By Father Jacob Dankasa
Special to The Texas Catholic
Oh, how I love Peter!
Not because he was perfect or always got things right, but because he was human — flawed, impulsive, emotional, and yet so deeply faithful. In Peter, we see a reflection of our own lives: the tension between failure and forgiveness, weakness and grace, guilt and restoration. His story in John 21:1–19 is a powerful witness to what it means to be resilient in faith and to forgive oneself in the light of God’s mercy.
After denying Jesus three times on the night of His trial, Peter could have chosen to live in shame. His denial was not a small mistake — it was a painful, public failure at a moment of crisis. He had promised to follow Jesus even unto death, and yet in the heat of fear he turned away. The weight of that guilt could have crushed him. But when the risen Jesus appeared on the shore and Peter heard “It is the Lord,” he did not hesitate. He didn’t wait to craft an apology or wait for his guilt to subside. He jumped into the sea and swam to Jesus.
That leap into the water was more than physical — it was a leap of the heart. It was the movement of a man who refused to let shame and regret keep him from Christ. That is the very essence of forgiving oneself: the courage to return to the One who already loves and forgives. Peter did not let his past disqualify him. His desire to be near Jesus was greater than his fear of rejection. And Jesus, in the tenderness of divine mercy, asked him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” — not to shame him, but to restore him. With each question, Peter reaffirmed his love, and with each response, Jesus entrusted His ministry to him again: “Feed my sheep.” It was not a conversation about guilt, but a mission of grace.
What makes Peter remarkable is not that he failed, but that he did not let his failure define him. He gathered his brokenness and ran back to Christ. That is a model for all of us. Sometimes, like Peter, we fail the Lord; but, like Peter, we must pick up the pieces and go back to Him. We must not allow guilt, shame, or the voice of the enemy to convince us that we are beyond forgiveness. When we do, we not only risk despair — we risk losing the opportunity to fulfill the mission that God still entrusts to us.
Too often, we carry our sins long after they’ve been forgiven. We return to the confessional for the same mistake over and over, not because God hasn’t forgiven us, but because we haven’t forgiven ourselves. We carry such a heavy sense of sin that it blinds us to God’s mercy; and in doing so, we unknowingly — perhaps unconsciously — doubt His power to forgive. That in itself can become a sin against God’s mercy.
God is not a spy looking to catch us in our next fault. He is a loving Father, waiting with open arms for our return. He doesn’t focus on where we’ve been, but on where we are going. In human relationships, it is rare to entrust our household to a friend who has betrayed us. We may forgive, but we rarely restore that level of trust. Yet that’s exactly what Jesus did with Peter. He didn’t just forgive him — He made him the head of His Church.
This tells us something important: Jesus does not call us because we are perfect. He calls us because of the good He sees in us. Peter was not without weakness, but Jesus saw his zeal, his willingness to serve, his childlike love. Even in his denial, Peter had been a man gripped by fear — not rebellion. When the fear passed, his love returned with boldness; and in the Acts of the Apostles, we see the same Peter who once cowered before a servant girl now standing boldly before the Sanhedrin, proclaiming the name of Jesus without hesitation. That is resilience. That is transformation.
To serve Christ is not to be flawless. It is to be willing: willing to return, willing to try again, willing to trust in God’s mercy. Like Peter, we must forgive our past and move forward in faith. Let us not allow our weaknesses to deter us from doing God’s work. Let us never refuse Christ’s call because of a perceived flaw. Instead, let us be like Peter — imperfect but faithful; broken but willing to be made whole.
If Peter could jump into the sea with a heart full of remorse and yet filled with hope, so can we. Forgive yourself. God already has.
Father Jacob Dankasa is the pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving.
Cutline for featured image: A statue of St. Peter, created by Lorenzo Lotti in 1534, is seen in front of Sant’Angelo Castle in Rome May 3, 2023. (CNS photo/Justin McLellan)
