Meditation for Friday
Threefold Denial by Peter
“And Peter followed Him afar off, even to the court of the high priest. And going in he sat with the servants that he might see the end” (Matt. 26, 53).
First Prelude: Observe Peter warming himself at the fire among the soldiers and servants of the high priest.
Second Prelude: O Divine Saviour, let me realize my utter weakness, and give me a wholesome fear and mistrust of self.
First Point
Incidents of Peter’s Threefold Denial
The capture of Jesus had filled His Apostles with such fear and dread that they fled in all directions. Having recovered from his first fright, Peter followed the procession and our Blessed Lord at a distance, and with the aid of another disciple, presumably St. John, gained access to the court of the high priest. Here a maid-servant saw him. Peter’s timidity made her suspicious, and curiously she asked: “Art thou one of the disciples of this man?” Peter denied Him, saying, “Woman, I know Him not.” This answer of Peter was an unpremeditated lie, a subterfuge to escape a threatening danger—some expounders of the Scriptures allege not even a grievous sin—but it was the first step on the way of evil. It is a striking example of human weakness. Let us guard against the first, apparently insignificant, misstep.
Soon after the first denial another maid, seeing Peter, said to the by-standers: “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again he denied his Master, but this time with an oath: “I know not the man.” Peter thus falls more deeply. His first denial was a lie, the second he, the Prince of the Apostles, confirmed with a false oath. One fault occasions another, and each succeeding fall is more grievous than the foregoing. Let us here learn the importance of attaching great weight even to trifling infidelities. They invariably lead to greater ones.
The servants, however, not believing that Peter knew Jesus not, one of them said to him: “Surely, thou art also one of them, for even thy speech doth discover thee!” Peter then began to curse and to swear and most solemnly protest that he did not so much as know the Man of whom they spoke. Thus Peter severed himself wholly from his Master by a public denial of faith. How rapid and how deep the fall of the unhappy Apostle! In the short space of two hours, Peter thrice denied his Master, and swore falsely twice; and this despite the fact that neither death nor any other great evil threatened him. How weak and unstable is man! What an earnest admonition to guard against vain presumption and self-confidence is this deplorable fall of the Prince of Apostles!
Second Point
Causes of the Fall of Peter
The expounders of Sacred Scripture designate excessive self-trust as main cause of Peter’s fall. He overrated his strength. It seemed impossible to him that he should ever waver in the love of, and fidelity to, his Master. At the Last Supper he had assured Jesus: “I will die for Thee.” Later, when our Divine Saviour said to His Apostles: “This night you shall all be scandalized in Me,” Peter answered: “Though all should forsake Thee, I will never abandon Thee.” To this presumptuous assertion on the part of the Apostle, our Lord made answer by foretelling his threefold denial: “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” “Lord,” said Peter, self-consciously, “I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death.” God resisteth the proud. Pride goeth before a fall.
A further cause of the fall of Peter was his neglect of prayer. The Lord had expressly warned the Apostles, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” The Apostles were fatigued, it was late at night, and as a matter of course, sleep overpowered them. All these circumstances rendered prayer more difficult for them. Peter neglects to pray and—falls, deeply.
Be faithful in prayer, especially in your daily prayers of obligation. Do not easily seek to dispense yourself. A Christian without prayer is like a soldier without weapons, a lamp without oil, a plant without light, air, and moisture. Again, Peter did not avoid the danger of sin. His natural insight must have told him that the company of soldiers and servants of the high priest should be dangerous for him. Nevertheless, he courted danger and succumbed to it.
Can there be a more impressive and practical illustration of the necessity of avoiding the occasion to sin, than the fall of Peter?
Affections: O Divine Saviour, what bitter drops in Thy chalice of sufferings must the denial of Peter have been! He had solemnly proclaimed his faith on a former occasion, had received countless marks of Thy special affection, and now he denied Thee out of detestable human respect. I must confess that I, too, have often acted as basely. How often have I promised Thee unswerving fidelity, but to my shame I must confess that I have violated my promise. Tepidity in Thy service, negligence in the discharge of my duties, especially those incumbent upon me by virtue of my sublime vocation, have made me resemble Thy faithless Apostle. Henceforth, it shall be so no more. I will belong wholly to Thee, my heart shall beat for Thee alone. But without Thee and Thy grace, I can do nothing—with Thee I can do all things. Strengthen me, Divine Saviour, that I may serve Thee with unflinching fidelity in great as well as small things, become ever more closely united to Thee, and attain to everlasting intimate union with Thee in heaven.
Resolution: I will seek to discover which inclinations most frequently have been the cause of my transgressions in the past, and strive to conquer them.
Spiritual Bouquet: “O Lord, cast me not away from Thee!”
Prayer: Soul of Christ . . .
