'Follow me.' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C

The Crucifixion of St Peter

Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. (John 21:18, today's Gospel).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 21:1-19 [or 21:1-14] (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was 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?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to 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 grieved because he said to him the 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. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”]

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Fr Keith Gorman

(21 January 1920 - 19 December 2016)

Fr Keith Gorman was a Columban priest from Australia who worked for many years in Japan. I met him a number of times and was always struck by his delightful sense of humour and how he had grown old gracefully. In one of the articles he wrote for Columban magazines he said that his idea of heaven was having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity. He clearly had today's gospel in mind. 

This is a gospel I often return to. Imagine being served breakfast by Jesus himself, as the seven apostles were on that blessed morning! And the second part, which will surely and unfortunately be omitted by many priests who will choose the shorter gospel, is for me one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. Jesus is calling us into a deep intimacy with him. He addresses his question Do you love me? not only to St Peter but to each one of us today.

It is in that context that he tells Peter Feed my lambs . . . Tend my sheep . . . Feed my sheep. Jesus emphasises the relationship of intimacy with him as being fundamental, not the mission on which he sends us. Being sent on mission is a consequence of being invited into a deep, personal and intimate relationship with him.

For me as a priest today's gospel tells me that I must put prayer at the very centre of my life, not only the official prayer of the Church - the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Breviary, the Sacraments - but personal prayer.  The same applies to all who are called by God to the single life as priests, as religious, as lay persons.

Today's gospel is a call to married persons to put their spousal relationship at the centre of their lives. Through the Sacrament of Matrimony Jesus himself is the foundation of that relationship. And it is the bride and groom who confer that sacrament on each other, not the priest. He is a witness on behalf of the Church to their exchange of vows.

The first question Jesus puts to Peter is, Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? I understand this to mean 'Do you love me more than the others love me?' Husbands and wives are called by God to love each other more than anyone else loves them - including their children and their parents. And I take it to mean also that God calls them to love each other more than they love their children and their parents.

This does not mean loving anyone less, but rather drawing their children, especially, into their love for each other, a love that is based on God's love for them as a couple.

I truly believe that when their children become more important for spouses than they do for each other their marriage is heading for trouble. The same applies, I believe, to priests and religious who place their work, no matter how important and good in itself it may be, above their personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.

I once heard a boy of around 11 in the Philippines say, What I love most about my parents is that they are always together. He felt drawn into their love for each other, the same love that led to his being born. 

A teenage girl in the Philippines who had been abused told me how she was drawn to Jesus by a very poor black-and-white copy of Rembrandt's painting below that I showed during a Sunday homily. She said to me, He looks so human. She was basically expressing a desire to be close to Jesus, which is the desire Jesus has for her and for each of us. (I brought her coloured, framed copy the following Sunday).

Young Jew as Christ 

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

For married couples, if God grants them children, Feed my lambs means primarily taking care of their children until they are ready to take on the responsibility of being adults. My mother often reminded me that when I'd be 21 - the then legal age of majority in Ireland, now 18 - I would be responsible for myself. I never took this to be an admonishment but rather as her giving me something valuable to aspire to. This, along with how I saw her and my father carrying out their responsibilities, was also a way in which they carried out the words of Jesus, Feed my lambs. 

Countless single individuals, never married or widowed, with a deep sense of the love of Jesus for them have 'fed the lambs and sheep' because of that relationship. Many of us have been strengthened in our faith or have grown in our awareness of God's love for us through such persons. Often enough I have written here about Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati. St John Paul II, who beatified him, said of him, I, too, in my youth, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his Christian testimony.

The First Reading expresses in a different way the centrality of our invitation from Jesus to enter into an intimate relationship with him: But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men'. In other words, as Christians we are meant to live the values of Our Lord Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives.

As it happens, there are elections  in the Philippines on Monday 12 May. Will those involved in these elections allow the values of the gospel to determine how they vote? How we vote is also a way to Feed my lambs . . . Tend my sheep . . . Feed my sheep. How we vote is meant to be a consequence of the intimate relationship into which Jesus calls us within the Church. And when it comes to legislators making laws that are contrary to God's will, as some laws are, we need to make our own the words of St Peter in the First Reading: We must obey God rather than men.

How do we do this? By accepting the invitation of Jesus: Follow me.

Worthy is the Lamb

from Messiah by Handel

Performed by Academy of Ancient Music with Voces8

Conducted by Barnaby Smith

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever (from Apocalypse/Revelation 5:12-13, today’s Second Reading).

[Handel used the King James translation, slightly adapted.]

Collect from the Mass for the Election of a Pope

O God, eternal shepherd, who govern your flock with unfailing care, grant in your boundless fatherly love a pastor for your Church who will please you by his holiness and to us show watchful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis begins on Wednesday 7 May.

