We begin with this image of St. Peter. The challenge of this particular episode of John's gospel in today's readings is to see yourself in this leader of the group, The Twelve. "Can I respond in similar fashion?" you might ask yourself.
Jesus, preparing the Twelve, in particular Peter, for the days when he would no longer be with them, wants to entrust the care of the flock to Peter and the others ... and now ... to you and to me.
We, all of us, are called to evangelize the people of God. We are called to stand up for what we believe by knowing what we are called to believe. We are called to live out the command given to Peter, if we truly want to follow Jesus: "Feed my lambs.... Feed my sheep."
This evangelizing, this feeding, what does it mean? As we begin this Memorial Day weekend, I believe we can see in the men and women who have given so much for this country that is changing so rapidly in so many ways, the very action that Jesus encourages Peter to follow. Those we memorialize were called to give and protect freedom for others; in our faith, we are called to give of the love that God has showered upon us. Care for the needy, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the mentally challenged, the children who seem abandoned. Just as those who served our nation in difficult times by watching how they could put forward the values of freedom, we are called upon to be watching to see how we can give to others the spiritual values symbolized by our care of the hurting.
At the liturgy we receive the same challenge from Jesus in the Eucharist: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. For those who cannot attend a Eucharist on a daily basis, a spiritual communion is possible. In the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (p 225) we read the following: Spiritual communion means uniting one's self in prayer with Christ's sacrifice and worshiping him present in his Body and Blood. This is a source of blessing for us and an opportunity for us to take seriously Jesus' bidding that we feed his sheep.
