You know that I love you

Third Sunday of Easter

First Reading Acts 5, 27-32, 40b-41

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 30, 2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

Second Reading Revelation 5, 11-14

Gospel John 21, 1-19

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we find ourselves on the 3rd Sunday of Easter, today's readings speak to us with remarkable depth and unity. They are filled with courage, worship, renewal, and love, four dimensions of the Christian life that are especially vital in the light of the Resurrection.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we see the boldness of Peter and the other apostles, who stand firm in their obedience to God, even in the face of persecution. The Psalm echoes with gratitude and praise to the Lord who rescues us from despair and turns our mourning into joy. Revelation opens our eyes to the heavenly worship of the Lamb, who was slain, Jesus, glorified and worthy of all honor.

And finally, in today’s Gospel, we meet the risen Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is a deeply personal and intimate moment, especially between Jesus and Peter. After the trauma of denial and the mystery of the Resurrection, Jesus gently invites Peter back into relationship, asking him three times: “Do you love me?” With each answer, Peter is not only forgiven but entrusted with a mission: “Feed my sheep.” This encounter reveals the heart of Christian discipleship, not perfection, but love and a willingness to follow, even when we have failed.

These passages invite us to reflect on our own call to follow the risen Lord with courage, gratitude, and deep love. Let us open our hearts to hear what the Spirit is saying to us today.

In today’s Gospel, we find the disciples back where it all began, by the Sea of Galilee. They are fishing, returning to something familiar after the confusing and overwhelming events of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Perhaps they are still trying to make sense of it all. Perhaps Peter, especially, is weighed down by his own failure, his threefold denial of the Lord on the night of the Passion.

But Jesus comes to them again. He does not wait for them to come to Him. He stands on the shore and gently calls out, “Children, have you caught anything?” a question filled with care, not condemnation. He then provides for them, just as He always had. The miraculous catch of fish reminds them of who He is, and immediately John recognizes Him: “It is the Lord.” Then comes the truly tender moment. Around a charcoal fire, just like the one where Peter had denied Him, Jesus invites Peter into a conversation that would change everything. He asks him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Not once, not twice, but three times. Each time Peter answers, Jesus entrusts him with a mission: “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.”

This triple question is not to shame Peter, it is to heal him. Jesus doesn’t bring up the denials directly. He doesn’t lecture Peter. Instead, He gives Peter the opportunity to respond in love, to affirm his devotion, and to be restored. In doing so, Jesus shows us something essential: that our failures, our sins, even our betrayals, are not the end of the story. With Jesus, there is always the possibility of redemption and a new beginning.

This is the heart of the Gospel: that Jesus meets us where we are tired, confused, even ashamed, and calls us forward. He doesn’t erase the past, but He transforms it. He doesn't discard the fallen but restores them with trust and love. Peter is not just forgiven, he is commissioned. The one who failed is now the one who will lead. This tells us something crucial about how God works. He uses the humble, the broken, and the willing, not the perfect.

And so, brothers and sisters, this Gospel invites us to reflect: How many times have we felt like Peter? How many times have we fallen short, denied the Lord by our words or actions, or allowed fear to speak louder than faith? And yet, the risen Jesus still comes to us. He calls us by name. He prepares a place for us at His table. And He asks us, not to be perfect, but to love Him, and then to feed His sheep.

As we continue this Easter season, let us remember that the Risen Lord is not a distant figure. He is the one who walks to the shores of our daily lives, who calls us gently, who feeds us, and who restores us when we fall. He never tires of encouraging us to continue to rise again, to love again, to serve again. And when we hear Him ask, “Do you love me?” may we have the courage and humility of Peter to say, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” And may our lives become the answer to that question lives poured out in love, in service, and in witness to the One who never gives up on us.