John 21.1-14 – Friday between the Octave of Easter
It all began with a miraculous catch and everything seems to end with another miraculous catch. This is the meaning of the last appearance of the Risen One, as it is told in the Gospel of John. Yet, once again, the disciples experience empty nets. They go back to fishing, do what they know how to do, and catch nothing. AND the experience of failure, of effort without result, of emptiness which many times also marks our lives. Jesus appears on the shore and asks a simple question: “Children, have you nothing to eat?”.
It’s not just a practical question. It’s an existential question: do you have something that really sustains you? Do you have something that gives meaning to your life? Because true nourishment it is not just what fills the stomach, but what fills existence. Jesus is the one who gives this nourishment. He is the one who restores meaning, who orients, who gives direction. Yet not everyone recognizes him immediately. It is the disciple that Jesus loved, John, who first understood: “It is the Lord!”. It is the gaze of love that recognizes. And Peter, trusting that word, throws himself into the sea to meet Jesus. When they arrive on shore, they find a fire lit and some bread. And Jesus invites them: “Come and eat.” He welcomes them, feeds them, takes care of them. Every time we participate in the Eucharist, we are like those disciples on the shore.
We arrive with our efforts, with our “empty nets”, and we find someone who invites us to eat. It is He who nourishes us. It is He who continues to give us Himself. And it is precisely this gift that fills our life with meaning, even when everything seems sterile or unfinished. The real fishing, then, is not that of fish, but that of meaning. And only those who allow themselves to be met by the Risen One can truly have this experience.
Friday 10 April 2026 – (Friday between the Octave of Easter)
