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06/02/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Monday, June 2, 2026, Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr:

In the first reading St. Peter warns us that we must “escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion.” In other words, lust for money, s*x outside of marriage, greed, etc. must be avoided if we are to be joined to the Body of Christ and share in the divine nature by way of grace.

Faith alone is not enough (Luther’s error), it must be joined to love. True repentance includes the desire to please God by using the grace He gives us to develop virtues. The Navarre commentary for Catholic Epistles says, “Practice of the virtues not only assures one’s vocation and election; it is essential for attaining entry to the eternal kingdom.” We are called as disciples to persevere in doing good (good works).

We need to add knowledge, self-control, steadfastness and godliness to our pursuit of virtue. We are called to our heavenly home for eternal joy, but this requires our co-operation in the struggle against the world, the devil, and the flesh.

It is well to remember as Psalm 112 notes, that “Light shines through the darkness for the upright.” So, we pray, “Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

The Gospel account has Jesus telling the parable of the wicked tenants who mistreated the owner of the vineyard's servants, who had been sent to collect his share of the harvest.

The owner then sent his son thinking they would respect him, but instead they killed him! Jesus then asks the chief priests and Pharisees who heard this parable what the owner would do with these evil tenants.

They rightly replied that he would punish them with death and replace them with faithful tenants
who provide his share of the produce. Then Jesus asked them if they had ever read the Scripture about the stone which the builder’s rejected that had become the cornerstone (from Psalm 118:22).

Jesus also told them the kingdom of God would be taken from them (meaning Israel) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Then they realized he was talking about them and their rejection of Him and they sought to arrest him but were stayed by the fear of how the people would react.

The servants who were sent to Israel were God’s prophets and some they beaten or stoned and some they killed rejecting God’s message in the process and refusing to reform. Origen, an Early Church Father writing in the second century, noted, “Or we may suppose this fulfilled in the case of those Jews who, knowing Christ, believed in Him. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize the inheritance.

This was fulfilled in those who saw Christ, and rejected Him, and plotted Hid death at the hands of the Romans. We are called to share the Gospel message with our fallen world. Pray for priests and more vocations.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060126.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-june-1-2026

06/02/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Sunday, May 31, 2026, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity:

In the first reading from Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9, Moses, following instructions from God, climbs Mt. Sinai carrying with him two stone tablets. When he arrives on the top, God descends in a cloud and identifies himself as the “Lord.” The appearance of God, usually in a cloud, is known as a “theophany.” He proclaims himself to be, “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity.” All praise be to our Father in heaven!

Thus, we see the willingness of God the Father to draw close to Moses and to renew the Covenant (family bond) with His people, Israel. Appropriately, as a response to God’s presence, Moses bows down to the ground in worship and pleads for his people, asking God to stay with His people on their hazardous journey through the desert wilderness and to pardon them for “their wickedness and sins.” Should we do less?

Fittingly, the Responsorial is drawn from the beautiful prayer of Daniel which is a hymn of praise to God for His glory and majesty. We proclaim with the Prophet, “Glory and praise for ever!”

St. Paul letter to the Corinthians ends with a beautiful prayer, which invokes the Holy Trinity, whom we honor in today’s solemnity: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” This profound blessing is also a kind of creedal statement in our faith.

The Gospel message (taken from John 3: 16-18) marks Christ’s death on the Cross as the supreme sign of God’s love for mankind. Men and women are called to a faith response to His love, without which they cannot avail themselves of the salvation God offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is why one who does not believe in the name of the Son of God is condemned by his/her own choice.

However, the interpretation of Martin Luther, that “faith alone” is required for salvation is an extrapolation without a foundation in Holy Scripture. In fact, the only time Scripture uses the words “faith alone” together is in James 2: 24, which states, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." We are saved by grace alone, or faith working in love as St. Paul puts it. If you are interested in a fuller discussion of this, please see the Catechism of the Catholic Church online, paragraphs 1271, 1278 and 1280 or go to this article:

https://catholicjules.net/2016/05/21/the-most-holy-trinity/

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053126.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-31-2026

05/31/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Saturday, May 30, 2026:

In the first reading from St. Jude, the Apostle, brother of James the Just, sounding very much like St. Peter, exhorting Christians to build up the holy faith within themselves. How do we do this? St. Jude says, learn to pray in the Holy Spirit (ask the Holy Spirit to inform and deepen your prayer and be docile to His spiritual promptings) and be patient, relying upon God’s mercy.

