I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me (Psalm 30: 2a)

The Third Sunday of Easter – May 4, 2025

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

On Holy Thursday we commemorated the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted for all time the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders. Our faith tells us that the Last Supper and Good Friday are integrally linked for all time. Each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass perpetuates, under the appearances of bread and wine, the Lord’s supreme sacrifice of love on the Cross. Surrounded by the betrayal of Judas and all the apostles, Jesus went obediently to the cross out of love for us. “The night he was betrayed” He loved us more than ever. At every Mass we are invited to really participate in His love so that we may take up our cross and follow Him. At each Mass we are invited to enter the mystery of Christ crucified, to adore Him truly present, and then to lovingly and devoutly receive Holy Communion so as to enter into communion with the Lord Himself. Nowhere on earth can there be greater intimacy with Christ than in the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Mass is for those who wish to be saints, heroes and heroines, in our day and age.

This Sunday we receive encouragement from the example of the absolved sinner whom we lovingly call Saint Peter. Peter was a sinful man. He was weak and vulnerable. He wanted to be great, yet he lacked the character demanded of greatness. Again, and again the Lord called him to be a leader among the apostles, but Peter fell short. Jesus does not give up on Peter, just as He never gives up on us. Our Lord is loving and merciful. Even as Peter prepared to deny that he even knew Jesus three times, the Lord predicts that Peter will have the vocation “to strengthen your brethren (Luke 22, 32).”

After His resurrection Jesus gives Peter another chance. Three times Peter is asked if he loves Him, undoing his threefold denial, and then Peter responds with regret and shame that he does. Peter models sincere sorrow for sins. Jesus accepts Peter’s act of contrition and gives Peter absolution. Peter is raised up to newness of life. He not only can see the risen Lord, but he is also transformed by His saving and amazing grace. Peter is now ready to become the first pope. He is made the chief shepherd of the flock to lovingly feed them.

These days the office of Peter, that is, the papacy is before us. Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21. His funeral was on Saturday, April 26, and he was buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Let us continue to pray for the repose of his soul. On Wednesday, May 7, the cardinals will gather to elect a new pope. Let us pray that a saintly pope will be elected. The cross is always before the pope. His mission comes from the Lord as the successor of St. Peter. Hans Urs Von Balthasar writes: “The more seriously a pope takes his office, the heavier the weight of the cross on his shoulders becomes.” When elected as pope in 1939 Pope Pius XII said: “Accipiam crucem; I accept the cross.” Pray, pray, pray!

Yours in the Good Shepherd,
Fr. Mark G. Mazza