This is a fundamental lesson for all Christians: as long as our own will remains our starting point, the results will be ridiculous, like those empty nets. It is essential that our “fishing” is driven by attentiveness to His word, with a constant awareness of our own weakness and failures. Only then do we begin seriously to follow the Lord. And only then will we bear fruit.