As the Navarre Bible commentary for the Catholic Epistles notes, “the Christian life can be summed us as living the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity, accompanied by prayer), through the action of each of the three divine Persons—the love of God the Father, the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”

He also stressed purity and to make his point, says abhor “even the outer garment stained by the flesh.” This means avoiding the company of those whose lifestyle is depraved and personally avoiding the near occasion of sin, knowing your own human weaknesses.

Psalm 63 reflects the attitude of a man or woman of God, who seeks God, pines and thirsts to be in his presence. Knowing of God’s “power and glory” the psalmist gazes towards the sanctuary with praise on his lips, calling upon the Lord as he testifies, “My soul is thirsting for you my Lord, my God.”

In the Gospel (Mark 11: 27-33) the chief priests, scribes and elders are once again trying to trip up Jesus, asking Him by what authority does He overturn tables and cleanse the Temple of God. Knowing their lack of sincerity, Jesus turns the question around asking them to tell Him whether John the Baptist’s baptism was of human or heavenly origin. Fearing the crowd if they tell him what they think (that it was merely of human origin) and not being able to admit that it was of divine origin, they use an easy out, claiming that they do not know.

Jesus, in turn, says, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.” St. Bede comments:
“As if He had said, I will not tell you what I know, since ye will not confess what ye know. Further, we must observe that knowledge is hidden from those who seek it, principally for two reasons, namely, when he who seeks for it either has not sufficient capacity to understand what he seeks for, or when through contempt for the truth, or some other reason, he is unworthy of having that for which he seeks opened to him.”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053026.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-30-2026

05/29/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Friday,May 29, 2026, Optional Memorial of Saint Paul VI, Pope:

In the first reading from the fourth chapter of 1 Peter, the author writes, “the end of all things is at hand.” This is a reference to the beginning of the last days that were ushered in with the coming of the Messiah and extends to the His return and the end of the world. This is certainly sufficient cause in itself to urge Christians to be sober minded and pray, for our lives are always in the hands of God.

The point is that life is a test for each person and we don’t know how long it will last so that we must make it count because our soul is at stake. Hence we must make God the priority in our life and live according to His Word and treat others with the love He has for us. We are assured that “love covers a multitude of sins.” This is so, on the one hand, because love understands and forgives and on the other, because our love unites us to God.

But why does St. Peter urge us to “rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ”? If we offer our sufferings in this life to God, we can more confidently face our judgment day in the next life (see Matthew 5: 11-12 and 10: 32).

The psalmist reminds us that, “The Lord is king . . . and governs the peoples with equity.” All of God’s creation can rejoice because God is both merciful and just. So we proclaim to all that would hear the truth, “The Lord comes to judge the earth.” We don’t know the day or the hour but as St. Peter urged us, we must be live as disciples of Christ.

In the Gospel, taken from Mark 11: 11-26, our Lord mysteriously curses a fig tree for its lack of production, even though “it was not the time of production.” Was this unfair to the fig tree? Well no, the fig tree has no soul and is not in the same category as man, for whom the tree was cursed. Jesus is teaching us that we must produce spiritual fruit, both in and out of season, or we too may be “cursed” by our lack of virtue, which is made possible by God’s grace.

Ultimately, the fig tree stands for Israel, which has yet to yield the fruit of repentance and is going to reject its Messiah despite waiting generations for His day to come.

Likewise, in overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers, our Lord is not expressing opposition to capitalism (though unbridled and unjust capitalism can be a sin against God), but rather the profaning of that which is holy because of God’s presence, namely the Temple. This act of temerity was not merely a reflection of the Lord’s indignation, though that was clearly on display, as much as the nature of holiness and of God, which demands our attention, reverence, awe and worship.

Jesus’ action is reminiscent of the dynamic cleaning of the outer court of the temple in Malachi 3: 1-4, where Israel was forewarned that the Lord would “make a divine inspection of the Temple to purify the sanctuary and its priests” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament, footnote 11-15, p. 86). Zechariah the prophet in Zech. 14: 21 had prophesied that in the time of the Messiah no merchant will be found within the Temple precincts.

