Behold Love in Action

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to react to the events of our life with a desire and action for good even as we aspire to perfect love.

Act in Love

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Paul before King Agrippa.

* [25:13] King Agrippa and Bernice: brother and sister, children of Herod Agrippa I whose activities against the Jerusalem community are mentioned in Acts 12:1–19. Agrippa II was a petty ruler over small areas in northern Palestine and some villages in Perea. His influence on the Jewish population of Palestine was insignificant. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 103 proclaims even sin cannot destroy God’s mercy.

* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22). (Psalms, PSALM 103 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents the relationship between Jesus and Peter.

* [21:15–23] This section constitutes Peter’s rehabilitation and emphasizes his role in the church.

* [21:15–17] In these three verses there is a remarkable variety of synonyms: two different Greek verbs for love (see note on Jn 15:13); two verbs for feed/tend; two nouns for sheep; two verbs for know. But apparently there is no difference of meaning. The threefold confession of Peter is meant to counteract his earlier threefold denial (Jn 18:17, 25, 27). The First Vatican Council cited these verses in defining that Jesus after his resurrection gave Peter the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over the whole flock.

* [21:15] More than these: probably “more than these disciples do” rather than “more than you love them” or “more than you love these things [fishing, etc.].”

* [21:18] Originally probably a proverb about old age, now used as a figurative reference to the crucifixion of Peter. (John, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB, n.d.)

Cindy Murphy McMahon imagines Luke, like any good journalist or historian, went back to sources to get more details and to confirm facts or correct misinformation. The details he captured are rich and lively, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Let us thank God for St. Luke and all the writers of the New Testament, and pray for their intercession.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thank you for the gifts you endowed upon St. Luke and all those who did their best to write testimonies concerning Jesus and his teachings. Thank you for their dedication and courage. St. Luke, and all writers of what became the New Testament, please pray for our writers, editors, historians, and theologians today, that they may seek, find, and share what is true and divinely inspired. (Murphy McMahon, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Christ rose again in the flesh, and Peter rose in the spirit because, when Christ died in his passion, Peter died by his denial. Christ the Lord was raised from the dead, and out of his love he raised Peter. He questioned him about the love he was confessing and entrusted him with his sheep. After all, what benefit could Peter confer on Christ by the mere fact of his loving Christ? If Christ loves you, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And if you love Christ, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And yet Christ the Lord wanted to indicate how people ought to show that they love Christ. And he made it plain enough by entrusting him with his sheep. 'Do you love me?' 'I do.' 'Feed my sheep.' All this once, all this a second time, all this a third time. Peter made no other reply than that he loved him. The Lord asked no other question but whether he loved him. When Peter answered, our Lord did nothing else but entrust his sheep to him." (excerpt from SERMON 229n.1.4)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 21:15-19 comments that we tend to love mostly good things: our families, the beauty of this created world, the work we do, the ways we have contributed to our communities. But as good as these loves may be, they will not satisfy us. We will always be looking for more. The truth is, we are created to be in a relationship with Jesus. Only he can fill our deepest longing, and loving him puts everything else in its rightful order.

Do you love Jesus more than “these”? He is worthy of your full yes! So let him do for you what he did for Peter. Let him gently reveal your attachments and invite you to surrender them to him. Right now, imagine Jesus standing before you with his loving searching gaze fixed on your heart. How can you reprioritize your other “loves”? What comes to mind? Look into his eyes and surrender it to him.

“Jesus, you know everything. You know that I love you.” (Meditation on John 21:15-19, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments in the Acts of the Apostles we hear royalty discussing with Festus, the Governor, about Paul who had been arrested by Felix, a ruler who sought bribes, a few years prior. The crimes of Paul are expressed as simply religious disagreements about the life and death of Jesus. Paul, a Roman citizen, appealed to go to Rome avoiding likely assassination on the way to Jerusalem. In the Gospel of John, the disciples encounter Jesus after a miracle catch of fish. There are three words for love in Greek. Jesus asks if Peter loves Him twice using “agape” or sacrificial love. Peter responds twice using “phileo”: “You are my buddy”. The third time, Jesus asks using “phileo”, “Are you my buddy?”  Peter responds “I am” In the dialogue Jesus asks Peter to ”feed my lambs and sheep”. Friar Jude comments on the need for authority, an unusual part of the Gospel of John, where we encounter the Beloved Disciple and the ability of Peter to exercise the authority needed to guide the community. Peter would glorify God by martyrdom in Rome. 

