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| “Appearance on Lake Tiberias” by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 4:1-12
After the crippled man had been cured,
while Peter and John were still speaking to the
people,
the priests, the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees confronted them,
disturbed that they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the
dead.
They laid hands on Peter and John
and put them in custody until the next day,
since it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the word came to
believe
and the number of men grew to about five
thousand.
On the next day, their leaders, elders, and
scribes
were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the
high priest,
Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly class.
They brought them into their presence and
questioned them,
"By what power or by what name have you
done this?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
answered them,
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people
of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be
saved."
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Commentary on Acts
4:1-12
This selection follows Peter and
John as they proclaim Christ crucified and risen. In these verses, their
effective apologia has now gained them an audience with Caiaphas and the rest
of the Sanhedrin, the very same people who handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Peter, having just performed a saving act in Jesus’ name, reminds them of this
fact with the famous cornerstone (in other versions the word used is “keystone”
or “head of the corner”) speech using imagery from their own hymnal Psalm 118:22.
CCC: Acts 4:10 597; Acts
4:11 756; Acts
4:12 432,
452, 1507
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24,
25-27a
R. (22) The stone rejected by the
builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. 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:
R. 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:
R. 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:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps
118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a
This litany of thanksgiving
features the cornerstone image that, in addition to Acts 4:1-12, was also
used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 12:10), the
first epistle of St. Peter (1 Peter 2:7), and the
following Old Testament references: Job 38:6; Isaiah 28:16; Jeremiah 51:26.
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Gospel: John 21:1-14
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at
the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called
Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going
fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with
you."
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on
the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was
Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you
caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the
right side of the boat
and you will find something."
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,
"It is the Lord."
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly
clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a
hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and
bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish
you just caught."
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net
ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not
torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come, have
breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him,
"Who are you?"
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it
to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed
to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
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Commentary on Jn 21:1-14
This passage relates the Lord’s
third appearance to the disciples. Again, he is not at first recognized.
In typical Johannine fashion, the first to recognize the Lord was the
disciple whom Jesus loved, presumed to be St. John himself. It is
significant that they are found at Lake Tiberias. They have done what the
Lord asked and returned to Galilee (Matthew 28:10).
Jesus tells them where to cast the
net and indeed, they net a great number of fish (153 was probably symbolic of the
universal mission of the Church, the total species of fish known at the time,
or the sum of numbers from 1-17). Peter is so excited he jumps into the
water and swims to shore, discovering Jesus with a fish already cooking and
bread, a Eucharistic reference.
When they are joined by the other
disciples, they were so overawed that they could not even speak. Then the
Lord broke the bread.
“The
Fathers and Doctors of the Church have often dwelt on the mystical meaning of
this episode: the boat is the Church, whose unity is symbolized by the net
which is not torn; the sea is the world, Peter in the boat stands for supreme
authority of the Church, and the number of fish signifies the number of the
elect (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, 'Commentary on St. John, in loc.').”[4]
CCC: Jn
21:4 645, 645, 659; Jn 21:7 448, 645; Jn 21:9 645; Jn 21:12 1166; Jn 21:13-15 645
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Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we
humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to
full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be
calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we
pray. – Amen.
One week ago today we recalled the Passion of
our Lord and felt the tragic pang of sorrow as he was laid in the tomb.
It always seems odd to see the tabernacle bare and empty, the vigil light
extinguished. Lots of folks can’t seem to understand or perhaps they are
just so accustomed to reverencing the Eucharist they don’t think about what it
is that‘s missing.
Today, that missing component is back, back in
the tabernacle. The Lord too is back with the disciples who themselves
are back fishing, where many of them started. Now the Lord lets them (and
us) know that, while he has fulfilled the Father’s plan, the mission is not
completed. The Lord has made them “fishers of men” as he
promised. Now as then, he directs us, and we are to cast his net. The net
we cast is made up of each of us.
Knowing we need strength for such a difficult
task, he feeds us with his own body in the Eucharist. He says: “Come, have
breakfast.” The scripture story has one additional piece of symbolism
for us after that invitation. The disciples, the ones he called and who had
been walking with him for three long years, were there and they too were afraid
of the task that he laid before them.
Today we again pray in thanksgiving: “He is
Risen!” We also ask God for the strength to carry on the work to which, like
the disciples on the shore of Galilee, we are called. May his Holy Spirit
guide us and his body, the Eucharist, strengthen us.
In this strange year where many
of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a
community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual
communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most
Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all
things,
and I desire to receive
You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this
moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually
into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself
wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Appearance on Lake
Tiberias” by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11.
[3]
The readings are taken
from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response
which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy
(ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use
only.
[4]
The Navarre
Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.705.
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