St. Bede teaches us the difference in effective prayer:

“But we must observe that there is a difference in those who pray; he who has perfect faith, which worketh by love, can by his prayer or even his command remove spiritual mountains, as Paul did with Elymas the sorcerer. But let those who are unable to mount up to such a height of perfection pray that their sins should be forgiven them, and they shall obtain what they pray for, provided that they themselves first forgive those who have sinned against them. If however they disdain to do this, not only shall they be unable to perform miracles by their prayers, but they shall not even be able to obtain pardon for their sins, which is implied in what follows; ‘But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’"

We too are called to look to the future and to our eternal life, which will be attained only by cooperating with the graces given by the Most Holy Trinity to each one of us. The Jews had the Law and the Prophets, but we have the Savior and the Sacraments. Let us not despoil our inheritance in Christ Jesus, but rather praise God for it! Praise is the rarest form of prayer but perhaps, the most important, aside from repentance.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-29-2026

05/28/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Thursday, May 28, 2026:

The first reading taken from 1 Peter 2: 2-5 and 9-12, captures the key point that we must be formed spiritually and become a “holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the cornerstone of the structure that we call the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reflects this when it notes, “The baptized have become ‘living stones’ to be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood. By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission” (CCC 1268). This is a reference to our sharing in the “common priesthood of all believers,” as contrasted with the ministerial priesthood of the ordained.

It is important to note that we belong to Christ! “Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. From now on, he [or she] is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion of the Church, and to ‘obey and submit’ to the Church’s leaders, holding them in respect and affection” (CCC 1269).

This is what St. Peter means when he says that like newborn infants we should long for “spiritual milk” so we can “grow up to salvation.” This means struggling against the “worldly desires that wage war against the soul” or as another translation describes it, “the passions of the flesh” (RSV, CE).

Finally, advice for us, namely to “maintain good conduct among the Gentiles” since we live around so many unbelievers and atheists. This is necessary because we are called to be evangelizers and a holy people! We should not give the enemies of Christ any behavior that they can use against Christians and therefore, against Christ.

In Psalm 100 we see the providence and goodness of the Lord who tends His flock (the New Israel, the Church) as He did the Old Israel of Old Testament times. We should sing joyfully and thank Him for His kindness to us and, “Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.”

In the Gospel, taken from Mark 10: 46-52, we see the mercy of God as Jesus responds to the loud cries of Bartimaeus, who pleads, “Son of David, have pity on me.” By calling Jesus “Son of David,” Jesus’ royal lineage and, in effect, His kingship (see Isa. 9:7 and Ezek. 34: 23-24) is acknowledged. The Messiah was to come from the line of David, so Bartimaeus acknowledgement is important.

We can see that Jesus once again rewards the faith of the believer. When Bartimaeus responds to Jesus’ question, he does not beat around the bush. Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” and Bartimaeus says, “Master, let me receive my sight.” Jesus immediately restores the man’s sight and says, “Go your way; you faith has made you well.” We are often troubled or sick and can ask the Lord for anything if we have faith, trusting that He will give us what is best for us at that time.

It is somewhat ironic that the first man to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Son of David is a blind man. If even a blind man can have faith strong enough to recognize the Savior from what he hears of his deeds, this underscores the power of the spoken word and is a kind of stark contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who see and hear but do not believe. In our daily life are we listening to the voice of Jesus or the voices of the crowd?

Allegorically, St. Bede sees the blind beggar as the Gentile nations, who when they received faith as a gift as it were from the Holy Spirit, responded to it and could then be saved by Christ. Jesus, who challenged them to rise from their spiritual blindness, throw of the mantle of sin, and follow Him towards eternal glory.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052826.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-28-202

05/27/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Optional Memorial of Saint Augustine of Canterbury:

In the first reading, from 1 Peter 1: 18-25, St. Peter indicates that we were bought for a great price as St. Paul put it (1 Corinthians 6:20), namely, “the precious Blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.” As St. Ambrose, an Early Church Father, says of Christ’s Blood that it is, “precious because it is the blood of a spotless Lamb, the blood of the Son of God, who has ransomed us not only from the curse of the Law, but also from that never-ending death which impiety implies” (Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, 7, 117).

