It was a huge loss—the first in our family. We didn’t expect that our mother would die so soon. The impact of her death left us clinging to one another as we processed our individual grief. Every day, we would visit her grave—pray for her, bring her flowers, and spend time together as a family. It became a daily ritual that helped transform our grief into joy—at being together, in knowing she is in a better place, at having a tight bond that she helped nurture together with my dad.

Maybe this is also what happened to Peter and the other Apostles. After witnessing the traumatic ending to Jesus’ earthly life, it was natural for them to return to the safety of their work and each other’s company. In their joint grief, that’s where they also met Jesus in resurrected form. 

Friend, are you still reeling from a loss or a traumatic experience?

Don’t isolate yourself. Find your safe place. There, you will also find Jesus. He’s never far from the brokenhearted. 

Tess V. Atienza (theresavatienza@gmail.com)

reflect

Losses are inevitable. It is by the grace of God that we can find meaning in them.

My Lord and my God, You are the God who comforts me. Let me find You in my grief. Amen.

Saint Venerius, pray for us.

First Reading | Acts 5:27-32, 40-41

The saints recognize that suffering in the name of Jesus and His mission is a privilege. This means they are formed as witnesses of His life. Persecution and suffering are not good, but God in His infinite power uses these for our good—our purification, the proclamation of the Gospel, intercession for others, etc. Let us never be afraid of purification or the call to share in the sufferings of Christ.

²⁷ When the captain and the court officers had brought the apostles in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them,  ²⁸ “We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. ³² We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.” 40 The Sanhedrin ordered the apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. ⁴¹ So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. 

² I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. ⁴ O Lord, you brought me up from the netherworld; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. (R) ⁵ Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. ⁶ For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. (R) ¹¹ Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me; O Lord, be my helper.” ¹² You changed my mourning into dancing; ¹³ O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks. (R) 

Second Reading | Revelation 5:11-14

The glory of God is our eternal focus in heaven. Praise and worship will be a way of life, and there will be nothing to distract us nor will there be any hindrance to our understanding of the full glory of the Lord. Let us begin to do this by offering our lives as a living sacrifice of praise, worship, and service to Him. 

¹¹ I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They were countless in number, ¹² and they cried out in a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.” ¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: “To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” ¹⁴ The four living creatures answered, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshipped.   

Gospel | John 21:1-19 (or John 21:1-14)

Those closest to Jesus did not initially recognize Him when He rose from the dead. This is difficult to understand until we realize that the resurrection must have changed Jesus. The resurrection will change us all. We are not the same when we come into faith in Jesus. Imagine how different we will be when we experience the resurrection from the dead. We are on these mysteries that we will never fully understand, yet we are called to experience them.

Gospel Acclamation

Christ is risen, creator of all; he has shown pity on all people.

¹ At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. ² Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went outand got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ⁴ When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. ⁷ So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. ⁹ When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. ¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ 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.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus 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. ¹⁸ 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.” ¹⁹ 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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read DEUTERONOMY 15 - 18 today.

Recognize the Lord at All Times

In the Korean drama series, Twenty-Five Twenty-One, fencing coach Yang is quoted as saying, “Don’t ever forget how you earned a new opportunity. Whenever you’re having a hard time, remind yourself how difficult it was to start.” It’s true. Opportunities arise because we desire to better ourselves and our life, and so we do something differently or take risks for that change to happen. Often, it takes a long time and much sacrifice. 

In John’s Gospel, we hear how the disciples reverted to their old life of fishing even though Jesus had already appeared to them a few times while they were in hiding. Those visits from the Risen Christ were not enough to fully convince them that they were to continue the mission in their Master’s absence. 

Strangely enough, although expert fishermen, they caught nothing. In their frustration, they took the advice of a stranger and were shocked to find their nets filled with 153 large fish. Only then did they recognize the Lord. Peter jumped into the water while the rest followed in the boat to meet the Lord, who was on the shore, ready for a breakfast of broiled fish and bread. 

We are like the disciples who easily get discouraged by life’s challenges. When things don’t go as planned, we think that God is not listening to our prayers, that He does not care about us or love us. We forget the times He helped us and was good to us. We recall our frustrations and failings instead. So, we stop praying. We find ourselves returning to our former life and its patterns when we experience even the slightest failure. We need renewal so we do not lose our sense of mission and our ability to recognize the Lord in our everyday life. 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA 

reflection question

How quickly do you allow the fire of enthusiasm to be extinguished when things do not go according to your plans and expectations? 

Jesus, renew and revive my faith whenever I seem to lose my sense of mission. May I always see You in both the good and the bad happenings in my life. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _______________________________________