Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 19, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Zec 12:10-11; 13:1 / Ps 63 / Gal 3:26-29 / Lk 9:18-24
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

First, I would like to extend prayerful greetings to all fathers here today:  biological fathers, foster fathers, adoptive fathers, spiritual fathers, and godfathers.  I want to wish all a Happy Father’s Day and thank you for your continued care of your family, the domestic church.

We are also going to celebrate the commissioning of our new parish nurse.  She will be supporting us and teaching us the things we need to do to have a healthy soul in a healthy body.  Even though we can read about techniques to accomplish this, there is no substitute for being able to speak to a person and get first-hand advice.

In today’s gospel, our Lord Jesus could have asked Peter, the recognized leader of His disciples, to ask the rest of His closest friends the questions He posed.  However, Jesus wanted to ask the others Himself the question, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”  We have heard the reply of “John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets.”  That is what people were saying.  Jesus then poses the question, “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter replied, “the Christ of God.”

With all the imperfections Peter had, he was still the first to profess Jesus as the Christ.  Of course, he was able to make this profession through the enlightenment and power given to him by the Holy Spirit.

But as we know, even with his knowledge of the true identity of Jesus, a short time later Peter denied he knew our Lord, not just once but three times.  Yet Peter didn’t give up.  Instead of abandoning his faith altogether, he renewed his faith in the Lord and proclaimed Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, throughout the known world.

Like St. Peter, we all have moments of weakness.  When this happens, let’s follow his example.  Instead of giving up, we should continue to trust in our Lord’s merciful love and forgiveness.  And our Lord Jesus, who is the King of Mercy, will always give us a fresh start.