Since God the Father raised His divine Son from the dead and “gave him glory,” we owe obedience to the truths He revealed. His Resurrection from the dead forms the basic truth of our faith and hope, and evidences Christ’s divinity. He was raised by His own divine power as God. In saying that He was raised by the Father, we are referring to Him as man.

We are called to love one another “intensely from a pure heart.” The Word of God is our guide in moral behavior and the Church’s magisterium interprets the Scriptures infallibly for us. God’s word is “living and abiding,” allowing us to place faith in it. Man shines for a time and fades in old age, withers and dies, but the word of Lord remains forever!

Psalm 147 reflects the special relationship of Israel to God, who has blest the nation and granted peace in its borders, providing for the people in abundance. He has given them His ordinances to keep for their good. We too have His ordinances in the Ten Commandments and the moral teachings of the Word of God, so we say, “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.”

The tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark has been our source this week and it contains today, in verses 32-45, Jesus’ teaching on nature of sacrificial love. This is love that seeks the good of the other, even to the point of sacrificing oneself, as Jesus did for us. Jesus tells the Apostles that He will be arrested and crucified by the authorities in Jerusalem (chief priests and scribes run the Sanhedrin under Roman rule).
That they cannot yet understand the meaning of His words is obvious in that James and John, the sons of Thunder, are asking to sit at His right and His left when He comes into His kingdom. St. John Chrysostom explains:

“The disciples hearing Christ oftentimes speaking of His kingdom, thought that this kingdom was to be before His death, and therefore now that His death was foretold to them, they came to Him, that they might immediately be made worthy of the honors of the kingdom: wherefore it is said, And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him, saying, Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we shall desire.”

The others are naturally resentful in hearing this bold request, but Jesus silences them all, first by asking the two sons of thunder if they can drink of the chalice that He will drink (i.e., a martyr’s death). They say they can and James will, though John will be spared this, alone among the Apostles. But was he spared persecution and suffering? St. Bede explains:

“A question is raised, however, how James and John drank the cup of martyrdom, or how they were baptized with the baptism of the Lord, when the Scripture relates, that only James the Apostle was beheaded by Herod whilst John finished his life by a natural death. But if we read ecclesiastical histories, in which it is related, that he also on account of the witness which he bore was cast into a cauldron of burning oil, and was immediately sent away to the island of Patmos, we shall then see that the spirit of martyrdom was in him, and that John drank the cup of confession, which the Three Children also drank in the furnace of fire, though the persecutor did not spill their blood. It goes on: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.”

In explaining his own sacrificial love our Lord speaks of freely giving His life up as a “ransom.” St. Bede explains:

“He did not say, however, that He gave His life as a ransom for all, but for many, that is, for those who would believe on Him.” He came to save all men but not all men will accept His salvation. Are you ready to serve another today for Jesus?

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052726.

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-27-2026

05/26/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Memorial of Saint Phillip Neri, Priest:

St. Peter tells us (1 Peter 1: 10-16) that the prophets of the Old Testament wrote for us, “to testify in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them.” They were not listened to by many in their own day and today, it is also true that for many today there is either no knowledge of the prophets, or a rejection of their message in Christ.

The prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit when they described the suffering of the Messiah. Not even the angels received this revelation, except later through the Church which Christ founded (see Ephesians 3: 10). The message was meant for those whom Jesus came to save.

St. Peter teaches that we must become holy as God the Father is holy if we are to attain eternal life with God. This holiness is reflected in our obedience to God’s commandments and our sincere love of our neighbors. We have a higher calling that requires that we strive for holiness and that reverence of life that is fitting for children of God and members of the mystical body of Christ.

Psalm 98 picks up the theme of the first reading, in that the Lord’s salvation, in the person of Jesus Christ, was made known to all the nations, and likewise, his justice. The Church was established to bring the news of our salvation “to the ends of the earth” as the psalmist says. So,9 we proclaim in our liturgy for today, “The Lord has made known his salvation.” Sing praise!

