Pastor's Corner
Third Sunday of Easter 05/03/25-05/04/25
As we continue to mourn the death of Pope Francis and to pray for his eternal reward, we ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit as the Cardinals under the age of 80 gather on May 7th for the start of the Conclave, the meeting at which the next Pope will be chosen. Will it be a Cardinal with leanings to the left and in the manner of the thinking of Pope Francis or will it be a traditional Italian with a more conservative bent? Only the Holy Spirit knows for now. The gospel selection chosen for proclamation on the 3rd Sunday of Easter continues to be taken from John and to focus on the bodily resurrection of Jesus, so appropriate for this Easter Season. The disciples gather at the edge of the Sea of Tiberias and are having a difficult time catching fish. Jesus appears to them and directs them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat, and the resulting catch is incredible. It is with this catch that the disciple whom Jesus loved recognizes that it is the Risen Lord. The gospel of John is written some 70 years after the Resurrection of Jesus, and so the Church has been at least one generation into the work of spreading the Good News of the Gospel message. Therefore, this passage is undoubtedly one regarding evangelization. The Sea is the world in which the disciples are at work spreading the message of Jesus, and the caught fish represent those who hear the word of God and accept it. The disciples are missionaries hard at work casting about the nets, which are the message of Jesus and the truth of His Resurrection.
At the conclusion of the passage, Jesus confronts Peter privately and asks him if he loves Him. He does this three times in order to emphasize the seriousness of his answer. At the conclusion of Peter's affirmation, Jesus instructs him to perform an action: "Feed my sheep! In other words, the proof of the profession of love is in the action of evangelization. So too are we instructed by the Holy Spirit as disciples, believers in the reality of the Resurrection. We are sent in the manner of the disciples to those who need to hear the word of God proclaimed boldly!
Congratulations to those who will receive First Holy Communion and Confirmation in the coming month. We assure you of our prayers and the hope that your mothers and fathers will rely on God's grace to support your efforts to believe.
Thanks and have a great week!
God Bless
Fr. Joe