At the second post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, He blesses the Apostles with the blessing of PEACE. The PEACE he gives is vastly different from the peace the world gives. At the Eucharist, we offer each other a sign of peace, using the same formula of Jesus' blessing just before receiving the Holy Communion. Knowing the frightened state of the Apostle, Jesus confers on them the gift of peace: Peace be with you. In giving them the gift of His peace, He assures them that He knows their fears and the troubled condition of their hearts, so He tells them: Do not be distressed or fearful.

Last week, I was with tens of thousands of people at the Vatican Square to witness firsthand when the white smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel. I would have wanted to live stream this momentous event, but suddenly, all networks stopped working just before the white smoke came out. At first, I said, Oh man! Was I the only one who got disconnected? But it worked well for me, because now I can focus on the events on the balcony where the new pope would appear.

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. One of the good qualities of sheep or lambs is their obedience and docility. Qualities that are slowly becoming rare in the present society, and instead advocate disobedience, defiance, and stubbornness. We ask ourselves: Are we sheep or lambs, obedient and meek, or are we wolves - uncaring, disobedient, and selfish?

Jesus appeared to His disciples, who had gone back to fishing. Still preoccupied with his guilt, Peter instigated everything. He probably thought that after three times denying Jesus, he had nothing to offer to Him. Together with the others, they felt that everything was gone, and they had to work and make a living. They are unsure if they need to return to being fishermen until the Lord makes them remember who they were and their mission.