St. Peter's Mission

As a young girl preparing for Confirmation, I remember when we needed to choose a saint we wanted to model after. While many picked a name that seemed to sound good to them, I was among the few who took this more seriously. I chose a saint I felt close to, St. Peter.

St. Peter had, at times, a ferocious loyalty to Jesus, even to the point of cutting off an ear of one of the guards during Jesus’s arrest. At other times, Peter felt fear, even to the point of denying Christ three times. Despite that, Jesus still loved Peter and Peter returned to Jesus. Peter was willing and Jesus forgave him. My inspiration from Peter is about coming back to Christ despite messing up, no matter how bad the failing. If Peter could have such great love for our Lord and the Lord would keep taking him back after his denial, I wanted that too.

St. Peter was a simple tradesman, a fisherman. It was a job of labor, messy, and not guaranteed. Sometimes there were fish, sometimes not. Either way, a fishman must put in loads of work to care for his nets, boat, and the fish he caught, preparing them for market. It took strength, endurance, a calculating mind for the sea and fish, and commitment.

When Jesus called St. Peter, then Simon, He met him where he was, on the boat as a fishman. Once Simon Peter knew who Jesus was, he immediately felt his own guilt and honored the Lord with repentance. He, a lowly fishman, was unworthy of the Lord’s presence due to his own sin. Jesus did not hesitate; He told his servant he would be a fisher of men. Simon Peter dropped everything and followed the Lord from then on.

After Jesus’s resurrection, He appeared to the disciples again on the sea. In John 21, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times, mirroring the three times Peter denied Him. Of course Peter didn’t understand at the time, but Jesus asked three things of him. He told Peter to ‘feed my lambs’ (v. 15), ‘tend my sheep’ (v. 16), and ‘feed my sheep’ (v. 17).

This kind of feeding wasn’t about giving food, rather, information. In this case, it was spiritual or faithful information. As first Catholic Pope, Peter was to feed the new clergy by instructing them in the ways of the Lord, giving them the insight, tools, and knowledge they needed to be leaders in the new Church.

Tending the sheep was about taking care of the people, the new Christians. There were many and some very poor. Some of this caring for others meant sharing resources so that everyone had enough. This also meant caring for their souls, teaching them about Jesus and how to live like Him. This was spiritual nurturing.

Feeding the sheep was one step further as Jesus wanted Peter to feed the new Christians in the same way he feeds the new clergy. The people themselves needed to learn and grow to understand faith in Christ and how to follow the Father. Everyone's mission, not just the apostles’, was to make disciples.

Perhaps this is why I’m a catechist. I certainly find I don’t wear my faith on my sleeve in non-Christian settings, though I try harder each day. Like Peter, I have tried to hide when the situation doesn’t seem safe. But also like Peter, I want to be better, bolder, and more faithful no matter the setting. While I don’t compare to St. Peter, I strive to follow his example, coming back to Jesus every day and trying to recommit with more fervor than before.