Acts 5:28-32, 40b-41; Rev. 5:11-14; Jn. 21:1-19
However, one day in May 1925, tragedy struck—Professor Ueno suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage while at work and never returned home.
But Hachiko didn’t know that. Every day for the next nine years, until his own death in 1935, Hachiko returned to the station at the exact time the train was due, waiting faithfully for his master who would never come back.
Hachiko’s loyalty moved the hearts of people across Japan. A bronze statue was erected at Shibuya Station in his honor, and it remains a symbol of unwavering loyalty and love to this day.
This story of Hachiko teaches about commitment, loyalty, and love—values that transcend even the boundaries of species. It’s a simple yet profound reminder of what it means to stand by someone, even when the world moves on.
The story of Ruth and Naomi is another great example of Loyalty.
After the death of her husband, Ruth, a Moabite woman, was urged by her mother-in-law Naomi to return to her own people and remarry. But Ruth's response is one of the most powerful expressions of loyalty in Scripture:
"Where you go, I will go; where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." (Ruth 1:16)
Despite being free to leave and rebuild her life, Ruth chose to remain with Naomi, who had lost everything. She accompanied her to Bethlehem, worked tirelessly to provide for them both, and eventually became part of the lineage of King David and, ultimately, Jesus Christ.
Ruth's unwavering loyalty in the face of loss and uncertainty stands as a model of faithful love and devotion
Sir Thomas More also stands as a symbol of loyalty.
Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century English statesman, lawyer, and author of Utopia, was a man deeply loyal to his conscience and his faith. When King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church to declare himself the head of the Church of England, More could not support the king’s actions, even though he had once served as his close advisor.
Despite immense pressure, imprisonment, and the threat of death, More refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy that acknowledged the king as head of the church. He was ultimately tried for treason and executed in 1535.
Just before his death, he declared:
“I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”
His loyalty to his beliefs, even unto death, made him a martyr and a saint, remembered for the courage to stand firm in truth and integrity.
Today’s three readings speak of loyalty to the Lord Jesus.
Today's First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles [Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41] echoed the loyalty of the disciples of Jesus. We heard that the captain and the Temple police went to the Temple to gather the disciples who were teaching. From this Bible passage, we perceive that the Temple is the proper place for apostolic teaching. Within the Temple of God, the Apostles were doing the work of the Lord.
During today's reading from the Gospel of John, [Jn. 21:1-19] we heard Jesus asking Peter on three different occasions, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" And three times, Peter affirmed his loyalty to Jesus, promising to serve Him, even to death. The Lord's threefold question that demanded a threefold profession of love from Peter was in response to Peter's threefold denial. Undoubtedly, Peter knew that he was being reminded that on three past occasions, he denied knowing the Lord Jesus.
Knowing the transformation that took part in the heart of Peter since the Resurrection, Jesus believed him and transferred His authority to him. When Jesus said three times, "Feed My sheep.", He was commissioning Peter to lead the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that He Himself had instituted on earth. At that moment, Jesus surrendered His own office of Shepherd to Peter. At that moment, it became the destiny of Peter to follow the Good Shepherd in every detail, even to the laying down of his life. [Jn. 10:11]
Today’s Gospel passage is one of the most moving encounters between Jesus and Peter—an encounter rich with pain, love, mercy, and mission. It reminds us that our failures do not disqualify us, but that in Christ, they can become the very ground from which grace raises us for greater service.
Each time Peter affirms his love, Jesus entrusts him with a task:
“Feed My lambs.”
“Tend My sheep.”
“Feed My sheep.”
This is a sacred commissioning. Jesus is handing over His own pastoral mission to Peter—the same Jesus who had said, “I am the Good Shepherd” [John 10:11] now tells Peter, in essence, “You will now shepherd My people, in My name.”
And this commissioning is not based on Peter’s perfection—but on his love, his loyalty, and his transformed heart. It is a reminder that leadership in the Church is never about power or pride—it is about love expressed in service, guidance, and sacrifice.
Jesus ends the conversation with a sober prophecy:
“When you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and go wherever you wished. But when you grow old… someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” [John 21:18]
Peter is being told that his love will ultimately lead him to the cross, just as it did for his Master. And church history tells us, Peter remained faithful to that call, even unto martyrdom—crucified upside down in Rome because he did not consider himself worthy to die as his Lord did.
Loyalty, as shown in Peter's life, is not mere sentiment—it is steadfastness, even though suffering. It is a love that endures, that feeds, and that lays down its life.
The virtue of loyalty is held in high esteem. During the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, a young Sri Lankan boy named Janaka Palitha, only 12 years old, became a symbol of loyalty and courage.
Janaka and his best friend were playing near the beach when the tsunami waves started rushing in. As people screamed and ran for safety, Janaka noticed that his friend had fallen and was struggling to get up. Instead of running away to save himself, Janaka turned back, grabbed his friend’s hand, and tried to pull him up.
The waves came crashing in. Both were swept away.
Rescuers found Janaka’s body later—his arms still tightly around his friend’s body. They had both died, but in the most profound act of loyalty: he refused to abandon his friend, even in the face of death.
This simple, heartbreaking act of friendship and sacrifice left a deep impact on rescue workers and the local community. His story was told in newspapers and memorials, reminding the world that even in the midst of horror, the human spirit can choose loyalty over survival.
Today, Jesus demands great loyalty from each of his followers. Jesus turns to each of us and asks, “Do you love Me?”
He does not ask, “Have you never failed Me?”
He asks, “Do you love Me?”
And if we can answer like Peter—perhaps broken, perhaps ashamed, but still full of longing—then Jesus says to us too: “Feed My sheep.” Serve. Love. Shepherd. Follow.
Let us remember: Like Ruth, who chose to stay with Naomi out of loyalty and love, we are called to stay with the Church, with our vocations, with the poor and the vulnerable. Like Sir Thomas More, who remained loyal to God even unto death, we are called to remain faithful in a world that pulls us toward compromise. And like Peter, who fell hard but rose in grace, we too can be restored, recommissioned, and led forward in hope.
Jesus did not reject Peter for his failure. He reclaimed him, redeemed him, and entrusted him with the Church. This same Jesus turns to us today and asks, “Do you love Me?”
Let us respond not with perfect confidence, but with honest, loyal hearts, saying,
“Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You.”
And then, may we go out and live that love—by feeding His sheep.
Satish