March 28, 2026. “Simon Peter: Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.” “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you have...

 Dear Jesus,

There was a time when You went out to teach, and Your disciples did not grasp the meaning; because You spoke the truth, they turned away. This is what Saint John recorded:

“Upon hearing this, many of His disciples immediately said:

‘This saying is hard to bear! Who can listen to it?’

But Jesus, knowing that His disciples were grumbling, said:

‘Does this offend you?  Then, if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The Words I have spoken to you are Spirit and Life.

But there are some among you who do not believe.’” Indeed, from the very beginning, there were those who did not believe; He continued: “For this reason I have told you: no one can come to Me unless the Father grants him that grace.”

From that moment on, many disciples withdrew and no longer followed Him.

So Jesus asked the Twelve Apostles: “Do you also wish to leave?”

Simon Peter immediately replied:

“Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the Words of eternal life. I have come to believe and to know that You are the Son of God.”

Then Jesus answered: “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (JOHN 6:61–70)

And at the Last Supper, You said:

“My children, I am to be with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” Simon Peter asked: “Lord, where are You going?”

“Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but later you will follow.”

“I give you a new commandment:

Love one another as I have loved you. By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples.”

“Simon Peter:

Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.”

“Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you have denied Me three times!” (John 13:33–38)

Through these two passages of Scripture, we clearly see the character of Peter: he was determined to follow the Lord with all his heart; yet, upon seeing the Roman soldiers arrest Him—overcome by fear—he denied Him three times while standing by the fire to keep warm in the courtyard of Annas, after the Lord had been taken inside for interrogation.

When the rooster crowed at dawn, remembering the Lord’s prophecy, Peter covered his face and wept!

He had denied the Lord three times, when the Lord rose from the dead and shared breakfast with the apostles on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, He asked Peter three times:

“Peter, do you love Me?” Indeed, Peter loved his Master unto death, keeping his solemn vow: “I will die with You.” He was crucified upside down—at his own request—declaring, “A disciple cannot be greater than his Master.” This took place in 64 A.D. on Vatican Hill in Rome, during the reign of Emperor Nero.

This event reminds me of my own experience following April 30, 1975, when I was imprisoned. Upon entering the prison camp, we were required to complete a personal resume, which included a section for “religion.” A great many people declared they had no religion. As for me, I recalled the Master’s teaching:

“Whoever denies Me, I will deny him before My Father.”

Those words of the Master remained etched in my heart; thus, despite my deep fear of the Communists within the prison camp, I declared that I belonged to the Catholic faith.

After my release from prison, I worked at the District 1 Health Office in Saigon. One day, my female supervisor said to me:

“Mr. Tung, please sign the referral papers for these young women so they can go to Tu Du Hospital for abortions.”

I replied:

“No. My religious faith and my conscience as a physician forbid me from doing such a thing.”

“You are only signing a piece of paper.”

“True—but signing that paper is signing a death sentence for the unborn children in their mothers’ wombs.”

Shortly thereafter, I learned that the Health Office intended to transfer me and my family to the U Minh “New Economic Zone.”

It was at that moment that I resolved to leave Vietnam. Jesus and the Blessed Mother Mary watched over my family, guiding us safely through a harrowing journey across the sea to Indonesia.

Let me know You, and let me know myself. Know You to listen to Your Word, and put it into practice in my daily life. Know me to change my path to Your righteous one, to have Heaven in my heart, and You are always with me.

May my meditation bring many more readers,  who are not yet believers, into your Forever Family.

Please bless all those who read this meditation in my Blog.

AMEN.