In the Gospel, taken from St. Mark 10: 28-31, St. Peter asks our Lord a very pertinent question that begins with “we have given up everything and followed you . . .” He does not need to finish the question because we know where he is going with it. St. Peter is asking, so what will our reward be? Jesus responds, that those who have given up property or left family to follow him and have suffered persecution for it, will receive a reward a hundred times greater with eternal life in heaven.

St. Bede explains:

“This which is here said, shall receive a hundredfold, may be understood in a higher sense. For the number a hundred which is reckoned by changing from the left to the right hand, although it has the same appearance in the bending of the fingers as the ten had on the left, nevertheless is increased to a much greater quantity. This means, that all who have despised temporal things for the sake of the kingdom of heaven through undoubting faith, taste the joy of the same kingdom in this life which is full of persecutions, and in the expectation of the heavenly country, which is signified by the right hand, have a share in the happiness of all the elect.”

He adds:

“But because all do not accomplish a virtuous course of life with the same ardor as they began it, it is presently added, but many that are first shall be last, and the last first; for we daily see many persons who, remaining in a lay habit, are eminent for their meritorious life; but others, who from their youth have been ardent in a spiritual profession, at last wither away in the sloth of ease, and with a hazy folly finish in the flesh, what they had begun in the Spirit.”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052626.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-26-2026

05/26/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Monday, May 25, 2026, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church:

In the first reading from Genesis 3: 9-24, our Lord confronts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they have expressly done what He forbade them to do and Adam resorts to blaming Eve, while Eve says she was “beguiled” by the serpent.

As He warned them, God held them to the consequences resulting from their sin. They are expelled from the Garden of Eden and subject to physical death. But, most importantly, God does not reject them, but provides hope for the redemption of mankind, including Adam and Eve. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it:

“God created man in his image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship only in free submission to God. The prohibition against eating "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" spells this out: "for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die." The ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependent on his Creator, and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom.”

St. Paul affirms this noting, “By one man’s disobedience many (that is, all men) were made sinners” (CCC 396). This sin is why all men and women who followed our first parents were born in original sin (i.e., a fallen state) and why the Church provides a remedy for this condition in the sacrament of Baptism.

Although by one man the whole human race is implicated in the sin of Adam and Eve, it is also true that by one man, Jesus Christ, all our offered salvation. The first message of this promised salvation comes in our first reading and is known as the “protoevangelium,” the first Gospel, wherein Jesus promises mankind a Savior.
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Mary is the “woman” of Genesis 3:15, for she is “prophetically foreshadowed” in the promise made to our first parents that the head of Satan would be crushed. By her “fiat” and her willingness to “let it be [done] to me according to your word” she cooperates with her Son in the crushing of the head of Satan.

As St. Irenaeus, an Early Church Father and a Doctor of the Church, noted: “the knot of Eve’s disobedience, was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosed by her faith” (Against Heresies 3, 22, 4). The Church Fathers saying was, “death through Eve, life through Mary” (St. Jerome, “Epistula,” 22, 21). Just as Christ was called the “new Adam,” so Mary was called the “new Eve” and “the untier of knots.”

St. Thomas explained why God did not prevent Adam and Eve from sinning in these words: “God allows evils to be done in order to draw forth some greater good.”
The Responsorial Psalm ( #87) speaks of the glories of the city of Jerusalem as the city of God in a hymn of Zion. If the psalm is interpreted to indicate that all nations will form the people of God in the Church, then we can see why St. Paul applied the image of Jerusalem as mother to the Church. We proclaim with the psalmist, “Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.”

In the Gospel, taken from John 19: 25-34, we see the faithful women standing by the Cross of Christ during His crucifixion and St. John, who accompanied Mary, the Mother of Jesus. St. Ambrose comments:

“Mary the mother of our Lord stood before the cross of her Son. None of the Evangelists hath told me this except John. The others have related how that at our Lord's Passion the earth quaked, the heaven was overspread with darkness, the sun fled, the thief was taken into paradise after confession. John hath told us, what the others have not, how that from the cross whereon He hung, He called to His mother. He thought it a greater thing to show Him victorious over punishment, fulfilling the offices of piety to His mother, than giving the kingdom of heaven and eternal life to the thief. For if it was religious to give life to the thief, a much richer work of piety it is for a son to honor his mother with such affection.”

