D2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net



A message from your pastor, Fr. Brian DudzinskiDay 73 (May 29, 2020) of the coronavirus “ban”:“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” – Lk. 12:34 Happy and blessed Easter to all of you! Are you fired up? I am “fired up” as usual, but more so because of the Gospel from Mass today! The Gospel focused on Jesus appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection and in particular today He asks Peter three times if he loves Him. As you may recall, Peter had denied Jesus three times the night Jesus was arrested. The popular understanding of today’s passage is that Jesus is giving Peter a chance to make up for his three-fold denial of Him. I want to focus on a couple elements of this passage.First, the Scriptures tell us that love covers a multitude of sins. Actually, it says, “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.” – 1 Pet. 4:8 Sin is inevitably going to happen, but true love says I never want to hurt you. If the “other” knows that you love them “intensely” your sins will be forgiven. This is a pretty important point. If you love someone you will never want to hurt them and if you realize that you have, in this case by sinning, you will be so sorry it would be hard not to be forgiven. This is why Jesus uses this opportunity to ask Peter if he loves Him. He asks not just once, but three times. Each time was to cancel out each of the denials. In doing this Jesus is freeing Peter up to be able to carry out the special role He has for Peter as head of His Church.I mentioned in my homily that Jesus first asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” Peter’s response is not actually a response to the question. He responds by saying, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” But the question wasn’t just “do you love me;” it was “do you love me more than these?” Peter kind of sidesteps the question. I am not really sure why, but I have a good feeling this is why Jesus asks him two more times. Again, when we hear ourselves say certain things, it emphasizes what is important to us. By the third time, it is clear Jesus is making a point. The point was exactly what Peter failed to answer, which was do you love me more than these. Each time Peter responded to the questions of Jesus it made him aware that Jesus has an expectation of him that he needed to make sure he was up for. When Jesus says feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep, He is telling Peter that love isn’t just a word, but it is manifested in action. Feed, tend, feed are the ways he can show that He loves Jesus. He is being asked to take care of the people entrusted to him as the chief shepherd of the flock. Obviously, Jesus is numero uno, but the visible head here on earth is the Pope. Love says, I care about your salvation and I will do everything I can do to help your soul. Hence, the reason Jesus says, “Do you love me more than these?” His role as Pope needs to have a love that is greater than anyone else. This is a large order, so to speak, but it is what is required. As we will see, Peter will lay down His life for His sheep. He will love them more than these. He ended up getting where He needed to be as chief shepherd of the flock.We can learn from this that Jesus really wants all of us to embrace this same kind of love. A love that is so intense that it covers a multitude of sins; a love that is more than words, but full of action; a love that doesn’t count the cost but is the best that we can give. This kind of love is the love of Jesus. This kind of love is a love that shows that we are followers of Jesus Christ. As John said earlier in his Gospel, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – Jn. 13:35 And, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – Jn. 15:13Peace, love and joy! Easter blessings to all of you! ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download