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, views each moment as an opportunity to practice contemplation, to see things as they are, and to receive the gift of divine presence. He introduces spiritual writer Amy Frykholm who acknowledges that while contemplation may sound simple, the practice of “beholding” anything takes desire and discipline.

If we are able to get ourselves situated for beholding, we will notice the next difficulty arising: We are constantly being taken out of presence by our own thoughts…. Any act of attention is not a sustained experiencing. It’s a series of successive efforts to bring attention back to the same thing, considering it again and again. This kind of encounter is a series of repeated acts of will. We gradually train our attention to encounter, discovering its fruits in slow and subtle movements over time. Whatever you behold, you eventually become beholden to. You enter into a love relation. You recognize your own dependence on the created world, the way that you are held, even as you are holding.

And sometimes grace carries us away, and we glimpse, maybe even for several seconds at a time, the whole interconnected, openhearted world … welcomes us. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit to seize the opportunity to contemplate our responses to events and avoid sacrificing the “good” in search of “the perfect”.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/25? 

John, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21? 

Meditation on John 21:15-19. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/22/1574152/ 

Murphy McMahon, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-22-2026 

Psalms, PSALM 103 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Beholding God Everywhere. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/beholding-god-everywhere/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do You Love Jesus More Than These? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Feed with Love

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine the ideas and beliefs that separate us from living with love and forgiveness modelled by Jesus.

Sharing Bread and Fish

 

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Paul before King Agrippa.

* [25:13] King Agrippa and Bernice: brother and sister, children of Herod Agrippa I whose activities against the Jerusalem community are mentioned in Acts 12:1–19. Agrippa II was a petty ruler over small areas in northern Palestine and some villages in Perea. His influence on the Jewish population of Palestine was insignificant. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 25, n.d.)

Psalm 103 praises God for personal benefits.

* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22). (Psalms, PSALM 103, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus and Peter reconcile to “Feed His Sheep”.

* [21:15–23] This section constitutes Peter’s rehabilitation and emphasizes his role in the church.

* [21:15–17] In these three verses there is a remarkable variety of synonyms: two different Greek verbs for love (see note on Jn 15:13); two verbs for feed/tend; two nouns for sheep; two verbs for know. But apparently there is no difference of meaning. The threefold confession of Peter is meant to counteract his earlier threefold denial (Jn 18:17, 25, 27). The First Vatican Council cited these verses in defining that Jesus after his resurrection gave Peter the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over the whole flock.

* [21:15] More than these: probably “more than these disciples do” rather than “more than you love them” or “more than you love these things [fishing, etc.].”

* [21:18] Originally probably a proverb about old age, now used as a figurative reference to the crucifixion of Peter. (John, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)

Steve Scholer asks how would each of us answer the question, “Do you love me?” if Jesus asked it of us three times? Surely, we would all respond with a resounding yes, yes, yes! But actions speak louder than words. Do our actions provide the answer Jesus is seeking? 

Demonstrating your love by living your faith is not always an easy undertaking. As Simon Peter showed, one can claim to be faithful but easily fail to live up to the promise. Thankfully, with God, there are second and third chances (and even more if necessary), to be the kind of person and live the type of life Christ asks of us. As we discern what loving Jesus means to each of us, maybe the best way to for us to “lead his sheep” is to never forget the words Jesus shared with his disciples: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. (Scholer, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Do you love me? Feed my sheep”, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Christ rose again in the flesh, and Peter rose in the spirit because, when Christ died in his passion, Peter died by his denial. Christ the Lord was raised from the dead, and out of his love he raised Peter. He questioned him about the love he was confessing and entrusted him with his sheep. After all, what benefit could Peter confer on Christ by the mere fact of his loving Christ? If Christ loves you, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And if you love Christ, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And yet Christ the Lord wanted to indicate how people ought to show that they love Christ. And he made it plain enough by entrusting him with his sheep. 'Do you love me?' 'I do.' 'Feed my sheep.' All this once, all this a second time, all this a third time. Peter made no other reply than that he loved him. The Lord asked no other question but whether he loved him. When Peter answered, our Lord did nothing else but entrust his sheep to him." (excerpt from SERMON 229n.1.4) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 21:15-19 comments on “Follow me.” This is a universal invitation, offered to each and every one of us, no matter who we are or what we have done in the past. Jesus doesn’t wait until we love him perfectly. He doesn’t wait for us to be completely free of sin before he calls us. He knows that by putting aside our path and accepting his, we are already beginning to submit to his healing power. And then, every step along the way transforms us a little more.

