Reconciled and Soul Repaired

The Scripture passages which make up the first reading and the Gospel reading in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are linked in an obvious way by the forced submission of the two giants of thespread of Christianity, Peter and Paul to the will of others. The imprisonment of Paul in Jerusalem and the action of the Roman authorities in sending him to Rome to resolve a dispute based on disagreement between followers of the Jewish religion over a man Jesus and what he did seems to be a bit more than the Roman Emperor would concern himself about. This journey is in harmony with the messages in the work of Luke that we are on a spiritual journey and, for the people of his time; the mission of Jesus is to be understood as continuing the Jewish tradition rather than being a new movement which would not be in accord with Roman order. The ending of the text from the Gospel of John is the occasion for Jesus to advise Peter, who has been restored or had his soul repaired, that Peter’s journey for Jesus will take him to be a state of submission to the will of others for Jesus. Both these acts of surrender of personal autonomy bring fruit of growth in the spread of the Word to others. The journey of people toward the deep intimate relationship with God and others require that our moral errors and self serving actions be reviewed and reconciled. The situation in the Gospel of John is a marvelous example of the desire of God to make things right with us. Peter is given the opportunity to revisit his betrayal of Jesus during the Passion. The sights, sounds and words are offered by Jesus for this healing. We can be open for those healing visits from Jesus in our lives. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the Church prays through a novena at this time, are the sustaining virtues which empower the faithful to life in obedience to the Will of God on the spiritual journey to holiness.