Today, 23rd of March, we celebrate
Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo
First Reading: Acts 4:1-12
While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming that resurrection from the dead had been proved in the case of Jesus. Since it was already evening, they arrested them and put them in custody until the following day. 4 But despite this, many of those who heard the Message believed and their number increased to about five thousand.
The next day, the Jewish leaders, elders and teachers of the Law assembled in Jerusalem. Annas, the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly class were there. They brought Peter and John before them and began to question them, "How did you do this? Whose name did you use?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up, "Leaders of the people! Elders! It is a fact that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple. How was he healed? You and all the people of Israel must know that this man stands before you cured through the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean. You had him crucified, but God raised him from the dead. Jesus is the stone rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other Name given to humankind all over the world by which we may be saved."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or Alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the Lord say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or Alleluia.
O Lord, grant salvation!
O Lord, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has given us light.
R./ The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: Jn 21:1-14
Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." They replied, "We will come with you" and they went out and got into the boat. But they caught nothing that night.
When day had already broken, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus called them, "Children, have you anything to eat?" They answered, "Nothing." Then he said to them, "Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they had lowered the net, they were not able to pull it in because of the great number of fish.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" At these words, "It's the Lord," Simon Peter put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and jumped into the water. The other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish; they were not far from land, about a hundred meters.
When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught." So Simon Peter climbed into the boat and pulled the net to shore. It was full of big fish-one hundred and fifty-three-but, in spite of this, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast," and not one of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and he did the same with the fish.
This was the third time that Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after rising from the dead.
They knew it was the Lord
Biblical scholars today suspect that this passage in the Gospel was not written by John. Many of the words and phrases used here do not reflect the literary style of the previous chapters of John. They believe that it was a close disciple of John who added this passage to the original text to address the divisions that had arisen within the community. John’s letters give us clear evidence that there had been deep division within the community, and some disciples had even left the community [1 John 2:19]. This raised the issue of how to decide who was right.
The references to the charcoal fires are provided twice in John’s Gospel. On the night before the Lord’s passion, it was at a fireplace that Peter denied Jesus by saying, “I don’t even know the man” (Matthew 26:72-74). Now in the second occasion, Jesus comes in search of Peter and his company for his reconciliation. It was for the possibility of such reconciliation between God and man that the Word was made flesh! Making connections is God’s work.
The Lord invites him to the banquet of mercy: “Come, have breakfast.” Fish and bread were on the menu on an earlier occasion on the mountainside, close by the Sea of Tiberias, when Jesus had fed the crowd and had later promised them the true bread from heaven. Now, decades later, the community wants to recall and cherish the simplicity and intimacy of the Risen Lord, who cooks fish on a charcoal fire and invites his friends to have some breakfast. The Risen Lord encounters us in our ordinary situations of daily life.
The frustrations in life lead the apostles to return to their former lifestyles for a while. The author must be referring to the frustrations in the Church and many of them leaving the community. But their workout in the sea is in the dark and gets no results. When tragedies or miseries struck us down, we may have doubted the presence of Jesus in our lives and may have run away from him. There might have been occasions when we left the community and the Church for a while. Despite our infidelity, Jesus extends his mercy, love and acceptance.
The disciples knew He was the Lord. The author wants to reiterate the invisible and continuous presence of Jesus amidst the disappointments and frustrations that the community experiences in its life in faith.
Bible Claret
Introduction
All evangelists underline the disciples' difficulty of recognizing the risen Lord. First they do not realize he is there, he is just like a stranger; then, usually as a consequence of a word or action, it dawns on them that it is the Lord; and those who love him most - today John - usually recognize him first. The risen Lord is quite different in appearance from the Jesus whom they had known before his death and resurrection.
Though their faith in the resurrection was difficult and slow, still it is the heart of the apostolic preaching: the risen Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and our lives. As with the apostles, he stays with us as when we are toiling.
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
through our risen Lord, your Son Jesus Christ,
you have given us a message of hope
and a person to live for.
Free our faith from triviality and routine
and fill us with his Spirit of courage,
that we may learn to live
with the insecurities of the change of renewal
ever-demanded by the gospel
and by the needs of the times.
May our Christian living bear witness
to the name of him by whom we are saved,
Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.
General Intercessions
- For the Church, that it may continue proclaiming the good news of the risen Lord and bearing witness to him even if this annoys outsiders or even some of its own members, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that without fear we may live our faith openly and do what is right and good in the name of Jesus, we pray:
- For all and each of us that we may recognize with faith and love the presence of the Lord in one another, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father
you put good words on our tongue
and you fill our hands with good gifts;
you entrust even your Son to us
and place him in our hands.
Through him, then, and together with him,
let us become to the world
your word and your gift, your sign of hope,
and make us capable of bearing witness
to your love for people.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, our Father,
your Son Jesus invited us today
to come and eat the food of himself
which he had prepared for us.
May we too invite people far and near
to share the table of the things we have
and of the best that is in us -
our love and compassion, our encouraging word,
and our presence to one another.
May this be the sign to those around us
that your risen Son lives among us
now and for ever.
Blessing
May we raise up one another and bring one another healing and peace in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