So follow Jesus today! Let him take your yes, however small it may seem, and bring you into an ever-deepening relationship with him. Trust that he knows the destination far better than you do, and he also knows the best way to get there.

“Jesus, help me to trust in you more deeply. Lord, I want to follow you with all of my life for the rest of my life!” (Meditation on John 21:15-19, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that in the Acts passage Governor Festus is receiving Jewish royalty to whom he explains Paul’s case , a prisoner for two years as no bribes were received by Felix. Festus wanted to send Paul to Jerusalem but he appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen. Friar Jude notes that in the Gospel scene, after the Resurrection, Jesus questions three times whether Peter loves Him using “agape” twice and settles on “philia” as the love Peter is capable of at the time.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that the first meals Jesus shared with his community included bread and fish, while a meal of bread and wine became the official meal of the church.

It’s unfortunate that we lost the bread and fish ritual meal, because the bread and wine ritual meal didn’t emphasize this idea of surplus: real food that actually fed the poor. The bread and wine tradition lent itself more to purity codes, insider/outsider dynamics, and ritualization. The bread and fish tradition, if retained, might have contributed to issues of justice, community, and social reordering. We see this after the resurrection. In John 21:1–14, the apostles are out on the lake. They see Jesus on the shore, cooking fish at a charcoal fire. He invites them to come share bread and fish.  

If we remember what happened after Jesus’ arrest, we see the significance of this charcoal fire. The only other charcoal fire in the Gospels is where Peter stood when he betrayed Jesus (John 18:18). Jesus invites him now to another charcoal fire, where they share the bread and the fish. He says, in effect, “Peter, it’s okay. Forget it.” At this second charcoal fire the risen Jesus initiates table fellowship with Peter, who just a few days before rejected, betrayed, and abandoned him in his hour of need. It seems the bread and fish meal also had a healing, reconciling significance. What a shame we have lost this. (Rohr, n.d.)

We apply Jesus' question to Peter “Do you love me more than these?” to the distractions in our lives that restrict our love and service as followers of Christ.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 25. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/25?13 

John, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21?15 

Meditation on John 21:15-19. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/06/1299136/ 

Psalms, PSALM 103. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Wine, Bread, and Fish. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/wine-bread-and-fish/ 

Scholer, S. (2025, June 6). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/060625.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do You Love Jesus More Than These? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun6 

Leadership founded in Love

In the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today we encounter leadership in different forms as we are encouraged to base our leadership on love for all the diverse people in our community.

Leadership and Love

The reading from the Book of Acts explains the appearance of Paul before the weak King Agrippa.

* [25:9–12] Paul refuses to acknowledge that the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem has any jurisdiction over him now (Acts 25:11). Paul uses his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to the jurisdiction of the Emperor (Nero, ca. A.D. 60) (Acts 25:12). This move broke the deadlock between Roman protective custody of Paul and the plan of his enemies to kill him (25:3).1 

Psalm 103 moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people.

* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22).2 

Jesus and Peter have an intimate conversation about love and the responsibilities of leadership in the Gospel of John.

* [21:15–17] In these three verses there is a remarkable variety of synonyms: two different Greek verbs for love (see note on Jn 15:13); two verbs for feed/tend; two nouns for sheep; two verbs for know. But apparently there is no difference of meaning. The threefold confession of Peter is meant to counteract his earlier threefold denial (Jn 18:17, 25, 27). The First Vatican Council cited these verses in defining that Jesus after his resurrection gave Peter the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over the whole flock.3 

Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, a vibrant parish community in Washington, DC., asks do we have, in the Gospel, a distinction without a difference, a distinction to die for or something in between?

