Search
-
May 6, 2025Dear faithful, this pastoral visit is marked by a threefold sentiment. First of all, the joy of Holy Easter, the joy of the resurrection, the announcement of Christ's victory over evil and death. We have been made participants in his death and resurrection thanks to baptism. We are the people of the baptized. During this easter season I invite you specially to renew the awareness of being Baptized. We are all called to be witnesses of risen Jesus, through the unity among all believers in Christ and through mutual charity that opens up to all those in need.
On the other hand, Pope Francis concluded his earthly mission the very next day of Easter and these are still days of mourning not only in the Church but even in the entire world. He has left us a great spiritual legacy that we must deepen and put into practice. Finally, the cardinals in Rome are preparing to elect the new Pope and we are called to accompany them with a fervent prayer, asking for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that the Lord may give us a new Sheperd of the universal Church according to the heart of Christ.
We live all this in the light of the mystery of the Lord's resurrection: in the risen Christ all life is resurrected. He makes all things new. The word of God today helps us to live these days meaningfully. First of all, the Gospel tells us about the third appearance of Jesus to his disciples. Peter, John and James go fishing, in a certain sense, they return to their old job after the death of Jesus - while he had told them to be fishers of people, that is, missionaries.
Their fishing, however, is a failure. But Jesus invites them to cast the net on the opposite side of the boat. Obeying the words of Jesus makes their fishing fruitful and the net fills with an enormous catch of fish. This is an image of the Church formed by different peoples; the net almost breaks but remains united.
Then comes the tender and profound dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Peter had publicly denied him three times, and now Jesus asks him three times to express his love for him. Although Peter had denied Jesus, it is not the evil or his denial that prevails, but his love for Christ. In this way, Jesus asks Peter to carry out his ministry as Shepherd: Feed my sheep and follow me.
Certainly, these words refer, first of all, to Saint Peter and to all his successors, to the task of the bishop of Rome to preside over the charity of all the Churches in the world. Therefore, we pray more intensely these days for all the cardinals who are to choose the new universal Sheperd that they be guided by the Holy Spirit.
However, in a certain sense, Jesus also asks us today, “do you love me?” He loved us to the point of giving his life for us, to free us from evil. Now he invites us to love him in return, to love him more than anything else and to follow him. Dear faithful, let us ask ourselves if Jesus is really at the center of our personal life, is Jesus at the center of our families? Is he at the center of our communities, of our parish? Does the love of Christ prevail in us instead of our sin? We humbly recognize that the love of Christ is greater than our sin, as it happened with Peter.
In his latest encyclical letter, on devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Francis called everyone to come close to that love which comes from Christ and to love Jesus. This is the condition for us to live the Gospel, learning to love everyone, even our enemies: to be loved and to love Jesus above all else.
Moreover, Jesus invites Peter and with him all of us to follow him: follow me. As migrants and pilgrims in this part of the world, what does it mean for us to follow Jesus?
The answer that Peter gave to the high priest, as reported in the Acts of the Apostles, is very interesting for us. He said, “we must obey God rather than men.” Following Jesus for us means, living deeply our life as a Church in the Gulf, because Jesus is present in the union of believers, in the proclaimed word of God. The Lord speaks to us through the authority of the Church, the magisterium of the Church, and he speaks to us through the gifts of the Spirit that are distributed in the community: the charisms.
Let us not follow the powers and the mentality of this world, let us not sacrifice our lives to the idols of money, success and career, to power over others, to play political games for our own interests. But let us follow Jesus, present in the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. Let us obey God rather than the world; this is our freedom. Jesus present among us is the hope that does not disappoint, and frees us from the slavery of depending on things that pass away.
Let us continue our pilgrimage of hope, let us follow Christ, let us remain united, let us love one another as the Lord has loved us. In this way we will be witnesses of the risen Jesus before the world.
May Mary, Our Lady of Arabia, protect us from dangers and divisions, and keep us always united to Jesus.