It isn't a complete disaster to hit the bottom because then, as the saying goes, there is no other way to go than up! Probably the lowest moment in Peter's life was when Jesus looked at him in the high priest's house after he had denied even knowing Jesus. As St. Luke tells us "he went out and wept bitterly" (Lk. 22:62).

That dreadful experience of his cowardice purified him of any trace of arrogance or over-confidence. Jesus gently elicits from Peter a thrice repeated expression of love. The warmth returns but there is a hint of danger to come (Jn. 21:18-19).

In the first reading, however, there is more than a hint of danger. Peter bluntly states his intention of continuing to do what he believes God wants him to do. The High Priest is so disconcerted by Peter's boldness that he lets him off with a warning which Peter proceeds to ignore. Where did Peter get the strength to "bounce back"? Possibly from a naturally resilient temperament, but surely, too, there must have been a strong injection of the grace of the Holy Spirit following on Peter's horror-stricken realization of his weakness in the moment of danger during Jesus' trial.