 Jesus is asking Peter for agape love. Agape love being  the highest and most spiritual love wherein Peter is called to Love Jesus above all things and all people, including himself. But Peter, finally being honest says to Jesus in effect, Lord you know that I love you (only) with brotherly love (philo se).  Jesus is not disappointed for entrusts the role of chief Shepherd to Peter anyway. But again he asks for agape love and Peter answers the same. A third time Jesus asks, but this time he comes to Peter’s level and says, in effect, “OK Peter then do you love me with brotherly love (phileis me)?”4

It is clear to Tom Drzaic that Jesus goes to an extreme to emphasize that proclaiming love for him is not enough.

 If we truly love Jesus, we are called to tend and feed his sheep and lambs just as he told Peter to.  We can tend to others by living out our faith freely and openly proclaiming our love for Jesus, which when practiced, will naturally lead to feeding others, spiritually and physically, whether it is with our presence, our work, a kind word or financial assistance.   This love is also called to be applied to all, from caring and protecting the most vulnerable (the lambs) among us to the remainder of his flock (the sheep) who should be cared for and treated with grace, dignity and respect in all circumstances.5

Don Schwager quotes “Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Christ rose again in the flesh, and Peter rose in the spirit because, when Christ died in his passion, Peter died by his denial. Christ the Lord was raised from the dead, and out of his love he raised Peter. He questioned him about the love he was confessing and entrusted him with his sheep. After all, what benefit could Peter confer on Christ by the mere fact of his loving Christ? If Christ loves you, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And if you love Christ, it is to your advantage, not Christ's. And yet Christ the Lord wanted to indicate how people ought to show that they love Christ. And he made it plain enough by entrusting him with his sheep. 'Do you love me?' 'I do.' 'Feed my sheep.' All this once, all this a second time, all this a third time. Peter made no other reply than that he loved him. The Lord asked no other question but whether he loved him. When Peter answered, our Lord did nothing else but entrust his sheep to him." (excerpt from SERMON 229n.1.4)6 

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 21:15-19 shares that like Peter, we can think that because we have fallen short in the past, Jesus is no longer interested in our friendship.

 But that’s just not true! Jesus hasn’t moved on, leaving us with nothing but memories of his love. His heart continues to be wide open and full of forgiveness. He is standing before us asking us if we can still open our hearts to him. Can we move past shame and confess that no matter what we have done, there’s still a love for Jesus in our hearts?7

Friar Jude Winkler provides background to Paul’s long imprisonment in Caesarea for his own safety and his status as a Roman citizen. The dialog in the Gospel shows Jesus meets us where we are. Friar Jude comments that the author of the Gospel wrote after Peter had been crucified in Rome.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, exhorts that we are called to be larger than who we can imagine being in this moment. Sr. Joan Brown works for climate justice. She writes about three foundational principles needed for harmony and wholeness. The cosmic principles are a new way of understanding, seeing, and acting in a world that seems to be torn apart by a misunderstanding of the beauty of diversity, the holiness of essence, and the evolutionary pull of communion.

All of us who live, breathe, and walk upon this amazing, holy Mother Earth are called to understand the cosmic principles inherent in the interdependent energy dynamic that throbs through every element of life. Nothing exists without these three interdependent energies that emerged from the first flaring forth over 13.8 billion years ago: differentiation or diversity; subjectivity, interiority, or essence; and communion or community and interconnectedness. These energies offer vital lessons for the critical times in which we live, where diversity causes conflict, living is often at a superficial level, and individualism runs rampant. [1]8 

Feeding our sheep today requires us to welcome people who have been outside our circle into a communion energized with Love that our world in crisis needs to follow to wholeness.

References

1	(n.d.). Acts, chapter 25 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/25
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 103 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103
3	(n.d.). John, chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/21
4	(2010, April 17). A Distinction without a Difference, Or a Distinction to Die For .... Retrieved June 7, 2019, from http://blog.adw.org/2010/04/a-distinction-without-a-difference-or-a-distinction-to-die-for-wrestling-with-the-subtleties-of-john-2116-peter-do-you-love-me/
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
7	(n.d.). 7th Week of Easter - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/07
8	(n.d.). Diversity, Essence, and Communion — Center for Action and .... Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://cac.org/diversity-essence-and-communion-2019-06-07/