This passage beautifully reflects on the restoration of Peter’s relationship with Jesus, emphasizing the profound mercy and forgiveness found in His Most Loving and Sacred Heart. It draws powerful parallels between Jesus meeting Peter for the first time in the Gospel of Matthew and their encounter by the Sea of Galilee after His Resurrection in the Gospel of John.
The Scripture passage captures the significance and ensuing joy of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples. Rather than reproaching them for returning to their former life of fishing, their previous lifestyle and livelihood, the Lord guides them in their fishing endeavors, resulting in a miraculous catch.
This catch not only brought great joy but signaled Jesus’s presence among them and can remind us of His abundance of grace even in moments of uncertainty or discouragement. Jesus also feeds the disciples as he does us, with the Holy Eucharist.
Furthermore, this passage focuses on the transformative faith of the disciples and the Lord’s invitation for them to continue trusting in His ways while moving forward to share the good news with others. For instance, rather than hiding from Jesus, Peter impulsively jumps out of the boat and hastens to the Lord, much like a young child’s eager response.
We are much like those fish caught in the net. The Gospel message is not just for “one kind of fish” but for everyone! Jesus is offering Salvation to all the people of the world. Jesus’ mercy and love urge us to trust in Him wholeheartedly and allow His grace to transform our lives in order to serve God and others.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Alleluia! He is risen.
The Anointed One, Crucified One, the Pierced One, is now the Risen One.
We have pondered and prepared for 40 days, and now we celebrate for 50 days, beginning with these eight days of observing one long Easter Sunday! The Octave of Easter brings us to the Eighth Day, the symbol of the new creation Christ set in motion, the Feast of Divine Mercy.
All sorrow and the shackles of sin have been dissolved in Christ’s Resurrection. And yet, when He appears to His Apostles, the wounds that He suffered to win that victory are still visible. His Sacrifice is forever signified and memorialized in His glorified Body, not erased and forgotten. He proves this by eating real food and showing them His real wounds. Why?
Because those wounds – that sacrifice – is the answer to every human question. Jesus didn’t come and explain away or disregard human suffering and struggle. His answer is to draw it all to Himself, conquer it in His own Person, in His very Heart, and carry it to the bosom of the Father where it is wrapped in the infinite light of God’s glorious Love.
What about our woundedness, our sufferings? When we are at last set free eternally, will our struggles be erased and forgotten? No! Not if we unite our sufferings to the Cross of Christ. When we take up our cross each day for love of Him in this life, all our wounds are glorified in the life to come. In Heaven, will we not know that the blind man was blind, that the crippled man was once crippled? Will we not know that Peter was crucified upside down, Paul beheaded, Perpetua gored, Lawrence grilled, Joan of Arc burned at the stake, Miguel Pro shot, Edith Stein sent to the gas chamber? Of course we will. Their suffering was their glorious gift of love and ours can be too. Our share in the Passion is valuable and precious in God’s eyes, and it echoes in the halls of eternity forever!
So we must not recoil from the difficulties of the day, as they are the means by which we take up our cross to follow Him, as He instructed. We will have trouble in this world, but He has overcome the world; in Him, we will overcome the world too, and every hardship and suffering that we accept and offer to Him will be turned into a shining sign of our willingness to walk with Him in love at every moment.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
“‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So [Jesus] went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.”
I wonder what Jesus felt when he was invited to stay with these two disciples making their way from all that had transpired in Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. Certainly, Jesus had met these two disciples on the road. He had listened to their discouragement and disillusionment. He had even spent quite a bit of time teaching them, “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” With all of that, however, Jesus was hoping for more. We need more than to be heard and understood and have our minds and hearts refreshed with an encounter with Truth. Deep down, the human heart yearns for intimacy and so does the heart of Jesus.
I can imagine Jesus, as he was clearly “giving the impression” that he was intending to go on his way, feeling overwhelmed with joy when the disciples invited him into the intimacy of their home. Jesus never forces his presence and his love on anyone.
When we invite Jesus into our hearts with this great hope of satisfying the longing for intimacy that both Jesus and we have, we often scurry about preparing things for his stay, telling him things, saying prayers, asking for what we need, tidying up our hearts as best we can. Jesus enters where he is invited in order to give himself entirely to us. And so when they sat down for their evening meal there is no mention of what the disciples had prepared. Instead, it speaks of the meal Jesus provided them. “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”
Today, Jesus is “hanging around,” hoping that you will invite him to stay with you. Invite Jesus in. Don’t be too worried about what your heart looks like or how you will make him feel welcome. Instead, for this time, just watch him. Experience his joy at being invited into your house and into your heart. Let him be the giver and you the receiver. Allow him to share his joy with you.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Do you remember a time when your name was uttered and you felt pure joy?
