Living Scripture

FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

26 MAY 2024   TRINITY SUNDAY

WORD of the DAY 
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”                     (Matthew 28:  16-20)

How shall I live this Word?   

The solemnity we are celebrating today invites us to immerse ourselves in this great mystery of our faith. A very ancient hymn expresses with such depth the sense of this mystery. The first verse says, “Light is the Father, light from light the Son, light is the Holy Spirit, fire in our hearts. Holy Trinity, we worship you!” Light is an image that expresses the mystery of God. God is a mystery of love, truth, peace, eternity, sublimity, and love. All truths contained in evangelical revelation.

The door that immerses us in the participation of this mystery, of this light that transcends us is Baptism, the first sacrament that makes us members of the Ecclesial Community; a Community that has its roots in the Trinitarian Communion. In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus inviting His disciples to go to all peoples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I can go before this great mystery of the Trinity and the Word of God that was given to me today and ask myself, have I been baptized? have I deepened the meaning of my Baptism? How do I live the relationship with God, one and Triune in which I believe and have been immersed in my Baptism?

PRAYER TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, I trust and hope in You!

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, in the impenetrable Light of the Father who loves and creates;

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, in the Face of the Son who is the Word that is given;

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, in the burning Fire of the Spirit that gives life;

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, I trust and hope in You! You, who gave yourself to me, arrange for me to give everything to You: make me a witness of Your love,

in Christ my Brother, my Redeemer and my King.

Most Holy Trinity, Infinite Mercy, I trust and hope in You!

The voice of THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Incorporated into the Church through Baptism, the faithful have received the sacramental character that consecrates them for Christian religious worship. The baptismal seal enables and commits Christians to serve God through a living participation in the Church’s holy liturgy and to exercise their baptismal priesthood with the witness of a holy life and with active charity.” (No. 1273)

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

25 MAY 2024   SATURDAY 7 ORDINARY TIME

WORD of the DAY 
People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.                               (Mark 10:  13-16)

How shall I live this Word?   

This gospel touches the fibers of a fully human, Christian, and Salesian heart. How to prevent a child from approaching Jesus? How to rebuke him/her for this? If our mission is precisely to guide young people to Jesus and not only make our heart like that of a child, to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, it is an opportunity to ask forgiveness for the facts that in the times, in the Church and outside, her children have not been respected, have not been valued, and have been used, have been abused. We humbly ask forgiveness and invoke mercy and healing. We hope to be able to have the experience on this day of bringing children to Jesus, welcoming and blessing them, being a sign of God’s love for them. Woe to us if we are a stumbling block, a cause of scandal, for a child, for a young person. We can only bless them. May the Lord help us to welcome the gift of life, that no child is aborted, rejected, and abandoned. Children, young people, are God’s blessing for the world.

The voice of Saint John Bosco               Letter from Rome 1884

You have to use great kindness with young people, treat them well. May this sudden goodness and loving-kindness be a character to all superiors, none excepted. Oh! how fond young man is when he sees himself well treated! He puts his heart in the hands of his superiors. XII,88.  Familiarity brings affection and the effect brings confidence. XVII,108. That is, it opens hearts and young people show everything without fear to teachers, assistants, and superiors.  He will say of those who hurt his boys: “If it were not a sin, I would choke them with my hands”. “Familiarity with young people especially in recreation. Without familiarity love is not shown and without this demonstration there can be no confidence. Who wants to be loved must show that he loves. Jesus Christ made Himself small with the little ones and carried our infirmities. Here is the teacher of familiarity. The teacher seen only in the chair is a teacher and no longer, but if he goes to recreation with the young, he becomes like a brother. If one is seen only preaching from the pulpit one will say that he does neither more nor less than his duty, but if he says a word in recreation, it is the word of one who loves. How many conversions did not cause some of his words to suddenly resound in the ear of a young man while he was having fun. Those who know they are loved love and those who are loved get everything especially from young people. This confidence puts an electric current between the young and the Superiors. Hearts open and make known their needs and reveal their defects. This love makes the Superior endure the labors, the boredom, the ingratitude, the troubles, the deficiencies, the negligence of the young people. Jesus Christ did not break the already-made reed, nor did He extinguish the smoldering wick. Here is your model.”

