Fr John’s Reflection – Sunday 4th May 2025
Do you Love Me!
The three questions that Jesus asks Peter illustrate the distinction between conditional and unconditional love. They help us understand the mission of God, which is to love each of us unconditionally and to respond to that call. This availability to engage in conversation daily lies at the heart of our prayer. It echoes the words that Jesus says, when he says that we need to love with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. This golden rule is called the core of the Easter journey. This is where we encounter the risen Christ in our daily lives and act accordingly, guided by our beliefs.
This is poignant as we gather to consider who will be our next Pope and reflect on the legacy of Pope Francis. We are called to be people of faith, hope and love. This is about entering into a dialogue that witnesses to how our prayer overflows into our daily activities. The prayer touches the heart of Jesus as we sit down and gaze upon him. The ability to take a long, loving look at the real world emboldens us to be people who are not passive recipients of grace, but fellow travellers. We are all pilgrims on the journey who seek to embody the life of God for others in all that we do.
Over the last nine days of mourning for Pope Francis we are challenged by many of the Saints that we have celebrated over the previous week: Saint Peter Chanel who carried the Word of God to Oceania; St Catherine of Siena who sought to depth the wells of salvation and challenged the Popes of her time to be faithful to their office; Pope Pius V who sought to bring unity in the Church, St Joseph the Worker who sought people to find their dignity in their work and St Athanasius who sought people to be united in the expression of their beliefs. As we pray for the Cardinals who enter the Conclave next Wednesday, 7th May, we hold them before God that they may be inspired to choose a person who, like Peter, listens to the Unconditional Love of Christ to serve and look after the flock.