Introit
Rite of Sprinkling
Gloria
Collect
May your people exult for ever, O God,
in renewed youthfulness of spirit,
so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption,
we may look forward in confident hope
to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading Acts 5:27-32,40b-41
When the captain and the court officers had brought the apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
"We gave you strict orders, did we not,
to stop teaching in that name?
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the apostles said in reply,
"We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles
to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
Responsorial Psalm 30:2,4,5-6,11-12,13
R/. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
Second Reading Rev 5:11-14
I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels
who surrounded the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice:
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing."
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea,
everything in the universe, cry out:
"To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever."
The four living creatures answered, "Amen, "
and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel Jn 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."
Reflection Questions
How have you “suffered dishonor for the sake of the Name?”
When have you felt like “going fishing?”
What might occasion Jesus’ questioning you: “Do you love me?’
Catena Nova
We may wonder what advantage there could be for Christ, in Peter’s love for Him. If Christ loves you, you profit, not Christ; and if you love Him, again the advantage is yours, not His. But wishing to show us how we should demonstrate our love for Him, Christ the Lord made it plain, that it is by our concern for His sheep. “Simon, son of John, Do you love me?” He asked. “I do love you.” “Then feed my sheep.” Once, twice, and a third time the same dialogue was repeated. To the Lord’s one and only question, Peter had no other answer than “I do love you.” And each time the Lord gave Peter the same command! Let us love one another then and by so doing, we shall be loving Christ.” (St. Augustine of Hippo)
Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned; why in addition do you wrong God by regarding him in your ignorance as powerless? Is he, who for your sake created the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul? And if you say that this fact, as well as his incarnation, only makes your condemnation worse, then repent; and he will receive your repentance, as he accepted that of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20) and the prostitute (Luke 7:37-50). But if repentance is too much for you, and you sin out of habit even when you do not want to, show humility like the publican (Luke 18:13): this is enough to ensure your salvation. For he who sins without repenting, yet does not despair, must of necessity regard himself as the lowest of creatures, and will not dare to judge or censure anyone. Rather, he will marvel at God’s compassion. (St. Peter of Damascus)
We can so easily make ourselves victims of our own thoughts and feelings of guilt and shame for what we have done. Make no mistake, we must be accountable for our actions, but when we stay stuck in the unhappy story of what we have done – when we make an identity out of our past actions – we deny ourselves the gift of transformation. We can all learn from the mistakes of our past. Learning from the past is not the same as being held hostage by what we have done. At some stage we must let go of the past and begin again. We have said repeatedly that no one is undeserving of forgiveness, and this includes you. (Archbishop Desmond Tutu)
The assumption made by the Book of Revelation is affirmed by the rest of the New Testament: the Son comes forth from the Father; and the Father, out of his love for the world, has given his Son to be slain, “for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” The Lamb is God’s mode of involvement in, and commitment to, the world; the Lamb is both “worthy” and “able” not only to symbolize God’s involvement but to be it. The Invisible One holds nothing back when he hands over his prerogatives to the Lamb; he reserves nothing to himself. Thus, both equally possess “power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” and the Lamb has the same authority to hand on gifts to others: “He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Just as the Son is the inviolable manifestation of the Father and of his self-giving—thus he is called “faithful”, the “witness” and “true” or quite simply “the Word of God” —so he gives power to “bear testimony” to those who are “called, chosen and faithful.” (Hans Urs von Balthasar)
This turning point in the life of Peter came about at the initiative of Jesus, not at the initiative of Peter. Peter’s attempt ends in failure; but when he fishes at Jesus’ command, the nets are filled to the breaking point. The same thing happens in the life of each of us. While it is true that we ourselves decide what paths we will take, our decisions will lead us to true joy and fulfilment only if they are in accordance with God’s will. As Saint Paul says: "It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you . The secret of the successful catch of fish is the obedience of Peter and his companions. As soon as Jesus spoke – even though they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing – they dropped the nets and tried again. Their obedience produced an amazing catch of fish. More importantly, it opened their eyes; it enabled them to recognize Jesus by faith. "The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord’ ". And Peter immediately responds in joy; he jumps out of the boat and makes his way to the shore, eager to be with Jesus. But the desire of Jesus to be with Peter is even greater than Peter’s desire to be with Jesus. Jesus not only acknowledges Peter but also invites him and his friends to share a meal that he has prepared. "Come and have breakfast", he says. The warmth of Jesus’ friendship has overcome the Apostles’ fears. The weight of guilt and sadness has given way to the light and peace of the Risen Lord. At this point, Jesus looks directly at Peter and asks him: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" Peter answers: "Yes, Lord, you know I love you". Jesus clearly wants Peter to love him; and he wants Peter to express his love in words, and to prove it by deeds. Jesus desires it so much that he repeats his question twice more. And each time he tells Peter to look after his lambs and sheep – to look after the Church which is being left in Peter’s care. And, as we know, the rest of Peter’s life was spent in providing food for God’s people, food for the soul, the food of eternal life, that food which is both the word of God – the Good News of salvation – and the Body and Blood of Christ. (Pope St. John Paul II)
