Jesus so loved Peter he gave him the largest flock

Fr David Howell• May 4, 2025

“When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.” (John 21:9)

In Sunday’s Gospel, the disciples catch 153 fish in an extraordinary way. But Jesus already has fish to give them on the shore. Jesus multiplied their catch not in order to give them food but to give them faith, to help them recognise him.

The extraordinary graces that Jesus works through us, he could do equally well without us, but he acts through us because it helps us love him when we realise he shares his work with us.

The more he chooses to do through us, the more grace and love he pours into us so we can cooperate with him. 

He called Peter to share in his work as shepherd more than anyone else, and so he asked if Peter loved him more than the others. Jesus our Good Shepherd gives to his shepherds love in proportion to their flock: Peter had the largest flock – the whole Church – and so was offered the most love with which to guide these sheep.

But Jesus also calls him to this role through two memories: the miraculous catch reminded Peter of the one described by Luke (chapter 5) when Jesus first called him, and the charcoal fire on the shore evoked the one by which Peter denied him three times in the high priest’s courtyard.

Jesus calls us today by reminding us of our first calling and of our weakness: keeping both these memories in mind helps us trust him, and his mercy, in the present.

Peter is overwhelmed with joy: he wants to get to Jesus as quickly as possible so he jumps into the water, but he also wants to look presentable so he puts on his clothes, hindering his swim.

Let’s pray to be overcome by the joy of the Resurrection in the same way, trusting that Jesus will give us the love we need for whatever work he shares with us, and let’s pray especially for the next successor of Peter, whoever he may be.

Photo: Painting of Saints Peter and Paul by an anonymous painter of the Roman School (c 1620).