“Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ‘Lord, You know all things,’ he replied. ‘You know I love You.’” (John 21:17).
I have been reflecting on the peace that certain souls display.
You see, some people seem to remain calm in any storm that they encounter in life. When they become ill they take it in their stride and continue on. When they lost their job or experience grief, they endure the experience with a sort of stoic tranquillity that is very difficult to understand for people like me.
And I have been thinking about that today.
The Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote in his book, “Peace of Soul” at page 185, “A sinner, unrepentant, cannot love God, any more than someone on dry land can swim; but as soon as a person takes his errant energies to God and asks for their redirection, he will become happy, as he was never happy before. It is not the wrong things one has already done that keep one from God; it is present persistence in that wrong. Someone who turns back to God, as the Magdalene and Paul, welcomes the discipline that will enable him to change his former tendencies.”
And I have been thinking about that today as I reflect on the tranquillity of Saint Simon Peter and Mary Magdalene. You see, when they first turned to Christ – when they were first rescued by Him from sin – I am very sure that they were not tranquil. In fact, I am very sure that they were worried and frightened and consumed with fear that they would return to their sinful ways.
“Jesus asked a second time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered, ‘You know I love You.’ Jesus told him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ Jesus asked a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ‘Lord, You know all things,’ he replied. ‘You know I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:16-18).
And there in that DEEP HURT of Peter, is the fear that in fact his sins may well have prevented Christ for believing in him. And that tranquillity that is achieved through complete and utter faith in God, is sometimes the result of a strong test – as the test of Christ to Peter on that day. You see, sometimes, God is asking me whether I love Him, not once, or twice or even three times. Because I am no Peter. You see, Saint Peter denied Christ three times before the cock crowed. And I deny Him countless times every day of my life. And when I think of it like that, I know that it is my duty to allow Christ to prune me as He would a rose bush. Because only by cutting back the dead branches, will I ever bear fruit…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.