The school of faith is not a triumphal march but a journey marked daily by suffering and love, trials and faithfulness. Peter, who promised absolute fidelity, knew the bitterness and humiliation of denial: the arrogant man learns the costly lesson of humility. Peter, too, must learn that he is weak and in need of forgiveness. Once his attitude changes and he understands the truth of his weak heart of a believing sinner, he weeps in a fit of liberating repentance. After this weeping he is finally ready for his mission. On a spring morning, this mission will be entrusted to him by the Risen Christ. The encounter takes place on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. John the Evangelist recounts the conversation between Jesus and Peter in that circumstance. There is a very significant play on words. In Greek, the word "fileo" means the love of friendship, tender but not all-encompassing; instead, the word "agapao" means love without reserve, total and unconditional. Jesus asks Peter the first time: "Simon... do you love me (agapas-me)" with this total and unconditional love (Jn 21: 15)? Prior to the experience of betrayal, the Apostle certainly would have said: "I love you (agapo-se) unconditionally". Now that he has known the bitter sadness of infidelity, the drama of his own weakness, he says with humility: "Lord; you know that I love you (filo-se)", that is, "I love you with my poor human love". Christ insists: "Simon, do you love me with this total love that I want?". And Peter repeats the response of his humble human love: "Kyrie, filo-se", "Lord, I love you as I am able to love you". The third time Jesus only says to Simon: "Fileis-me?", "Do you love me?". Simon understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus, it is the only one of which he is capable, nonetheless he is grieved that the Lord spoke to him in this way. He thus replies: "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (filo-se)". This is to say that Jesus has put himself on the level of Peter, rather than Peter on Jesus' level! It is exactly this divine conformity that gives hope to the Disciple, who experienced the pain of infidelity. From here is born the trust that makes him able to follow [Christ] to the end: "This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God. And after this he said to him, "Follow me'" (Jn 21: 19). From that day, Peter "followed" the Master with the precise awareness of his own fragility; but this understanding did not discourage him. Indeed, he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him. From the naïve enthusiasm of initial acceptance, passing though the sorrowful experience of denial and the weeping of conversion, Peter succeeded in entrusting himself to that Jesus who adapted himself to his poor capacity of love. And in this way he shows us the way, notwithstanding all of our weakness. We know that Jesus adapts himself to this weakness of ours. (Pope Benedict XVI)
God surprises. He is the Lord of surprises. He invites us not only to be surprised, but also to do surprising things. The Lord calls the disciples and, seeing them with empty nets, he tells them to do something odd: to fish by day, something quite out of the ordinary on that lake. He revives their trust by urging them once more to take a risk, not to give up on anyone or anything. He is the Lord of surprises, who breaks down paralyzing barriers by filling us with the courage needed to overcome the suspicion, mistrust and fear that so often lurk behind the mindset that says, “We have always done things this way”. God surprises us whenever he calls and asks us to put out into the sea of history not only with our nets, but with our very selves. To look at our lives and those of others as he does, for “in sin, he sees sons and daughters to be restored; in death, brothers and sisters to be reborn; in desolation, hearts to be revived. Do not fear, then: the Lord loves your life, even when you are afraid to look at it and take it in hand.” (Pope Francis)
Homily
Rocky
We used to be friends. My brother Andrew introduced us. Came running to me one day, all excited. Saying some crazy thing about finding the Messiah. When I looked at him, I thought to myself, “He sure doesn’t look like the Messiah.” Then he looked at me: Right through me, really. He knew my name: Simon Bar-Jonah. And then he changed it. Told me I would be called Peter -- the “Rock.” They’ve been calling me that ever since. It was the first of many changes. Nothing was ever the same again.
It took a while for me to believe the things he said about himself. Oh yes, there were signs. But it was just so hard to grasp. Finally, one day, I knew I had nowhere else to go. So I kept following. Right to the end. ‘Til the night of the Supper, that is. When he said he was going away. I wanted to go with him. “Someday,” he said. I thought I would l lay down my life for him. As usual, he knew better. Said I’d deny him three times before dawn. Later, during the meal he called us his friends. I guess that included me. Until it happened: Three times I swore, “I am not his follower.” Three times! Some friend.
That’s why I came back home. To Galilee. To start all over again. Put the past behind me. Get on with my life. And forget. The others have come back too. Even the one he loved. Maybe we can go into business together. They can call us, “The Former Friends of Jesus, Incorporated.” Gosh, how I’ve missed fishing. It really gets my mind off things. Maybe it’ll help me stop that crying. At least fishing is something I understand. Nothing complicated about it. Not like relationships -- or religion.
