Fourth Mass. Sunday 4 May 2025.
Our Lady Immaculate
I had dark jeans and a blue sweater ready. I grabbed my new jacket and my new boots. My plan to dress well for Mass was going brilliantly. Until I put all this on.
I still don’t trust this new jacket, regardless of how it looked on the much taller, much younger man on the Marks & Spencer website. My new shoes blistered my heels yesterday so I picked out my old worker boots, with the red laces that clash. I swapped the grey jacket for the more reassuring blue chore coat, making me unintentionally bright and hipster – even before I stepped out the door with an orange beanie. Somehow my plan for muted respectability had turned into a multi-coloured mess.
Into the same seat as last week (Bridgegroom side). I prayed, then waited for the service to begin. While I did I noticed two women go over to the statue of Mary. They each lit a candle and paused for a few moments. Very personal, very discreet. Then returned to their seats. It seemed like a lovely way to prepare for Mass. Perhaps I could try it next week. Arrive early, light a candle, and pray to Mary.
The Gospel this week was John 21:1-19, how Jesus called to Peter and the disciples from the shore. Whether it was because it was before 9AM, or the way my mind works, I was struck by the images of food.
“Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.”
Just imagine. You finish a difficult and fruitless shift hauling nets. Then you fill your nets with 153 fish on the suggestion of someone on the shore. Then the sudden understanding that it was Jesus, resurrected, calling out to you from the beach. And he’d made breakfast!
Could this be the most underrated meal in the New Testament? It’s not miraculous, like feeding the 5,000. And it’s certainly not the Last Supper. But it is the first breakfast. I need to look into this. I can’t be the first to think this.
In his homily, Canon P picked out that moment between Jesus and Peter, affirming his love three times, to symbolically negate the three times he was denied. Then an extension of the theme… Who do you listen to? And who do you follow? Is it Christ, or is it something else?
How I fall short on this. I’ve spent a lot of my life following others. But it made me think of the local elections this week and what that means for a Catholic, staring at a list of names, and a list of parties, none of which boast any allegiance to faith or the things I value.
What do you do in those circumstances, once you’ve resolved to resist skipping it altogether? Who do you follow? Who do you listen to?
Sharing the peace today I managed to miss eye contact with absolutely everyone. Wherever I looked, in whatever direction, all I saw were people smiling in other directions. Is there a technique? Should I have looked in one direction only to catch the eye of at least one person? Should I have gone around again?
Prayers for the Pope are coming to an end. Prayers now turn instead toward the Cardinals entering Conclave on Wednesday. Oh to be a Michaelangelo painted fly on the Sistine Chapel wall.
Assuming it won’t be a long Conclave it means we may well be praying for the new Pope in the Mass next Sunday. Who will be pleased with the outcome? Who will be unhappy? Who will we be following, and who will we listen to?
Like Peter, throwing on clothes worthy of meeting Jesus, I plan on a better approach to clothing next week.