Acts 5.27b-32,40b-41 | Revelation 5.11-14 | John 21.1-19

We are beginning the third week of Easter Season with Mother Church. We are experiencing the joy of discovering and witnessing the presence of the resurrected Jesus in the Church and in the world.

Today the evangelist John tells us about the third appearance of the risen Jesus to the disciples during a miraculous catch of fish in the Sea of ​​Tiberias and about Simon Peter’s reconciliation with the Lord after his denial before the crucifixion.

The disciples had gone out at night to fish in the boat, but they caught nothing. In the morning, a man standing on the shore of the lake told the disciples to cast their net on the right side of the boat and they would find fish. Obeying the man, the disciples caught a large number of fish without the net breaking. The disciple whom Jesus loved told Peter that the man was the Lord. Then they saw burning coals of coals with fish on them, and bread. Jesus invited them to eat. None of the disciples dared to ask who he was, because they knew he was the Lord. Jesus approached, took the bread and distributed it to them. And he did the same with the fish.

This is a very symbolic text. The boat is the Church, led by Simon Peter. The sea is the world and the fish are the people, the nations of the earth. Fishing is the missionary work of the Church, sometimes with bad results. The risen Jesus accompanies the mission of the Church. Night gives way to morning. The net is the strategy of evangelization, strong enough not to break. The success of the missionary work of the Church lies in listening to and obeying the risen Jesus. The fish is an ancient symbol to identify Christians. Fish, in Greek, is ichthys, an anagram for Jesus Christ Son of God Savior. The sharing of bread and fish is a sign of the Eucharist, the encounter with the Risen One. 

In conversation with Simon Peter, the risen Jesus confirmed his love, confirming his mission at the head of the Church. Simon Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times before the crucifixion and who had wept in repentance, was given forgiveness and the opportunity to renew his love for Jesus three times. 

Human beings can fail due to their moral weakness, but they can also rise up again supported by the love and mercy that God offers, following the example of Simon Peter. Let us discover the risen Jesus among us and bear witness to His presence in the world. Let us commit ourselves to the missionary work of the Church, in obedience to Jesus. 

Today, the evangelist Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles about the Sanhedrin's rebuke of Peter and the apostles for teaching in the name of Jesus. They were imprisoned, questioned by the high priest, flogged and then released. The apostles said that it was necessary to obey God rather than men, and that it was through the Holy Spirit that they taught that Jesus had been killed by the Jewish authorities, that God had raised Him and made Him Savior for conversion and salvation from sins.

Let us allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit and courageously proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus so that people may convert from their sins and be saved.

Today, the apostle John tells us in the Book of Revelation about the praise and adoration given to the Lamb by millions upon millions in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea. He had been sacrificed but then lived forever.

In this Easter season, let us participate in this mystical vision of the apostle John, praising and adoring the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May the certainty of final victory give us strength to overcome and endure the difficulties and violence of the present time.

Let us pray for the upcoming conclave, so that the Holy Spirit may enlighten our cardinals in this very important task of electing the next Pope.