John 21:15-19

Acts 25:13b-21

Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab

John 21:15-19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, 

he said to Simon Peter,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

He then said to Simon Peter a second time,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Simon Peter answered 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 distressed that he had said to him a 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.

Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,

you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 

but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,

and someone else will dress you

and lead you where you do not want to go.”

He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.

And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I renew my love for you and my desire to follow your Son. I promise to feed and tend the lambs and sheep in my care. May I glorify you in all that I say and do today.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Divine Love: In his Homily given at the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV reflected on today’s Gospel and highlighted two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus: the dimension of love and the dimension of unity. Peter was called to be a fisher of humanity and draw it up from the waters of evil and death. “Walking along the shore, [Jesus] had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, ‘fishers of men.’ Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the ‘waters’ of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025). Peter and the other Apostles were able to do this because their lives were touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God. When Jesus asks Peter about his love, Jesus uses the Greek word “agape,” which refers to the total self-offering love that God has for us. When Peter responds to Jesus, he uses a different Greek word that means the love between two friends. By speaking about agape, Jesus is inviting Peter to experience the divine love that does not fail. Only in this way will Peter be able to feed Jesus’ lambs. “Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more,’ that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025).

2. Self-Sacrificing Love: The Petrine ministry of the Pope must be informed by the self-sacrificing charity of Christ: “The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ.  It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power.  Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025).

3. A Sign of Unity and Communion: Pope Leo has taken as his motto the phrase: “In the one Christ, we are one.” Jesus is the rejected stone that has become the cornerstone (Acts 4:11). Peter, the rock, is called to serve and shepherd the flock like Christ and never yield to the temptation of being an autocrat. “On the contrary, [Peter] is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are ‘living stones’ (1 Peter 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025). Pope Leo desires and prays for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, when I hear your question, “Do you love me?” I am cut to the heart. I want to respond with Peter, “Yes, Lord, I love you,” but I also know all the times I have failed to love you. Transform my sorrow into joy and bring me to love you more deeply with each passing day.

Living the Word of God: At the end of his homily, Pope Leo gave the following exhortation as a way to live the Word of God: “This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world.  We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people. With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity. Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another” (Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025).