The Gospel today takes me back to one of my most special places. My pilgrimages to the Holy Land must come pretty high in my list of best things I’ve done. Within the pilgrimages it is hard to say what have been my “best bits”. But high on that list must come Tabgha, the site on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee where today’s Gospel is traditionally said to have taken place – the famous “Breakfast on the Beach”. A little chapel sits right on the edge of the shore. Next to it an open air altar under a tree backs on to the beautiful water, with a moving statue of Jesus and a kneeling Peter visible through the tree. Each of the times I have celebrated Mass there has been truly inspiring.

The present little church was built in 1933 and incorporates parts of an earlier 4th century one. At the base of its walls, opposite the main altar, foundations of the 4th century church are visible. In the 9th century, the church was referred to as the “Place of the Coals”. This name refers to Jesus’ preparation of a meal for the apostles, building a charcoal fire on which to cook the fish. Also first mentioned in the year 808 are the “Twelve Thrones”, a series of heart shaped stones, which were placed along the shore to commemorate the Twelve Apostles. The church survived longer than any other in the area, finally being destroyed in 1263. The present Franciscan chapel was included in the itineraries of Popes Paul VI and St John Paul II during their visits to Israel in 1964 and March 2000 respectively.

The church contains a projection of limestone rock in front of the present altar which is venerated as a “Mensa Christi”, Latin for “table of Christ”. According to tradition this is the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles, and told Peter to “Feed my sheep” after the miraculous catch, the third time he appeared to them after his Resurrection.

This would have to be one of my “special places”. Take a moment perhaps today to remember some of your special places, and treasure whatever blessing God gave you there.

Fr Matthew

In his Easter Vigil homily this year the Pope reflected on the thoughts that may have crossed Peter’s mind and stirred his heart as he ran to the tomb, The disciples had not believed the testimony of the women, considering it ‘an idle tale’…

“There was doubt in Peter’s heart, together with many other worries, sadness at the death of the beloved Master and disillusionment for having denied him three times during His Passion. But Peter rose. He did not remain seated in thought; he did not stay at home as the others did. He did not succumb to the sombre atmosphere, nor was he overwhelmed by his doubts. He was not consumed by remorse, fear or the continuous gossip that leads nowhere. He was looking for Jesus, not himself. He preferred the path of encounter and trust. And so, he got up, just as he was, and ran towards the tomb from where he would return ‘amazed’. This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. Without giving in to sadness or darkness, he made room for hope: he allowed the light of God to enter into his heart, without smothering it.

“We, like Peter cannot discover life by being sad, bereft of hope. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but instead break open our sealed tombs to the Lord – each of us knows what they are – so that He may enter and grant us life. Let us give Him the stones of our rancour and the boulders of our past, those heavy burdens of our weaknesses and falls. Christ wants to come and take us by the hand to bring us out of our anguish. This is the first stone to be moved aside this night: the lack of hope which imprisons us within ourselves. May the Lord free us from this trap, from being Christians without hope, who live as if the Lord were not risen, as if our problems were the centre of our lives. It is important to shed the light of the Risen Lord upon our problems, and in a certain sense, to “evangelise” them. Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control us; we must cry out to them: the Lord ‘is not here, but has risen!

[The Holy Spirit] pours into us the vitality of life, which is not the absence of problems, but the certainty of being loved and always forgiven by Christ, who for us has conquered sin, conquered death and conquered fear. Today is the celebration of our hope, the celebration of this truth: nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from his love”.

(extracts from Pope Francis Homily at the Easter Vigil 2016)