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

24 MAY 2024   FRIDAY 7 ORDINARY TIME

SOLEMNITY OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

WORD of the DAY 
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come. “His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”  Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,  each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So, they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So, they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.                                 (John 2:  1-11)

How shall I live this Word?   

Today as the Salesian Family, we celebrate the solemnity of Mary Help of Christians and, with the permission of those who are not part of this beautiful family, I allow myself to comment on the corresponding gospel. Mary at the wedding in Cana, is the Help of Christians par excellence; her discreet, attentive figure, realizes with her feminine intuition that wine is finished. Something very delicate in a party that lasted more than a week. She found a way to remedy the situation without being known, without wanting to draw attention; she told her Son they have no wine. Without pressure, she told the servants to do what Jesus will tell them. Two of her sentences: “they no longer have wine” and “do what He tells you to do”, anticipated the hour of Jesus; allowed the first sign to come true and she showed herself an effective and powerful help. In the Salesian Family, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are today called to be helpers with the Help of Christians. Don Bosco wanted us to be a living monument of his gratitude to Mary. Help us to be grateful for this immense honor and to humbly ask Mary to continue sending living stones in support of this monument of gratitude, to prolong in time Don Bosco’s gratitude and to be able to help children and young people to approach Jesus.

O Mary, most powerful Virgin, great and illustrious defender of the Church, wonderful Help of Christians; formidable as an army in battle array; You who alone have overcome every heresy in the world, in our anguish, in our combats, in our difficulties, defend us from the enemy, and at the hour of our death, receive our souls into Paradise. Amen.

The voice of our Holy Founders

“Have great trust in Mary and you will see what miracle are.” “Our Lady wants us to honor Her under the title of Mary Help of Christians. Times are so sad that we really need the Blessed Virgin to help us preserve the Christian faith.” From there began the devotion of Mary Help of Christians of which St. John Bosco was the greatest devotee and propagator. The great priest had the basilica of Mary Help of Christians built in 1868 in the Salesian city of Valdocco, near Turin. The church was built in just three years. John Bosco.

“Have great confidence in Our Lady. She will help you in everything”   “Who has ever confided in Our Lady in vain?… Have courage, Mary, courage… Tomorrow begins the novena of Mary Help of Christians…sing the praises of your Mother in the Lord’s Passion. Mary Domenica Mazzarello

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

23 MAY 2024   THURSDAY 7 ORDINARY TIME

WORD of the DAY 
Jesus said to his disciples: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” (Mark 9:41-50)

How shall I live this Word?   

This gospel speaks of small gestures of gratuitousness, of what can scandalize and of the need not to lose the taste salt when it corrodes. Do I act in the name of Jesus? Do I act generously? Am I sure that the only reward I want and can receive is from the Lord? My being, my soul and body, my mind, my heart, my words, my gestures, have they been or are they the cause of scandal? How can I remedy it? Has my life lost the charm of my first love and now is tasteless? There are many questions. Find a space, perhaps before the Eucharistic Jesus, and let His Word illuminate you.

To be salt. Help me to bring the taste of the Gospel, that my presence may fill others with peace and serenity; that when I offer even a glass of water in Your name, I may do so with joy. Give me a pure and upright heart that is not a stumbling block for anyone. Amen.

The voice of Saint Francis de Sales

“You see, Teotimo, a glass of water or a piece of bread that a good soul gives to a poor person for love of God, is certainly a little thing, almost unworthy of consideration according to human judgment. God, however, rewards it and immediately makes one grow in charity. The goat skins which were first presented in the Tabernacle were well received and were placed next to the other offerings. And the small acts that arise from charity are pleasing to God and are placed among the merits. For as in Happy Arabia not only the aromatic plants but all the others are fragrant, participating in the happiness of that land, so in the charitable soul not only the great works in themselves, but even the little ones, experience the virtue of holy love and its good smell come before the majesty of God, who, seeing them, increases the holy charity. I say that God does this, because it is not charity that produces its increases, as trees make their branches grow and by its own virtue a tree grows from another. Faith, hope and charity are virtues that have their origin in the divine goodness and draw from it their growth and perfection… It is therefore God who makes this growth, considering the use we make of his grace. So, small good works, even if done with some negligence and without employing all the forces of our charity, do not cease to please God and have value before God and, though alone, they could not increase the charity they already have because they are of lesser virtue than she, divine Providence, which takes into account everything, welcomes them and immediately rewards them with an increase in charity for this world and with an increase in glory in heaven.”