Traditional Latin Mass

Second Sunday After Easter

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 05-04-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: 1Peter 2:21-25. Gospel: John 10:11-16.

A Jutland Shepherd on the Moors

Frederik Vermehren [Web Gallery of Art]

So there shall be one flock, one shepherd (John 10:16; Gospel)..

'My Lord and My God!' Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) Year C

 

The Incredulity of St Thomas, 

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:19-31 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’

 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord’. But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’

 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

             

Christ and Doubting Thomas, 

Andrea del Verrocchio [Web Gallery of Art]

It is true that Jesus says to St Thomas in today's Gospel, Do not disbelieve, but believe. But for many years I have thought that scholars and others have been unfair to this apostle. The expression 'Doubting Thomas' has come down to us in the English language to describe someone who is sceptical, who doesn't believe unless he sees. 

That would describe Thomas at one level. But he said, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. He had the insight that if Jesus was truly risen he would carry the scars of his crucifixion. He seemed to grasp the extent of the sufferings of Jesus to redeem us sinners. And when he meets the Risen Lord eight days later he makes the most explicit act of faith in the whole Bible: My Lord and my God!

I learned this prayer when I was very young and it is part of the fibre of the Catholic faith here in Ireland. When the Mass promulgated in 1969 by Pope St Paul VI came out it introduced something new: the Acclamation after the Consecration. When the priest says The Mystery of Faith the people answer by singing or saying one of four acclamations. However, here in Ireland we have a fifth, the Act of Faith of St Thomas in today's Gospel: My Lord and my God! This is the one I always ask the people to use now when celebrating a public Mass, unless the choir has prepared one of the others acclamations. (The priest doesn't sing or say the acclamation as it belongs to the congregation / choir.)

When I was growing up the Mass was what's known now as the Traditional Latin Mass or 'TLM'. There were no official acclamations after the Consecration then but there was for me a very powerful unofficial one here in Ireland: the 'communal cough'. People literally held their breaths during the Consecration because they truly believed that through the power of the Holy Spirit acting through the priest the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity as we learned in kindergarten. After the elevation of the Precious Blood everyone coughed, letting out the tension of their awe-filled faith during the Consecration. This 'communal cough' was full, active participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and a deep expression of the faith of the whole community. The priest and people were fully united in worshipping God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In a meditation on the Easter Vigil published in Magnificat and also on Aleteia on Thursday, English mystic Caryll Houselander (1901 - 1954) captured for me something of this awe, of the faith that people had in the reality of the bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass. Here is the last part of her meditation. (Emphases are mine).

Once again bread and wine and water are brought into the sanctuary, and a Host is consecrated. At the elevation a peal of little bells rings out. It is not only worship of the soul, but the soul expressed through the body. The priest prostrates himself, beats his breast, lifts his arms up to heaven, makes the sign of the cross, speaks the mysterious words: 'This is my Body.' The congregation joins in this worship, and it is expressed by the body of each one: they know that when the words of consecration are spoken, the Word made flesh is there for each one of them; the same glory pours into the difficult worship of the old rheumatic woman at the back of the church as into the priest who is lifting up God in his hands. The glory of the Incarnation is equally in the aching of the old woman’s bones and the young priest’s ecstasy. The glory is not confined to the church where the Mass is offered: it extends in ring upon ring of light and circles the world.

St Thomas saw the glory of the Incarnation in the scars on the hands, feet and side of the Risen Lord. And his Act of Faith extends in ring upon ring of light and circles the world.

Mo Thiarna agus Mo Dhia - My Lord and My God

Sung by Dungiven Parish Church Choir, Ireland

St Thomas's Act of Faith in Irish and English

Traditional Latin Mass

Low Sunday (The Octave Dy of Easter)

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-27-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 5:4-10.  Gospel: John 20:19-31.

The Incredulity of St Thomas, 

 Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!' (John 20:28; Gospel)

'Let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness.' Sunday Reflections, Easter Sunday

The Resurrection of Christ

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed (John 20:8; Gospel of Sunday).

Ansin. an deisceabal eile, a tháinig ar dtús chun an tuama, chuaigh sé isteach agus chonaic agus chreid sé (Eoin 20:8; Soiscéal an Domhnaigh).

The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

At the Mass during the Day 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:1-9 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on the head of Jesus, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Satharn na Seachtaine Móire 

Domhnach Cásca

Deacon proclaiming the Exsultet at the Paschal Candle

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her,

ablaze with light from her eternal King,

let all corners of the earth be glad,

knowing an end to gloom and darkness . . .

