Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 20. De dulciloquio lesu cum sancto Petro et sancto lohanne apostolo de amore eius.

Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 20. De dulciloquio lesu cum sancto Petro et sancto lohanne apostolo de amore eius.

I bless you and give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, most loving of mankind and most wise teacher of little ones, for the sweet conversation with Saint Peter about your love, especially for the three times you questioned him and called him by the name of his parent, expressing it so specifically, which he could marvel at and rejoice in greatly. Because when speaking with him, you asked only about your deep love, saying: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" I praise and honor you, most worthy Jesus, for your ineffable goodness and gentleness, because you did not reproach Saint Peter for the grave sin he committed against you, but rather stirred him up to seek your love more fervently, even though you perfectly knew it and made it known to the brothers present there. Moreover, you have declared to the whole Church throughout the world how great a dignity and holiness Peter had in your perfect love, even after his fall. Don't let anyone, having fallen, think irreverently about you, Lord, with whom you have spoken so lovingly and shared a meal. I praise you and highly recommend Saint Peter, your apostle and my patron, for his right and free response to your words, omitting all presumption and careless speech, teaching me and all others to humbly feel, to think wisely, to respond thoughtfully to questions, and to confess the Christian faith truthfully and steadfastly. He said three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity, because he denied three times out of fear, again speaking with a threefold voice, believing with all his heart, without any doubt: I love you, I love you, I love you. What more is there? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. O holy Peter, what do you say if people don't believe you, when they can't see your heart? So I speak to my Lord and cry out to everyone who hears, and I constantly profess with my heart and mouth: Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Lord, you have tested me and you know me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you know when I denied you; you know my resurrection when I wept for love and truly repented. You have forgiven me, Lord, you have forgiven me, because I have sinned against you. You have forgiven me everything for the sake of your holy name, for your mercy is sweet, and your many mercies have been over all your works from eternity and forever. I praise and glorify you, sweetest Jesus, for the faithful and diligent care of your sheep and lambs under the pastoral guidance of your beloved disciple, Saint Peter the Apostle, whom you called from catching fish to the care of souls and the governance of all the churches, from a small boat to the episcopal chair, from humble nets to the royal priesthood, from poor parents to the Roman and papal office, which you have not granted to any of the saints before him. For out of your great mercy and by the sole grace of your goodness, you have placed him in the seat of your holy authority with the fullness of your power over all the seats of the churches and the rights of kingdoms, appointing him as your faithful and true vicar, not for the destruction or harm of any weak and feeble lamb entrusted to him, but for their defense and consolation, for their instruction and salvation of all the faithful, both great and small, throughout the whole world. Therefore, you earnestly commanded Peter through the oracle of your living voice, and you entrusted the same to all the other leaders, saying: "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep, both the small and the great, the rich and the poor, whom I have redeemed with my blood." Remember, Peter, what you were like before I called you from the boat to the dignity of apostleship, and what you have become now even after your threefold denial through my singular mercy and grace to a greater honor and majesty. Behold, you have become the highest pastor and leader of all the churches, not for your own glory, but for mine and for the glory of my heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, which is to be sought continually, and for the peace of those under your care to be maintained. I praise you, most loving Jesus, for the wonderful gift of your special love for Saint Peter and Saint John, because you strengthened Peter, well instructed, for the passion of the cross by your example, and you delayed John, the beloved youth, for teaching and writing about the higher and more useful mysteries of the holy Church, and for a long time you preserved him for the comfort of many faithful with your caring piety. Therefore, you briefly answered Peter, who was asking about John: "I want him to remain in the body for the teaching of the whole Church and for the special care of my mother, which I entrusted to him on the cross." I want him to live long and write something profound about my divinity and about the incarnation, passion, and resurrection, as he has seen with his own eyes and heard very frequently from my mouth, until I come to him personally and receive him joyfully. What does this have to do with you, Peter? Follow me; take up your cross and bear it for my sake, because it is for your greatest honor if you suffer for me in a death like mine on the cross. His words and the arrangement of peace have brought an end to the physical feast, but not to the spiritual one, which is better experienced in devoted meditation and prayer than in lengthy discussions. I beg you now, most merciful Lord Jesus Christ, best physician of the ailing soul, to guide me through the various waves and events of this sorrowful life of mine, keeping me on the straight path all the way to the glory of your heaven. Keep me far away from the pride that comes from reading and singing before better brothers in the choir, whether in studying and writing sacred books for our gathering, that I may either be lifted up or compared with those who are more learned or sharper in intellect, given your gift to them, so that I don't lose the fruit of good works now and the eternal reward in the future with you in heaven. Lord, keep me also in the storm of anger and indignation from my brothers, so that I may strive to bear the faults and lapses of others with piety and to excuse my own defects just as you, Lord, have taught your disciples for a long time, often carrying them and gently admonishing them toward greater things. Grant me, a wretched sinner, to follow you and Saint Peter through the labor of the cross and to bear patiently the suffering of the body and the pain of the heart until death. Grant me, a wretched sinner, through your great mercy, to touch and mentally grasp the sacred wounds of yours with Saint Thomas, the true and faithful apostle, and to meditate on them daily in the Mass, in my cell, at the table, in every place and time, for the sake of giving thanks and out of love for your holy name and in honor of the holy cross. Grant me, too, to love you with a pure heart and body, along with the holy Apostle John, to honor your holy mother Mary, entrusted to me in a special way, to gladly read and hear your holy Gospel, to treasure it in my heart, and to rest as if upon your breast, neglecting all earthly things and contemplating heavenly secrets with him in the Apocalypse. Be gracious to me, Lord, and defend me with the protection of Saint James the Apostle against all the vices that assail me. Strengthen me in virtues and good habits to resist the deceptive and bitter illusions of the devil, who are greatly opposed to you and your holy angels and are despised. Give me also the ability to overcome the pride of my mind, to restrain the cravings of my belly, and to guard the door of my heart and mouth along with my other senses. Give me, Son of God, to drink the cup of your passion with the sons of Zebedee for the forgiveness of all my sins, and to feast with them and all your saints with you in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.