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

22 MAY 2024   WEDNESDAY 7 ORDINARY TIME

WORD of the DAY 
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”                                  (Mark 9:38-40)

How shall I live this Word?   

In today’s text, John represents one or those who can have an attitude of exclusion. How difficult it is to accept that some who “are not of our own”, have gifts and charisma, cast out demons in the name of Jesus, not even in their own name, and we want to prevent it.

Certain privileges are for certain people, for certain elites, but Jesus invites us to have an inclusive attitude. How much good this criterion of Jesus would do us; it is a very important thing. We cannot do miracles in His name and then speak ill of Him; it is a matter of consistency. On the other hand, who am I, who are you, to decide who can enter and who must leave?

Today, we must seek what unites us and not what separates us; prejudices cannot prevent others from doing good, from acting in the name of Jesus.

In this world where people are excluded for so many absurd reasons, help me Lord to have my heart open to all. the only criterion that should move me is that of mercy. You who have not rejected anyone, teach me to welcome everyone and not be shocked because they don’t think like me. Make me an instrument of unity. Amen.

The voice of Saint John Paul II Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint

Thus, believed in the unity of the Church Pope John XXIII and so he looked to the unity of all Christians. Referring to other Christians, to the great Christian family, he noted, “What unites us is much stronger than what divides us.” And the Second Vatican Council, for its part, exhorts, “Remember all the faithful who will better promote, indeed live in practice the union of Christians, the more they will study to lead a life in conformity with the Gospel. Therefore, with how much closer communion they will be united with the Father, with the Word, and with the Holy Spirit, with so much more intimate and easy action they will be able to increase mutual fraternity.”

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

21 MAY 2024   TUESDAY 7 ORDINARY TIME

WORD of the DAY 
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, 
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, 
and putting his arms around it, he said to them, Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me.”                (Mark 9:30-37)

How shall I live this Word?   

The disciples are on a journey with Jesus; they are in the stage of formation. Jesus instructs them, announces His passion to them, but as it happens to many students in class, they did not understand or misunderstood and were afraid to question Jesus. One question arises: do they really not understand? Because when they were questioned by the Master about the conversation that they had along the way, the topic concerned who was the most important. What place will we occupy? The first? And Jesus, Teacher, gives them another lesson, the lesson of service. The first must be the last, must be the servant of all. Quite difficult language, which requires a change of mentality, not as the world thinks, where being the last, the servant, does not count. This language of Jesus is hard for you and me, in the sometimes-hidden desire to be taken into consideration, to be the center of attention, to be the first, how to accept this invitation of Jesus? Are we willing to assume the consequences of following Him on the way of renunciation, of the cross?

LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, Like a weaned child to its mother, weaned is my soul. Israel, hope in the LORD, now and forever. (Psalm 130)

The voice of Saint John Paul II General Audience 22 November 1995

It is this silence-acceptance of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ, that Mary transmits to the believing people. In a world full of noise and messages of all kinds, her testimony makes us appreciate a spiritually rich silence and promotes the contemplative spirit. Mary testifies to the value of a humble and hidden existence. Everyone normally demands, and almost claims to be fully appreciated for their person and their qualities. Everyone is sensitive to esteem and honor. The Gospels repeatedly report that the Apostles desired the first places in the kingdom. They discussed among themselves who was the greatest and Jesus had to give them in this regard lessons on the necessity of humility and service (cf. Mt 18:1-5; 20:20-28; Mk 9:33-37; 10:35-45; Lk 9:46-48; 22:24-27). Mary, on the other hand, never desired the honors and advantages of a privileged position; she always sought to fulfill the divine will by leading an existence according to the Father’s plan of salvation. To those who often feel the weight of an apparently insignificant existence, Mary reveals how precious life can be, if lived for the love of Christ and His brethren.”

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

20 MAY 2024   Monday

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

WORD of the DAY 
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
 and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
 he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.           (John 19:25-34)

How shall I live this Word?   

