As we move through the Easter season, the Gospel of this Third Sunday meets us with the familiar tenderness of Jesus, risen and luminous, yet still quietly present on the shores of our lives.

Peter and the others, disoriented after the events of the Passion, return to what they know: fishing. But that night, they catch nothing. It is only at dawn — when the light begins to chase away the shadows — that Jesus appears. He directs them, fills their nets, and then, in one of the most intimate dialogues of the Gospels, asks Peter three times: «Do you love me?» Peter, wounded and humbled by his past denial, answers with the love he can muster: «Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.» This exchange echoes deeply in the Church today. The death of Pope Francis has left the Church like Peter and the apostles — feeling the ache of absence, the weight of transition. We are again by the shore, casting our nets into uncertain waters, awaiting the gentle voice that calls us to renewal. On May 7, the conclave will gather to elect the next successor of Peter. The world will watch, speculate and judge. But for those who love the Church, the true task is different: it is to remain by the shore, in prayer and hope, trusting that the Risen Lord still feeds His flock, still asks each shepherd — and each one of us — «Do you love me?»

Pope Francis spent his life answering that question not with grandiose words, but with gestures of tenderness, mercy, and proximity to the poor, the forgotten, the wounded. His passing reminds us that the only true measure of greatness in the Church is love — a love that feeds, that heals, that forgives. As we await the new Peter, may we pray not for a «powerful» pope, but for a man who, like Peter, has been broken and healed by Christ — a man who can humbly say, «Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.» As music to accompany your meditation, I suggest Gabriel Fauré’s «Cantique de Jean Racine», a piece that breathes Easter serenity and the gentle awakening of spring — a prayer rising like morning light over the waters. We are living in a sacred time: between the tomb and the full flowering of Resurrection. Between Peter’s heartbreak and Peter’s new mission. Let us remain attentive by the shore, with the certainty that Love will not abandon His Church. Tolle, Lege • AE

---

St. Joseph Catholic Church (Dilley, TX) • Weekend Schedule

Fr. Agustin E. (Parish Administrator)

Saturday, May 3, 2025.

10.00 a.m. First Confessions 2025

5.00 p.m. Sacramento de la Confesión

6.00 p.m. Santa Misa.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

8.00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation

8.30 a.m. Holy Mass.

10.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation.

11.00 a.m. Holy Mass.

---

III Domingo de Pascua (Ciclo C)

Mayo ha comenzado, y con él, el mes que la Iglesia dedica a la Madre de Dios. Este año, su luz materna nos envuelve de una manera especial: peregrinos en medio de la Pascua, dolidos aún por la partida del Papa Francisco, y aguardando el nuevo cónclave que iniciará en pocos dias. El Evangelio de hoy nos presenta a Jesús resucitado, preparando un fuego y un desayuno para sus discípulos cansados. Es un pasaje de ternura silenciosa. Pero también es un pasaje de reenvío: Pedro, que había fallado, es restaurado y enviado a apacentar las ovejas. Este «volver a empezar» que el Evangelio nos propone tiene mucho que ver con María.

Cuando la Iglesia se siente frágil, cuando sus líderes parten, cuando el futuro parece incierto, La Virgen es el corazón que late tranquilo en medio de la tormenta. Como en Pentecostés, María Santísima acompaña a la Iglesia naciente, la sostiene en oración, la llena de esperanza. El Papa Francisco, con su incansable énfasis en la ternura, la sencillez y la misericordia, nos recordó siempre que María no es solo la Madre de Jesús, sino también la Madre de la Iglesia. Hoy, mientras esperamos a orillas de un futuro incierto, sabemos que Ella permanece a nuestro lado. Confiamos el próximo cónclave a su intercesión. No porque esperemos milagros mágicos, sino porque sabemos que María educa a los corazones para decir “sí” al Espíritu. Así como formó el corazón de Jesús, hoy forma el corazón de la Iglesia. En este mes de mayo, entre lágrimas y esperanzas, entre despedidas y nuevos comienzos, repetimos con la Iglesia de todos los tiempos:

Regina Caeli, laetare, alleluia!
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia!

María nos acompaña. La Iglesia no camina sola. La fe, como el amanecer sobre el lago de Galilea, no se apaga • AE

---

¿Qué lees estos días?

---