Jesus gave his mother for John’s immediate care, but to all of us as well as a spiritual mother. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes:

“Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." (CCC 964)

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052526.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-25-2026

05/23/2026

Commentary on the Readings for Friday, May 22, 2026, Optional Memorial of St. Norbert and St. Rita of Cascia:

The first reading from Acts 25:13b-21 and recounts part of the story how, as Jesus had told him, St. Paul would end up testifying to his faith in Jesus Christ in Rome. As background to today’s reading Paul had been transferred to the coastal town of Caesarea by the Romans where he was to be tried before the Roman governor Felix. Felix held Paul for two years questioning him from time to time in hopes Paul would give him money.

Then Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus who brought Paul before some of his Jewish opponents from Jerusalem, but Paul again outwitted them, by taking advantage of his Roman citizenship to appeal to Caesar. Festus did not want to release Paul because that would surely make governing the Jews more difficult, nor did he want Paul torn limb from limb by his Jewish antagonists. Thus, the new governor agreed to send him off to Rome. St. Paul would testify in Rome just as Jesus told him he must in a vision.

In the Responsorial Psalm we recognize that, “The Lord has established his throne in heaven.” Paul certainly knew the truths revealed in Psalm103, namely that God is surpassing in his kindness to those who fear Him and puts our transgressions far from us if we fear him with reverence and true repentance.

In the Gospel from John 21:15-19 we have the famous resurrection appearance of Jesus on the shore of Sea of Galilee (Lake Galilee), wherein Jesus after revealing himself to the disciples present, asks Peter about his love for Him three times. The Early Church Fathers and later Doctors of the Church have often discussed the mystical meaning of this event. Why three times?

Certainly, the threefold repetition allowed Peter to atone for his threefold denial of Jesus during our Lord’s passion. After the first query, St. Peter says, “Yes, Lord you know that I love you.” Jesus responds, “Feed my lambs.” The word which is used for “feed” is “boskein” --a Greek word which the Jewish historian Philo of Alexandria, and other 1st century writers, use to denote “spiritual nourishment.”

Jesus is saying the lambs, which are the symbol for the flock of the Church, need spiritual nourishment and Peter as primate must provide it to in Word and sacrament.

On the second repetition of the question by Jesus, Peter gives the same reply. Jesus says, “Tend my sheep.” The word “tend” is actually the Greek “poimanao” --the same Greek word which is translated as “rule” in Matt 2:6, Rev 2:27, 7:17; 12:5, where it is applied to Jesus Himself. Peter is to rule the Church in fulfilling the words of Jesus to Peter in Matthew 16:16-19.

When Jesus then repeats the question a third time, Peter is distressed. So Peter, who is aware of his human weakness, puts his response in the hands of our Lord, by saying, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.” Jesus responds, “Feed my sheep.” Peter clearly has the primacy of feeding the sheep of the Church. Vatican Council I (1870-1871) said:

“We therefore teach and declare that according to the testimony of the Gospel, the primacy of jurisdiction over the universal Church of God was immediately and directly promised and given to Blessed Peter the Apostle by Christ our Lord. And it was upon Simon Peter alone that Jesus after his resurrection bestowed the jurisdiction of chief pastor and ruler over all his fold in the words: Feed my lambs; feed my sheep” (Pastor Aeternus, chapter 1).

St. John Chrysostom, an Early Church Father, comments:

“Our Lord having made Peter declare his love, informs him of his future martyrdom; an intimation to us how we should love: Truly, Truly, I say to you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would. He reminds him of his former life, because, whereas in worldly matters a young man has powers, an old man none; in spiritual things, on the contrary, virtue is brighter, manliness stronger, in old age; age is no hindrance to grace. Peter had all along desired to share Christ's dangers; so Christ tells him, Be of good cheer; I will fulfill your desire in such a way, that what you have not suffered when young, you shall suffer when old. . . ”

Peter is told that he too will have to stretch out his hands and die a martyr, for love of Christ, glorifying Him by his death.

The pictures below are along the Sea of Galilee (a large lake) from the spot where Jesus appeared in the Gospel and the stone is the stone believed to be one on which they shared breakfast, called, “the table of the Lord.”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052226.cfm

Audio: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-22-2026

Catholic Faith and Reason

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