In this novena in preparation for the Solemnity of Mary Help of Christians, mother and teacher of every Salesian vocation, it is significant to celebrate the memory of Mary, Mother of the Church. In the dream that Don Bosco made at the age of 9 and that marked his life, he meets a character and when he asks his name, the character answers, ask my Mother my name. Later, when the character entrusts him with the mission, Johnny, frightened, asks him how he can make it possible, the character tells him I will give you the teacher. As one day on Calvary, Jesus gave His mother to John and made her his mother and our mother, so in the dream of the 9-year-old child the Lord gives John a mother and a teacher, without whom all wisdom is foolishness.

Today we are invited on a personal, family, community and ecclesial level to welcome Mary as a mother so that we can feel her close, especially in difficult moments, in moments of darkness and with her we embrace the cross.

God, Father of mercy, your only Son, dying on the cross, has given us his own Mother,

the Blessed Virgin Mary, as our Mother; grant that your Church, sustained by her love,

be ever more fruitful in the Spirit, exult for the holiness of his children and gather in her womb the whole family of men. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

The voice of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 “967 By her full adherence to the Father’s will, to the redeeming work of her Son, to every motion of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the model of faith and charity for the Church. ‘For this reason, she is recognized as an eminent and altogether singular member of the Church’ 531’and she is the figure (typus) of the Church’. 532

968 But his role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes even further. She cooperated in a very special way in the work of the Savior, with obedience, faith, hope, and ardent charity, to restore the supernatural life of souls. This is why she was for us the Mother in the order of grace’. 533

969 This motherhood of Mary in the economy of grace endures unabated from the moment of the consent given in faith at the time of the Annunciation, and maintained without hesitation under the cross, until the perpetual crowning of all the elect. In fact, assumed into heaven, she has not deposed this mission of salvation, but with her multiple intercession continues to obtain for us the gifts of eternal salvation. […] This is why the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church with the titles of Advocate, Help of Christians, Rescuer, Mediatrix’.”

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

19 MAY 2024   PENTECOST SUNDAY

WORD of the DAY 
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason, I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”              (John 15:26-27; 16: 12-15)

How shall I live this Word?   

Today is the feast of the Church, it is Pentecost; it is unity, it is joy. Today Jesus comes to meet us, makes us the gift of peace, the gift of mission, the gift of reconciliation, the gift of joy. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, He gives us the greatest gift. The doors of the heart cannot and must not remain closed for fear of anyone, for fear of anything. The Lord is present; He walks at our side and abundantly gives us His mercy through the mediation of priests. Like Mary, let us allow the Spirit to dwell in us. Let us be docile to the Lord, so the Word will bear abundant fruit in us. Happy feast!

Let us repeat during the day, Father, in the name of Jesus, son of Mary, give us your Holy Spirit!

The voice of Pope Francis Regina Caeli, 31 May 2020

“Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, in memory of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the first Christian community. Today’s Gospel (cf. Jn 20: 19-23) takes us back to the evening of Easter and shows us the risen Jesus who appears in the Upper Room, where the disciples have taken refuge. They were afraid. «He stood in the middle and said to them: “Peace to you!” (v. 19). These first words spoken by the Risen One: “Peace to you”, are to be considered more than a greeting. They express the forgiveness granted to the disciples who, to tell the truth, had abandoned Him. They are words of reconciliation and forgiveness. {…} Jesus forgives, always forgives, and offers His peace to His friends. Do not forget: Jesus never tires of forgiving. We are the ones who get tired of asking for forgiveness.

By forgiving and gathering the disciples around him, Jesus makes them a Church, His Church, which is a community reconciled and ready for mission. When a community is not reconciled, it is not ready for mission: it is ready to discuss within itself; it is ready for internal [discussions]. The encounter with the Risen Lord turns the lives of the Apostles upside down and transforms them into courageous witnesses. In fact, immediately afterwards He says, “As the Father sent me, I also send you” (v. 21). These words make us understand that the Apostles are sent to prolong the same mission that the Father entrusted to Jesus. {…} And precisely to enliven the mission, Jesus gives his Spirit to the Apostles. The Gospel says, “He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). The Holy Spirit is a fire that burns sins and creates new men and women; it is a fire of love with which the disciples can ‘burn’ the world, that love of tenderness that prefers the little ones, the poor, the excluded…)

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

18 MAY 2024   SATURDAY 7 OF EASTER

VIGIL OF PENTECOST

WORD of the DAY 
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water^* will flow from within him.’”  He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,^* because Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7: 37-39)

How shall I live this Word?   

