Chapter 33: Of Blessed Peter, the Apostle's, thrice-repeated denial

I BLESS You, and give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, Who know all things before they come to pass, for having warned Your over-confident disciple Peter, by foretelling to him his fall.

I glorify You for the anguish of Your Soul at the grievous dishonour brought upon You by the thrice-repeated denial of You by Peter the apostle, when, to the challenge of a woman, he made answer in the words: "I know not the man."

I praise and magnify Your Name for ever, for that gentle look which You did mercifully vouchsafe to cast upon blessed Peter, that so, immediately upon the second crowing of the cock, he might be brought to a sense of his guilt; and going out at once from among those wicked men, might mourn with bitter tears, and with deep contrition of heart, his terrible sin of denying You,

He indeed did not, like wretched Judas, fall hopelessly into the pit of despair; but saved by Your unspeakable mercy, and trusting to Your boundless store of pity and loving-kindness, of which he had so often felt the tenderness, he sought at once with bitter lamentations that wholesome medicine of penance, which You have provided for the healing of the disease of sin, and found set open wide before him the gate of infinite mercy.

O the surpassing love and pity of the Saviour! How inexhaustible is that fountain of Divine Mercy and overflowing grace, which has been opened to us; to which the sinner may always resort in the sure hope of being forgiven, and the just of always finding therein abundant stores of grace! Would to God, then, that I might always have ready such a fountain of tears, that, like blessed Peter, I might be sure of worthily bewailing my sins, and of obtaining, by the help of his merits and intercession, the pardon which they need, and the grace which I have lost. Peter, indeed, fell because, in fear of death, he thrice denied the truth; but I, on the slightest cause, daily swerve from the path of virtue, and in many things sin against eternal truth. Peter, when he fell, rose again at once: I, alas, fall more easily than he did, but my recovery is not so swift; seldom do I bewail my sins; careless is the watch I keep over myself; I shun not danger as I ought. Peter shed bitter tears of repentance; taught by his fall he avoided occasions of sin; he sought for a secret place wherein to weep; and, by prayers full of holy grief, he washed away the stains which his careless words had brought upon his soul. How fruitful is the tear, which so soon blots out the sins we have committed, and by means of which even grace, which has been lost, may be recovered.

Holy Peter, remember me, and have pity upon me, a poor weak sinner, entangled in the snare of many evil lusts; that so by your intercession I may be kept from being overwhelmed by the burden of my sins, and from giving way to despair at the thought of the punishment they have deserved. You, above all other Saints, can sympathize with the fallen, and know full well how great was the mercy with which the Lord helped you.

Come then, kind shepherd, to the help of a poor sheep which has gone astray; take out of the slough one who has fallen into it, comfort one who is sad, give courage to one who is faint-hearted; defend him from the adversary, keep him from every snare laid for him; and bring with you, to that happy kingdom, above, of which you are a prince and the door-keeper, the soul of a brother for which Christ died.

And now, with sighs, which come from the bottom of my heart, I beseech You, O most kind and merciful Lord Jesus, to turn upon me those loving Eyes, with which You did look upon Peter after he had denied You, and to grant me speedily the grace of holy contrition; that so I may be cleansed from all the sins, whether deliberate or indeliberate, which I have committed against You. Listen to the groans of my heart; heal the wounds of my evil conscience; give me once more the light of Your grace; and keep from perishing a penitent soul, for the redemption of which You were content to endure such anguish, such insults, and in the end the cruel death of the Cross.