Author: admin

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Imagine how shocked one spouse would feel to hear the other questioned their love.

Or how hurt a best friend would be to hear the other question their loyalty.

It could be deeply hurtful.

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In the Gospel, Jesus does just that. He questions Peter’s loyalty, then his love, asking him three times, “Peter, do you love me?”

Peter’s desperate, wholehearted response is one every Christian should aspire to say:

“Lord, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

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“Lord, Lord.”

In Latin, “Domine, Domine.”

It’s from the Latin word, Domine, that we get the word, dominate.

Lord, Lord…Domine, Domine…dominate.

To dominate means to be the central figure; to have a commanding influence over something or someone.

What Peter’s saying, then, is that Jesus is the most important person in his life; he is the central figure, the commanding influence. 

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This is the type of devotion Peter must have in order to continue following Jesus.

Jesus has empowered him to be the chief shepherd of the Church, and will eventually lead Peter to offer his life as a witness to our faith.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves the same: Who or what is the center of my life?

Is it me? A friend? A spouse? Or the Lord?

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Lord, Lord, Domine, Domine, you know everything; you know that I love you. You are the center of my life. 

Peter’s words are challenging. But they’re the words every Christian should aspire to say, not only with our lips, but also with our lives.

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Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you know why.”

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Just a few days ago, I celebrated my 5^th anniversary as a priest. It reminded me, again, why the Lord created me, to be his servant and to draw others closer to God.

It’s the same reason why he created Saint Paul, whom we listen to in our first reading.

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Paul’s reached the end of his journey. He’s run the race of life and kept the faith. 

Knowing his death is imminent, he gives a final sermon to the Church in Ephesus, exhorting them to remain faithful to the Gospel he preached. 

He also warns them against false preachers, whom he knows will arise in their midst, against disunity, and spiritual malaise; things we must still be weary of today.

But Paul’s competed well. He’s done his part. Now he must entrust his flock to his successors.

This gesture of handing on the faith has happened over the last two millennia, some 100 generations, which now includes us.

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The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you know why.

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As Christians, we might add a third day to Twain’s famous line: the day you were born, the day you know why…

…and the day you go home.

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Saint Paul’s done his part to hand on our faith. Now’s he’s heading home, trusting we’ll continue to share the Gospel.

Regardless of who we are, or what roads we take in life, this is part of the “why” we were created, to share our Christian faith.

How, then, might I do that today?

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I turned 35 just a few days ago – and it struck me that I’m now two years older than Jesus.

He died at 33.

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Over the last several days, we’ve been listening to his final discourse in John’s Gospel; it’s Jesus’ final night on earth, so he tells his disciples everything he wants them to know before his death.

Most of what he teaches them is done so verbally. But there’s also a lesson he teaches them not by his words, but by his actions.

It’s that life is not about duration, but donation.

Time is God’s gift to us.

What matters is not how much we have, but how well we use it.

For his part, Jesus gives everything he has away – even his body as he hangs from the cross. Every moment of his life was time well spent.

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So many of our relatives and friends – and even some of you – have done the same. 

You’ve given your freedom, and some their lives, so that we might have ours. That’s what we celebrate this Memorial Day, the fact that life is not about duration, but donation.

It’s about service.

When I think about Memorial Day, my mind always drifts to the Greatest Generation. When World War Two broke out, so many of our soldiers weren’t even men; they were boys.

But they fought with courage and valor, many giving their lives for the sake of ours. They remind us that life is not about duration, but donation.

It’s about service.

Time is God’s gift to us. What matters – and ultimately what we’re judged upon – is how well we use it.

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We should consider how well we use the time we have, how we better the lives of other people. 

Most of us will not find ourselves on the shores of Normandy, or in the heart of Damascus.

But there are dozens of opportunities we have throughout our day to use our time well – to serve by being patient, thoughtful, and generous towards others.

Because the more we serve our neighbor, even in little ways, the more we become like Christ, who has loved us and given himself for us.