Third Sunday of Easter

'Christ's charge to Peter' (Raphael)

There are two places in Scripture where the curious detail of a “charcoal fire” is mentioned. One is in today’s Gospel, where the Apostles return from fishing to find bread and fish warming on the fire. The other is in the scene in the High Priest’s courtyard on Holy Thursday, where Peter and some guards and slaves warm themselves while Jesus is being interrogated inside (see John 18:18). At the first fire, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, as Jesus had predicted (see John 13:38; 18:15-18, 25-27).

The Denial of Peter (Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1873)

Today’s charcoal fire becomes the scene of Peter’s repentance, as three times Jesus asks him to make a profession of love. Jesus’ thrice repeated command “Feed My sheep” shows that Peter is being appointed as the Shepherd of the Lord’s entire flock, the head of his Church (see also Luke 22:32). Jesus’ question: “Do you love me more than these?” is a pointed reminder of Peter’s pledge to lay down his life for Jesus, even if the other Apostles might weaken (see John 13:37; Matthew 26:33; Luke 22:33).

Jesus then explains just what Peter’s love and leadership will require, foretelling Peter’s death by crucifixion (“you will stretch out your hands”). Before his own death, Jesus had warned the Apostles that they would be hated as he was hated, that they would suffer as he suffered (see Matthew 10:16-19,22; John 15:18-20; 16:2).

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (Ventura Salimbeni)

In Greek there are several different words translated by the one English word love. C.S. Lewis wrote wittily about them in “The Four Loves”. There is Storgé (affection) the quiet liking you might have for a neighbour who is agreeable and with whom you occasionally share a pleasantry. There is eros, a sensual or erotic love, the kind of love that can bond a couple along with their friendship and often leads to marriage. Then there is philia, meaning friendship, the admiring companionship we feel toward people with whom we share some significant interests. Finally there is agapé, which is largely generous and self-giving love, even when there is nothing tangible to be gained. (These are just generalised definitions and are not verified in every case for each of these terms). Like Peter, God wants us to love him. Can we do that in the sense of agape love – unselfish, all-giving? It is tough but we must work at truly loving God.

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Easter Sunday

Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For us, Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise again with Him in new life on Easter.

Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfilment of our faith as Christians. St. Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the dead, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). Through his death, Christ saved mankind from bondage to sin, and He destroyed the hold that death has on all of us; but it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the next.

That new life began on Easter Sunday. In the Our Father, we pray that "Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven." And Christ told His disciples that some of them would not die until they saw the Kingdom of God "coming in power" (Mark 9:1). The early Christian Fathers saw Easter as the fulfilment of that promise. With the resurrection of Christ, God's Kingdom is established on earth, in the form of the Church.

Today we remember our New Life in Christ through the renewal of our Baptismal Promises. Let us also pray for those who throughout the Catholic Church have been received into the Church at this Paschal time.

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The Easter Vigil

Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,

exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!

A picture following the Easter Vigil held at the Oratory school. We were blessed indeed to enter the great season of Easter in such a beautiful chapel.

Altar of Repose

The Altar of Repose at the Oratory school following our celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper. We were indeed privileged to have such beautiful flowers for the evening, and greatly thank Sue Stevens for organizing and arranging the display.

Palm Sunday

Throughout the Gospel of Luke, the power of evil is lurking and the heavenly hosts stand ready to go into battle, beginning with the appearance of an army of angels to the shepherds at the birth of Christ. Evil tempts Jesus in the desert. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus drives out demons. However, the ultimate battle takes place during the Passion of Jesus that we enter into this Holy Week. Evil’s tenacious presence is manifested in Jesus’ agony in the garden, in the betrayal of Judas, in the weakness of the Apostles, in the hostility of the crowds and the leaders of Israel, in Herod and Pilate, and in Peter’s denial. Luke’s Gospel reminds us that the power of evil is never to be underestimated. And yet, through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, the power of darkness is dispelled.

Our liturgy today leaves us feeling uncomfortable. There is an element of joy and triumph represented by the opening procession and palm waving and the upbeat hymns that characterize this Sunday. However the chant of the mass is Lenten and the Passion Reading during mass alerts us to the fact that this ‘festive’ day masks dark intentions among Jesus’ detractors. We are left today feeling unnerved and rightly so. This next week will be a roller-coaster ride of emotions and our feelings today missed as they are will each find due expression in the Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Holy Sabbath.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

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The last scene of today's Gospel episode portrays with exquisite beauty the poignant encounter between the adulterous woman and Jesus, the source of forgiveness and grace. One by one the accusers had left the place. Only the woman remained, still waiting for the rest of her sentence. She was finally accorded the dignity of responding for herself. Jesus straightened up and asked her two questions that would gently underline her astounding experience of salvation: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” When the redeemed woman answered that there was no one, Jesus exercised his authority, not as a judge, but as a saviour. Unlike the Pharisees and Scribes, upholders of the Law, he refused to condemn her. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

By saying this Jesus didn't mean that the woman didn’t do any wrong. Naturally Jesus did not approve of her sin, but instead, he showed mercy to her and pardoned her. And he readily gave her a compassionate admonition that would radically set her on the road of conversion and restoration. She was freed from the burden of condemnation and was sent on her way - contrite and resolute, not only to obey the law for the law’s sake but to renew her conscience and to reform her behaviour according to the loving mercy that had been shown her. And, as for the woman’s accusers, Jesus redirected their judgmental frame of mind. Instead of judging others, they should judge themselves. Jesus did not condemn them either, but he helped them to come to their senses and realize their sinfulness.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

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As today we hear the familiar parable of the Prodigal Son (or the Forgiving Father), the message is Reconciliation – the making new of relationships, the healing of past wrongs and the opening of ourselves to the "new creation". This is just as the Israelites opened themselves to the New Creation of the Promised Land, when under Joshua they ended their sojourn in the wilderness after forty years of hardship, and began to eat of the produce of the country. It is all God's work: it is God who calls us back, and God who welcomes us into the Promised Land of his mercy when we return. So today, let us think not so much of sin and offences, as the new creation God offers us, if we but turn back to him and embrace him as our Father.