Threefold Denial by Peter
“And Peter followed Him afar off, even to the court of the high priest. And going in he sat with the servants that he might see the end” (Matt. 26, 53).
First Prelude: Observe Peter warming himself at the fire among the soldiers and servants of the high priest.
Second Prelude: O Divine Saviour, let me realize my utter weakness, and give me a wholesome fear and mistrust of self.
First Point
Incidents of Peter’s Threefold Denial
The capture of Jesus had filled His Apostles with such fear and dread that they fled in all directions. Having recovered from his first fright, Peter followed the procession and our Blessed Lord at a distance, and with the aid of another disciple, presumably St. John, gained access to the court of the high priest. Here a maid-servant saw him. Peter’s timidity made her suspicious, and curiously she asked: “Art thou one of the disciples of this man?” Peter denied Him, saying, “Woman, I know Him not.” This answer of Peter was an unpremeditated lie, a subterfuge to escape a threatening danger—some expounders of the Scriptures allege not even a grievous sin—but it was the first step on the way of evil. It is a striking example of human weakness. Let us guard against the first, apparently insignificant, misstep.
Soon after the first denial another maid, seeing Peter, said to the by-standers: “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again he denied his Master, but this time with an oath: “I know not the man.” Peter thus falls more deeply. His first denial was a lie, the second he, the Prince of the Apostles, confirmed with a false oath. One fault occasions another, and each succeeding fall is more grievous than the foregoing. Let us here learn the importance of attaching great weight even to trifling infidelities. They invariably lead to greater ones.
The servants, however, not believing that Peter knew Jesus not, one of them said to him: “Surely, thou art also one of them, for even thy speech doth discover thee!” Peter then began to curse and to swear and most solemnly protest that he did not so much as know the Man of whom they spoke. Thus Peter severed himself wholly from his Master by a public denial of faith. How rapid and how deep the fall of the unhappy Apostle! In the short space of two hours, Peter thrice denied his Master, and swore falsely twice; and this despite the fact that neither death nor any other great evil threatened him. How weak and unstable is man! What an earnest admonition to guard against vain presumption and self-confidence is this deplorable fall of the Prince of Apostles!
Second Point
Causes of the Fall of Peter
The expounders of Sacred Scripture designate excessive self-trust as main cause of Peter’s fall. He overrated his strength. It seemed impossible to him that he should ever waver in the love of, and fidelity to, his Master. At the Last Supper he had assured Jesus: “I will die for Thee.” Later, when our Divine Saviour said to His Apostles: “This night you shall all be scandalized in Me,” Peter answered: “Though all should forsake Thee, I will never abandon Thee.” To this presumptuous assertion on the part of the Apostle, our Lord made answer by foretelling his threefold denial: “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” “Lord,” said Peter, self-consciously, “I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death.” God resisteth the proud. Pride goeth before a fall.
A further cause of the fall of Peter was his neglect of prayer. The Lord had expressly warned the Apostles, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” The Apostles were fatigued, it was late at night, and as a matter of course, sleep overpowered them. All these circumstances rendered prayer more difficult for them. Peter neglects to pray and—falls, deeply.
Be faithful in prayer, especially in your daily prayers of obligation. Do not easily seek to dispense yourself. A Christian without prayer is like a soldier without weapons, a lamp without oil, a plant without light, air, and moisture. Again, Peter did not avoid the danger of sin. His natural insight must have told him that the company of soldiers and servants of the high priest should be dangerous for him. Nevertheless, he courted danger and succumbed to it.
Can there be a more impressive and practical illustration of the necessity of avoiding the occasion to sin, than the fall of Peter?
Affections: O Divine Saviour, what bitter drops in Thy chalice of sufferings must the denial of Peter have been! He had solemnly proclaimed his faith on a former occasion, had received countless marks of Thy special affection, and now he denied Thee out of detestable human respect. I must confess that I, too, have often acted as basely. How often have I promised Thee unswerving fidelity, but to my shame I must confess that I have violated my promise. Tepidity in Thy service, negligence in the discharge of my duties, especially those incumbent upon me by virtue of my sublime vocation, have made me resemble Thy faithless Apostle. Henceforth, it shall be so no more. I will belong wholly to Thee, my heart shall beat for Thee alone. But without Thee and Thy grace, I can do nothing—with Thee I can do all things. Strengthen me, Divine Saviour, that I may serve Thee with unflinching fidelity in great as well as small things, become ever more closely united to Thee, and attain to everlasting intimate union with Thee in heaven.
Resolution: I will seek to discover which inclinations most frequently have been the cause of my transgressions in the past, and strive to conquer them.
Spiritual Bouquet: “O Lord, cast me not away from Thee!”
Prayer: Soul of Christ . . .
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