Therefore, dearest friends,

standing in the awesome glory of this holy light . . .

that he, who has been pleased to number me,

though unworthy, among the Levites,

and pour into me his light unshadowed . . .

This is the night

that with a pillar of fire

banished the darkness of sin . . .

This is the night 

that even now, throughout the world,

sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices

and from the gloom of sin . . .

This is the night

of which it is written:

The night shall be as bright as day,

dazzling is the night for me,

and full of gladness . . .

But know we know the praises of this pillar,

which glowing fire ignites for God's honour,

a fire with many flames divided,

yet never dimmed by sharing of its light . . .

Therefore, O Lord,

we pray you that this candle,

hallowed to the honour of your name,

may persevere undimmed,

to overcome the darkness of this night.

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,

and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning

by the Morning Star:

the one Morning Star who never sets,

Christ your Son,

who, coming back from death's domain,

has shed his peaceful light on humanity,

and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Above are extracts from the Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation, sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil after the newly-lighted Paschal Candle is brought into the church. I have highlighted the passages dealing with light, the great symbol of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rembrandt's painting at the top, The Resurrection of Christ, captures the light breaking through the darkness. And his painting below, Christ on the Cross, shows our Saviour on the Cross to be The Light that conquers the darkness. Rembrandt was a master in his play of light and darkness.

Christ on the Cross

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Fr Pádraig Ó Croiligh is a priest of the Diocese of Derry. Some years ago he published a book of religious poetry in Irish with the title Brúitíní Creidimh, which could be translated as 'Mashed Potatoes of Faith'. In his short poems he helps the reader digest aspects of our faith and religious practices. 

His poem Fód na Cásca (The Sod of Easter) refers to what seems to have been a custom in parts of rural Ireland where the hearth (fireplace) was the heart of the home, with a fire made from turf (peat) 24/7 as we say now, for cooking and for heating the house. The family and visitors gathered around it for the family rosary, for telling stories and singing. In many parts of Ireland people would cut their own turf in local bogland during the summer.

The poem for me is a reflection of these lines in the Exsultet: glowing fire ignites for God's honour, a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light. One of the most beautiful moments in the Easter Vigil is when the light of the Paschal Candle is shared, those who have lighted their candles from it passing on the light to others until the whole church is ablaze with the light of Easter. Not only is the light never dimmed but it is multiplied by sharing. 

The newly-lighted 'fire in the hearth' on Holy Saturday is to be shared with those who live in the house and with those who visit, giving heat and light and nourishment through the food cooked and baked over it. And it recognises our need for constant renewal and forgiveness in the last line: go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad (at least for another year).

Turf (peat) fire

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Fód na Cásca / The Easter Sod

Le / by Pádraig Ó Croiligh 

Ghlanaidís an simléir fadó / Aoine an Chéasta, / Agus d’fhágaidís gan tine é / Go dtí an lá dár gcionn / Go bhfuair siad aibhleog bheannaithe  / Ó thine na Cásca / Ar an Sathairn Naofa.

Aiséírí an Tiarna a thugann lasadh don tine teallaigh / go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad.

They would clean the chimney long ago /  On Good Friday, / And would leave it without a fire /  Till the following day / When they would be able to light a sod / Blessed by the Easter fire / On Holy Saturday.

The Resurrection of the Lord / Is what lights the fire in the hearth / At least for another year.

Old Woman and Boy with Candles

Rubens [Web Gallery of Art]

James Shevlin, a friend, wrote an article during Covid about a wake and funeral in rural Ireland during winter when neighbours could not visit the home of the deceased or attend the funeral Mass. The remains were brought home at night. But as the family of the deceased came within a few miles of their village, the glow could be seen in the night sky. In the cold and frost, people stood outside their houses, along the roadway, at the end of roads, at crossroads holding all sorts of lighted candles and making makeshift altars and shrines to guide them all the way back home. 

The family later said that there were no words to explain the uplifting of spirits they experienced with the show or support they received . . . What was done was done with real love and kindness and support for them by people closest and dearest to them.

This was a Christian community expressing the truth of the words of the Easter Proclamation: a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its  light. 

An Easter Song from Beirut, Lebanon, 2011

I don't know of a more joyful expression of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ than this Easter song in Arabic. I have used it many times here.

May the people of Lebanon, who are undergoing times of difficulty and uncertainty, experience the consolation of the Risen Lord and find support from the international community in their vocation to be a land of encounter, coexistence and pluralism (Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, Easter Sunday 2021). 

As I write this Israel has troops in what it calls 'security zones' in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria. 

Traditional Latin Mass

Easter Sunday

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-20-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.  Gospel: Mark 16:1-7.

Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Mag′dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salo′me, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him (Mark 16:1; Gospel).