Maybe it was a friend across the street. Maybe it was someone you ran into out and about. Maybe it was a family member you picked up at the airport. I can recall several of these times in my life, usually family and friends I had not seen in what seemed like forever, and it was a joyous reunion, complete with hugs and tears.
I felt incredible joy when my name was said from across the road, across the store, or across the airport terminal. I was known, seen, and loved. Time seemed to stop in those moments.
When I read today’s Gospel, my mind was immediately transported to when Mary Magdalene is at the tomb weeping and doesn’t recognize Jesus. She only recognizes Him when He utters her name.
Oh, to hear that name! What joy Mary Magdalene must have known realizing Jesus was alive as he called her name. Nothing in my lifetime will ever compare to her joy. The only time I’ll experience what Mary Magdalene did at the tomb is when I step foot into Heaven and he says “Mary” to me.
Because Jesus knows who we are, we can begin to see Him clearly. We know who we are when we are rooted in Christ, and who He calls us to be, and we begin to understand the depths of the love with which He calls us.
Today, as we celebrate the Tuesday within the Octave of Easter, let us continue celebrating knowing that Christ has conquered sin and death. Let us go forth confident in the knowledge that Our Savior has intimate knowledge of each of us and longs for our love. Let us strive to return that love to Jesus, however imperfect, so that we might know Perfect Love in Heaven. And let us resolve to love Him more and more every day, so that, like Mary, we will know Who is calling us by name.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Happy Easter! Christ has conquered death and given us new life; let us praise him, Alleluia!
Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary left Jesus’ tomb to run quickly to the Apostles with the Good News that Jesus had risen. He says they were “fearful, yet overjoyed.” That phrase stood out for me as I read the Gospel. It made me pause to consider how often I have been fearful yet overjoyed in my own life.
I can still recall the weight of my son’s head in the crook of my arm as they wheeled me out of the hospital. I was thrilled to be going home with this sweet baby boy, and yet, could I do this? Be a mom, raise my son – sure, I loved him, but could I do all the things?
And then, I was led to leave teaching and begin working in parish ministry. It had always been a deep desire of mine, and I was overjoyed that God answered my prayer, but again, the responsibility was a bit daunting.
God has called each of us to many new things as life changes. We are not the people we were five or ten years ago. And that is a good thing. Growing in our faith, going in the direction Jesus asks, and truly living our faith as Easter people means we can hold two opposite emotions simultaneously. Being fearful does not have to mean we refuse to move forward; fear can make us turn to Jesus and find joy in him.
In fact, the only place we can find true joy is in Jesus. He can take all of our fears, sorrows, pain, and suffering in exchange for joy. The empty tomb that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary left, was not needed anymore. We do not need to hold onto what is not needed. In this Easter season of joy, what fears can you let go of so you can be overjoyed at the gift of Jesus’ resurrection?
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Saviour. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.” -CCC 1
This is the first paragraph from the catechism and I think it perfectly sums up what we celebrate today on this beautiful Easter morning. In today’s first reading we hear the entire Gospel story being preached by Peter. This is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times just a few days before, and who we read about in the Gospel as not fully understanding what Christ was doing until he saw the empty tomb. Peter then knew the plans of God and could easily and succinctly proclaim them to all people.
The goal of the lenten season is to bring us to a point where we can realize that our destiny is to share in the divine life of God. This isn’t just a vague sentimental idea or ambiguous theology, but it is the entire point of our lives. Jesus loved you enough to die on a tree in order that you might receive adoption as his beloved. It seems simple enough, but do we really grasp the depth of the meaning? Easter morning is the good news that not only were you bought back at a price, but that the death of God was not the end. Rather, it was just the beginning. Christ rising from the dead defeated sin and death once and for all and claims us back as adopted children.
This is why Easter is the most important feast in our liturgical calendar. And God wants us to feast. We might be a little rusty after 40 days of fasting, but God wants us to pull out all the stops. I recommend making the nicest dinner you can within your means and celebrate as a family what Christ has done in conquering sin and death. The Easter egg hunts are fun and everybody likes baked ham, but let’s not forget the reason for this season. That God desired for you to be saved and come to share in his divine life. This is enough to make even the worst of sinners or hardened criminals rejoice. As John Paul II said often, “We are an Easter people, and Hallelujah is our song.” Now go feast!
