A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, May 11, 2025 Acts 13:14, 43-52; Revelation 7:9, 14-17; John 10:27-30 We are living in the time after Easter: a time of difficulties that the early Church faced in believing and living out what Jesus taught, and in the age-old but new direction He is leading each of us. In the wake of Jesus’ death, the disciples are confused. What has happened? What does this mean for us? How can we live and believe and follow Jesus? The readings illustrate succinctly what happens, and it's not that different from our own faith journey. Are things easy after Jesus dies and rises from the dead? Absolutely not! Are the apostles and new “Christians” admired for living Jesus’ way? Absolutely not! Is it easy to live their new life in Jesus? Absolutely not! Is it easy for us to live as Christians in our very secular world today? Absolutely not! Is it easy for us to see people who are hurting, deprived, persecuted and rejected by loved ones, even being ignored and neglected in their home c...

For Sunday, May 4, 2025 Acts 5:11-14, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19 “Did you notice?” It’s always interesting to start off with that phrase — it’s like I know something you don’t. In our reading from John today, the two preceding verses [John 20:30-31] are clearly the conclusion of the Gospel, and some texts actually include the title “Conclusion” or express its purpose as such. Scholars today believe that chapter 21 is an epilogue from an earlier edition of John that did not originally include it. If this is indeed the case, we must ask why the disciples didn't recognize Jesus on the shore. And yet this edition does include chapter 21 which identifies where Peter stands after his threefold denial of Jesus. Not including it would infer that Peter goes home after the discovery of the empty tomb [John 20:10] and returns to his fishing trade. Yet his going fishing at night seems to imply, “What am I going to do now?” Following that, his excitement at seeing Jesus, jumping into th...