Do you love me? 

In the midst of our Lord’s passion, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. In today’s Gospel, we hear Peter affirm his love for Jesus three times. Three denials, three affirmations of love. 
St. Augustine commented that Jesus asks Peter three times so that he who had thrice denied through fear might thrice confess through love. 

How many times have I, like Peter, denied Jesus through fear? I lead a well-blessed life and I have never feared for my life, but I have denied Jesus through fear. There was the time I was working in an area dominated by another faith and was warned to tuck my crucifix into my sweater so they wouldn’t know I was Catholic. I am sad to say, I complied. I have watched something happen that I knew was wrong, but I didn’t speak up out of fear of being ridiculed or laughed at. I have seen someone in need, but I told myself it wasn’t safe in this day and age to stop and help. 

Knowing that I have acted out of fear, I can choose now to act out of love. How do I make this change? How can love overcome fear? In order to be prepared to choose love at the moment of decision, we need to prepare our will to choose the good. This is not something we can consistently do from our own strength or desire. We need to be open to God’s grace. We are given all the grace we need to follow Jesus at our baptism, but that grace is like a wrapped gift. We must take the time to unwrap and open the gift in order to enjoy the benefits. 

We unwrap the gift of grace when…
-	we encounter Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We can take all of those times we acted out of fear to Him and He will wipe the slate clean. This opens us up to the grace to behave differently in the future. 
-	we humble ourselves to pray on our knees. This gives God’s grace the room to work within us. So rather than just mumbling my evening prayers as I drop off to sleep, I can actually kneel by my bed, evoking with my body the humility I desire in my soul. 
-	we practice putting others first. Let someone go ahead of you in line at the grocery store, let that car in on the highway on ramp, open the door for someone. These tiny, seemingly insignificant acts predispose our will to act in love when the choices are tougher. 

Dear Lord, help me today, right now, to turn away from acting in fear and like Peter, choose instead to affirm my love for you over and over. 

By Sheryl O'Connor