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Today, Holy Saturday, there are no “readings of the day,” but those of us attending the Easter Vigil will have more than enough Scripture to make up for it. Hearing the readings, we will see a beautiful picture of our salvation won for us in the Paschal Mystery, the apex of human history. This salvation was planned for us from the beginning of time. The readings of the Easter Vigil take us from the creation of the world through the Fall, the wanderings of the Israelites, the promise of the New Covenant, and the Incarnation and Resurrection.
This is a unique opportunity to recognize the providence of God. God had always planned to become man: He knew that we would fall, and He intended to draw us into an even greater reality than that of the Garden of Eden. The Fall did not “surprise” God. He created all things knowing what it would mean. He knew exactly what would unfold, and knew that He would bring good out of it all.
We can hear the wonders of God at the Easter Vigil and still doubt about God’s preparedness, or His competence: Why would He have created Adam and Eve for them to fall, or made Abraham’s descendants into a great nation for them to constantly break faith with Him? Why would He set up a new and definitive covenant knowing that there would be many who would spurn it? If He knew that this would happen, why did He allow it?
The glory of Easter gives us a glimpse into this, a glory at once confusing and illuminating. We cannot fully grasp the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ. It is hard to understand why God would want to suffer if He could have just created the world differently. But the Resurrection is difficult to argue with. The glory that Jesus shows us we can attain is blinding, more than we could ever deserve.
We may not understand why or how, but God did not make a mistake in ordering the world in the way that He did. The Vigil readings show us that He created a mosaic, full of striking turns and flashes of color that coalesce into something beautiful.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Our hearts sink with sadness as we recall the Death of our Lord on this day. The Church invites us to fast and pray as we seek to unite our hearts with His. We read in today’s Gospel how our Lord humbled himself and was treated like a criminal, on the way to Calvary.
Today’s Gospel opens up with our Lord in the Kedron Valley, where he used to meet with the disciples. He went to a garden, the very same place where Adam and Eve fell into sin thousands of years before. But this time, Jesus would not fall into sin but rather be the sacrifice and give His life up for us, so the devil would not be victorious.
Jesus was met with the cohort and guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees with the desire to embrace Christ like a criminal, with torches and weapons. The Pharisees were determined for Jesus to be “caught,” and yet, they still didn’t know Him; they didn’t know His teachings, for His ways are not a way of violence and hatred but instead sacrifice and love.
Jesus proclaims to the crowd, “Who are you looking for?” and they respond, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He responded, “I am He.” He is the king of kings, the Lord of Lords, and the great Savior of the universe, but to the Pharisees, He was just Jesus the Nazarene. If Jesus had freely destroyed his enemies that night, he would not have solved the problem He came to this world to fix: sin. Instead, Jesus is the King of Love and will conquer hearts through love and not force or violence.
Jesus continues to lead the conversation and takes the authority of this moment; He says, “Who are you looking for?” They reply again, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus replies, “I told you, I am He.” for the third time, He affirms His identity and hands himself over freely, asking for His disciples to be let go. With that, the passion of our Lord continues. Jesus is showing us the way to heaven through humility and following the will of God.
Jesus died for each of us. He died to open the gates of heaven to us on Easter Sunday, but we need to choose to be a friend of Christ. We need to open our hearts to the Lord so that He can change them and remove anything that resides within that prevents us from loving others. Jesus desires to forgive us, but we must go to Him for that forgiveness.
Lord Jesus, thank you for the ultimate sacrifice that you made on the cross to conquer sin and death and win for us eternal salvation.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
In today’s reading, Christ takes on the ultimate work of service and radical love for his disciples by washing their feet. We are instructed by Christ to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. To do this, we are given vocations, or callings, where we can best serve God.
Saint Therese, Doctor of the Church, declared “In the heart of all things I shall be love – thus I shall be everything”. She strove to be the bride of Jesus as soldier and martyr, doing anything and everything she could in service to her love, beginning with the smallest things, in order to make the greatest impact.
We too can offer actions of love to those God puts in our path. Whether through the vocation of marriage or holy orders, we too should strive to be saints. Christ first loved us and displayed his extraordinary love through service to me, a poor sinner. Shouldn’t I then live in the same manner amongst those closest to me as well as strangers?
We must ask ourselves how we can help the vulnerable, the youngest and oldest members of society, the lonely, the poor, and the rejected. We will be judged one day on how we loved, on love alone. Do we show up? Do we say, “Here I am”, to those who need us? Do we care for those Christ has entrusted to us?
God, soften my heart. Set me free from the bondage of putting myself first and instead, help me to humbly care for others, just as you have first done for me.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.
Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1a Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your…
Saint of the Day
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, communicated the Virgin Mary’s messages of prayer, penance, and the promise of happiness in the afterlife.
The post Saint Bernadette Soubirous appeared first on uCatholic.