This gospel is a cry, an urgent appeal of Jesus. Many confess that they feel like “an extinct volcano”. We too often find ourselves in a desert; we feel dry. Jesus wants to irrigate our whole life with the Holy Spirit. God’s plan for us is the Spirit; and the Spirit is within us. The gift of the Spirit is very particular because it is not separable from the giver, from Jesus, who is within us. The purpose of our journey is to learn to listen to the voice of Jesus within us. This is why prayer in silence before Jesus is important. We too must do something; we must talk to Him. Truth is born precisely from this dialogue between Jesus who speaks to us and we who speak to Him. Jesus says that “rivers of living water” will flow. From the side of Jesus crucified and pierced by the lance blood and water come out: these are the rivers of living water. It is very important that these rivers of living water get out of a wound. We are afraid of wounds, of being wounded, but these sufferings are the window through which love passes and therefore we must not fear the wounds of life. Love comes from this man who gives life, from His wound. Let us also learn to draw love out of our wounds. Jesus says that there is only one condition for all this to happen, “WHOEVER IS THIRSTY”. For all this to happen, one very simple thing must be done; be thirsty. St. Augustine said that faith is desire. Love is always hungry and thirsty. It would be very lovely if we were always hungry and thirsty for God; then it would always be Pentecost.

Lord, we pray that our thirst for holiness may be transformed into a concrete commitment in the world in which we are called to live as Christians and to bear witness to Your love.

The voice of St. Colomban, Monk

Listen attentively! I will speak to you of an inexhaustible divine source. However paradoxical it may seem; I tell you that it will not slake your thirst. Thus, you can continue to drink at the source of life without stopping to desire it. It is the very source, the fountain of living water that calls you to itself and says to you, “Those who thirst, come to me and drink.” (Jn 7:37)

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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD

17 MAY 2024   FRIDAY 7 OF EASTER

WORD of the DAY 
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.”                                 (John 21: 15-19)

How shall I live this Word?   

In the Gospel, the most intense joy is usually the result of a personal predilection. The Gospel often recounts this intense joy, “In the midst of so many, the Lord looks upon me and calls me, involves me and rehabilitates me, heals me, opens a path, gives me a new life”. The personal word addressed to Peter is a question, “Do you love me?” This is a question that helps to clarify, “Where are you? At what point do you find yourself in the path of the disciple?” Dialogue with Jesus does not make discounts, it highlights what we are; it brings out our humanity for what it is. The question is repeated three times. The apostle recognizes a call to his triple denial and “Peter was grieved that for the third time he asked him: “Do you love me?” It is the pain of repentance, of those who touch their own fragility and infidelity. The gaze of Jesus, also brings out all that is weak in us, always starts from what is there and makes it grow. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”. To every answer of Peter, “Of course, Lord, you know I love you”, Jesus follows with an investiture, “Feed my sheep.” The Lord is leading Peter not only to the heart of his weakness, but to the heart of his love. The Master is defending what is great and good in Peter. He defends him from the disappointment that can arise from the perception of his denial and his sin. He defends him from the judgment of others who are ready to measure everything in terms of right and wrong. What there is, from which the Lord starts, what we are, that the Master wants to make grow, is not weakness and fragility. Jesus wants to lead Peter to the point where he says, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Now Peter also knows with firmness that his love for Jesus is true and deep. Fragile and weak love, exposed to denial, but sincere, rooted. Jesus relaunches the journey, proposes a new step, ” Listening to the Word of God has brought out the style and traits of the art of dialogue of Jesus: the personal predilection that makes us experience joy for being unique; the ability to ask questions in order to start a dialogue; the gaze that makes clear and sees what is there to elevate it; the ability to cross misunderstandings and fragility; the defense of what is moving in the heart of man and that is already animated by the action of God; the courage and language of revival. We can recognize in all this the way in which the Lord still meets us today. We too can learn a way of dialogue with others and in particular with those entrusted to our pastoral care. The Lord accompanies our steps first, as he did with Peter.

The voice of Pope Francis

Always remember that God is greater than all the sins we can commit. His love is an ocean where we can immerse ourselves without being drowned.  For God, forgiving means giving us the certainty that He will never abandon us!

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