I hear a cock crowing in the distance. Trouble is, I hear it all the time. What a night it’s been. Not a single catch. Figures. Maybe nothing can ever be the same again, even fishing. And who’s that on the shore, calling us children? And how does he know we haven’t caught a thing? Put the net out again? Humph, maybe it’s another “Messiah.” Oh, I might as well. What’ve I got to lose?
Will you look at that! All those fish! Just like that time he fed a crowd with all the fish they wanted. Come to think of it, that happened just across the lake from here. Could it be another sign? And what’s that John is yelling? It is the Lord. I better get dressed. The others can row. I’m swimming to shore!
Come and have breakfast, he says. Bread and fish, just like before. Isn’t that just like him? He loved a meal. Called us his “friends” the last time we ate with him. But he’s usually not this quiet at table. Wait a minute. He’s looking at me – right through me, really. I feel a change coming on.Simon, son of John, he says. I thought my name was Peter. Do you love me more than these? He was never one to beat around the bush. More than these others? John too? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you…. Feed my lambs. His lambs? Yes, I seem to remember something about a “good shepherd.”
Simon, son of John, do you love me? A little less probing this time. Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Tend my sheep. His sheep? Oh yes, “the ones who hear his voice.”
Simon, son of John, do you love me? It hurt the third time. But I get it. I’m not that dense – three times for three times. Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Feed my sheep. Yes, I know whom he means -- “the ones he laid down his life for.”
But what’s that he’s saying now? I will stretch out my hands? Someone else will lead me where I do not want to go? I don’t know what that means. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later. But for now, I need to know just one thing: We’re friends, again. And I feel like Peter once more.
Have you ever felt like Simon Peter? Felt like a failure, felt like giving up? Maybe you too have had a relationship you thought was beyond repair. When your role in the breakdown seemed impossible to overcome. Maybe that relationship was with God, when some sin of denial made you think forgiveness too much to ask, and restoration out of the question.
Like a lot of people last week who were trying to wipe their slate clean on “Divine Mercy Sunday.” Which is fine – as long as we don’t forget how the Lord always gives forgiveness freely: it’s never something we can earn, or worse, manipulate. And Simon Peter understood this like few others.
After that morning by the lake, he knew that no matter what we’ve done, we don’t have to wrestle from God the great absolution of Easter. Or even beg the Lord’s indulgence. Divine Mercy is content to know we love him, and are willing to follow him. Like Simon Peter did. Until that day he was fastened upside-down to a Roman cross, and like his Master, entered from there into the glory foreseen by John, Peter taking his place among the elders, and joining the song of victory: To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever…. Amen (II).
Creed
Intercessions (Archdiocese of Adelaide)
We pray for Pope Francis as he struggles with health issues,that he may be well enough to travel to Lebanon, South Sudan,the Democratic Republic of Congo and Canada in the coming months on missions of peace and reconciliation.
We pray for the many millions of people experiencing starvation from Haiti to Central African Republic, from the Horn of Africa to Ukraine, from Syria to Afghanistan caused by war and violence, the Covid pandemic and climate change.
We pray for Christians in many places who endure persecution for their faith, that they will be steadfast and hope-filled at all times.
May the war between Ukraine and Russia come quickly to an end so that refugees can return to Ukraine and rebuild their homes and cities.
That those who have lost touch with a Eucharistic community may have the opportunity to once again experience the wonderful gift Christ offers to us every day.
We pray for those who have died that they may sing the praise of the Lamb who is all worthy.
God of life,
in your risen Son
you reveal your abiding presence among us
and summon those reborn in baptism
to lives of worship and service.
Fill this assembly with reverence
as we come before you in prayer.
Grant us courage and zeal
in bearing witness before the world
to your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns,
forever and ever. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)
Offertory Hymn (Easter Procession, p. 21)
After your descent into Hades, O Christ
and your Resurrection from the dead,
the disciples grieved over your departure.
They returned to their occupations and attended to their nets and their boats,
but their fishing was in vain.
You appeared to them since you are the Lord of all;
you commanded them to cast their nets on the right side,
immediately your word became deed.
They caught a great number of fish,
and they found an unexpected meal prepared for them on the shore,
which they immediately ate.
Now, make us worthy to enjoy this meal with them in spiritual manner,
O Lord and Lover of Mankind!
Communion Antiphon
Closing Hymn (Fr. Ricky Manalo, CSP)
Worthy is the Lamb that was slainto receive honor and glory.
Worthy are the ones who believeto receive the goodness of God.
Worthy are you, O paschal Lamb.
Wisdom and strength belong now to you.
You laid down your life and died upon the cross: we've become a people of hope.
Worthy are you, O Bread of Life.
Salvation and joy belong now to us.
By conquering death and rising to new life,we've become a people of praise.
Worthy are you, O risen Christ.
Wonders and signs, revealing your might.
Your power and glory shine upon our lives: we've become your light for the world.