Easter Friday
"Jn 21:1-14"
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"
There were at least seven of Jesus' disciples in the boat. But only one recognises Him from a distance: the Beloved one. Imagine St John squinting, shielding his eyes from the sun and looking at the Man on the shore when he heard those words, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat." Maybe he thought, 'I have heard that phrase before. That voice reminds me of...' He was still hesitant, but when he saw the amount of fish they caught, the penny dropped. He smiled first, then laughed to himself, like someone who has been tricked for a while, and, full of joy, like a madman - madly in love - he shouted, "It is the Lord!"
"He was more beloved than all the other Apostles," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, "on account of his purity." And St. Anselm wrote, "God revealed more mysteries to him than to the other Apostles, because he surpassed all in virginal purity." Let's keep our eyes today on that teenager, his look clean, his heart in love: his purity allowed him to recognise Jesus from a distance. Our Lord Himself taught, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Many people are unable to see Jesus, not because He is hidden but because their glasses are dirty; sins blind men, purity gives light.
St John was also pure because he was close to Our Lady. Mary, Mother most pure, Mother most chaste, intercede for me to resemble the young St John, to be pure like him and always close to you. "How I would like - you told me - the young apostle, John, to take me into his confidence and give me advice: and encourage me to acquire purity of heart. If you really would like it, tell him so: and you will feel encouraged, and you will receive advice" (St JosemarÃa).
