Good morning, Good People! May the Lord give you peace and blessings. It is 06th June 2025.We celebrate the memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop, who said once: “O Priest, who are you? You are not yourself because you are God’s. You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ.”
As we approach the sacred eve of Pentecost in our parish, the Gospel today invites us into a deeper inner cleansing—to seek forgiveness and make room for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Love, to be real, must cost, it must hurt, it must empty us of self.”
And in today’s Gospel, the Risen Christ asks Peter a question not once, but three times:
“Do you love me?”
A woman in a small town once fell into deep conflict with her younger brother. Words were spoken in anger, years passed in silence, and the pain hardened their hearts. On the day of her daughter’s wedding, the woman left an empty chair at the front of the church. When asked about it, she simply said, “It’s for my brother, in case he ever finds the courage to come.” Her brother had come and stood at the back, watching with tears in his eyes. That empty chair—an invitation of love without words—melted the years of bitterness. That night, a quiet knock came at her door. No dramatic apology, no grand gestures—just a whispered, “Do you still love me?”
And she, like Christ with Peter, simply said: “Come in. I have been waiting.”
This intimate moment—recorded only in the Gospel of John—is far more than a personal reconciliation. It is a divine commissioning, a healing dialogue that strengthens the Church, reaffirms Peter’s leadership, and reveals the way of true discipleship: love proven through sacrifice.
Peter had denied Jesus three times. Yet now, Jesus does not scold or shame him. Instead, He invites Peter to love again, to feed His sheep, to follow Him. This is the mercy of God: a love that calls us back even after failure, a love that never gives up on us.
So too, this question is asked of us—individually, as families, and as the Church.
Do you love Me more than these?
Love that does not serve is merely sentiment. Service without love becomes cold, transactional, and empty of grace. But when love is real—when it is rooted in humility, forgiveness, and faith—it becomes a force that transforms relationships, families, and communities.
In Acts 25:13–21, we see Paul standing before governors and kings, not defending himself for fame or survival, but because of the burning love of Christ in his heart. That love gave him the strength to stand with conviction, even in chains.
We are not our own—we belong to Christ. And in belonging to Him, we are called to love with His love.
Let us not harden our hearts. Even when we have been denied, forgotten, or wounded by those closest to us, let us take the daring first step. Let us whisper love again. Let us love with a purifying affection that seeks no return, only to be emptied for God.
Do you love Me more than these?
May our answer today be yes—not just with words, but with lives of service, humility, and radical forgiveness.
Have a peaceful and Spirit-filled day.
God bless you.