Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

This is the Gospel of the Poor;
Liberation for the Imprisoned;
Sight for the Blind;
Freedom for the Oppressed.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Luke 22, 54-62

They seized him then and led him away, and they took him to the high priest's house. Peter followed at a distance.
They had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and Peter sat down among them,
and as he was sitting there by the blaze a servant-girl saw him, peered at him, and said, 'This man was with him too.'
But he denied it. 'Woman, I do not know him,' he said.
Shortly afterwards someone else saw him and said, 'You are one of them too.' But Peter replied, 'I am not, my friend.'
About an hour later another man insisted, saying, 'This fellow was certainly with him. Why, he is a Galilean.'
Peter said, 'My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.' At that instant, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed,
and the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the Lord's words when he had said to him, 'Before the cock crows today, you will have disowned me three times.'
And he went outside and wept bitterly.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Son of man has come to serve
He who wishes to be great, must be
the servant of all.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

During this week before the passion, the Gospel helps us to contemplate that great event so that our hearts might be better able to welcome its great mystery of love. Indeed, not only are we easily distracted, but the same thing that happened to Peter can also happen to us: we, too, can easily betray the Lord. A servant-girl was enough to make him fall. Was it courage that he lacked? The problem for disciples is not courage, but faith. And faith is something more than courage. In fact, the life of the disciple is not supposed to be temerarious or reckless, but rather it is meant to be something new and different. It is based on faith; that is, on trusting in God rather than in oneself and one�s own strength. Peter rediscovered faith when the Lord turned and looked at him. At that moment Peter remembered the words that Jesus had spoken to him, �Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times�. And Peter went out and cried bitterly. Faith comes from remembering the words of the Lord. That is why it is more than courage; faith means putting oneself in the Lord�s hands and letting oneself be lead by him. Even if we succumb in the hour of sadness, the Lord lifts us up again and carries us towards the hour of mercy. Peter did not have faith because he had not listened to what the Lord had said to him, but when he did remember the Lord�s words he cried. The tears of that night were not a courageous act; they were an expression of faith and a request for forgiveness. Peter was forgiven because he no longer trusted in himself, but in the Lord.