Today is June 7, Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
We read at today’s Mass, “Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, ‘Master, who is the one who will betray you?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me'” (Jn 21:20-23).
Peter, having just been reconciled with Christ after his threefold denial, turns and sees the beloved disciple following them. He asks, “Lord, what about him?” And Jesus replies with words that echo through the ages: “What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”
These are among the very last words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John, and they contain a timeless warning: Beware the trap of comparison.
Peter had been entrusted with the keys of the kingdom. He had just been told, “Feed my sheep.” But in this moment of deep personal mission, he looks sideways. He asks about someone else’s path. And Jesus redirects him, not with harshness, but with clarity: “You follow me.”
Filled with God’s love
Comparison is one of the most corrosive temptations we face as disciples. It distracts us from our vocation and undermines our peace. And perhaps more than ever, we live in a culture that constantly invites us to compare — through curated images, public accolades and endless measurements of success.
There’s also a subtle spiritual danger in misunderstanding God’s love. We might think that if God loves us all equally, shouldn’t we all be given the same gifts? But that’s not how divine love works. God’s love is not equal — it’s personal. It is lavish, particular and abundant. He loves each of us as we are, not as someone else.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux understood this well. When she struggled with the idea of inequality in heaven, her sister explained it by comparing a tiny thimble and a large glass — both filled to the brim. The point wasn’t about size, but about fullness. In heaven, each soul will be filled with God’s love to the degree it was made to receive it. And that fullness will be perfect joy.
Let us pray,
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have celebrated the paschal festivities, may by your gift hold fast to them in the way that we live our lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
