Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. 
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8).

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What was it about himself that Peter declared to be sinful?

Perhaps it was simply recognizing that he was in the presence of someone holier and more powerful than himself.

Maybe Peter lived subconsciously with a sense of guilt, an awareness of his sins, or mistakes made – as sometimes we can do.

But Jesus sees different things – good things – within Peter, which will help him to change the world.

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Jesus sees an experienced fisherman – a man with calloused hands who understands the value of perseverance, discipline, and hard work.

Jesus sees a man who is willing trust and take risks. Although Peter just returned from a fruitless night of fishing – and he, not Jesus, is the professional fisherman – Peter willingly drops his nets at Christ’s command.

Above all, Jesus sees Peter’s future – the foundation of the Church. The skills and talents Peter developed over years of hard work as a fisherman will soon be put in service of the Gospel.

“I will make you a fisher of men,” Jesus says.

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So, what can we take away from this encounter between Jesus and Peter?

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Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by a sense of unworthiness when in the presence of the Divine, as Peter was that day.

But try to see within yourself the beautiful things the Lord sees: unique skills and talents which can make you a “fisher of men.”

As Saint Peter says, “Put your gifts in service of the Gospel, each according to the gifts you have received.” (1 Peter 4:10)

What might be some of those talents within me? And how can I use them to share my faith?

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Image credits: (1) @drlouiseswartswalter (2) Aleteia (3) Cristina Janta

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Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44

After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.

At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Tying yesterday and today’s Gospel passages together, we discover a full day in the life of Jesus.

The Lord began his day in the synagogue, where he cast out an unclean spirit from a man, revealing Christ’s power over evil.

“After lunch,” Jesus enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill. 

Then he continues his ministry into the evening. As we hear in today’s Gospel, “At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.”

I’d imagine by night, the Lord was exhausted.

But early the next morning – before dawn – Jesus is up and out, finding a quiet place to pray.

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This is what sustained him.

It’s what is meant to sustains us on our pilgrimage through life.

Prayer gives us the energy, the insight, and the compassion we need to accomplish the tasks God has in store for us each day.

The Lord reminds us today that the best time to pray is, “very early before dawn.” I’ve done it myself, praying an hour a day before dawn for the last fifteen years. It’s changed me in ways I never would have imagined.

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Give the Lord the first few minutes of each day and see what happens. 

You may be surprised by how much you become like Jesus, eager – and ready – to do your Father’s will.

I wonder what that might look like for you today.

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Image credits: (1) Complex (2) Men’s Health (3) Our Daily Bread

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Gospel: Luke 4: 31-37

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, 
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate a modern-day hero. 

Not because she was the Wolf of Wall Street. Not because she became the world’s wealthiest woman. Not because she was highly educated or cured cancer.

In fact, she did none of these things.

We celebrate a woman who learned how to persevere in doing ordinary things – chasing after children abandoned by their parents and offering them a home, feeding the hungry, bathing dirty feet, and picking up people who otherwise would’ve died on the streets.

For seventy years, she did ordinary things with extraordinary love.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, affectionately known as “Mother Teresa,” became a global phenomenon, bringing poverty onto the world stage simply by being a Christian – doing the things that Christ commanded her to do.

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“Why do you do these things day after day?” She was once asked by an interviewer. “Don’t you ever tire of it all?”

Mother Teresa responded, “I’m not called to feed hungry people. I’m called to love Jesus.” Then she reached out, grabbed the interviewer’s hand, and on each of his five fingers, she repeated the words of Jesus: You – did – it – to – me.

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Much could be said about Mother Teresa – her history, her spirituality, her inexhaustible charity for the poor. But it was her love for Christ – and her knack for seeing him in her neighbor – that inspired her life and mission.

There’s a word in that for all of us.

Though we may not be surrounded by the sick, the hungry, the naked, the “losers” in this world, we are all invited to see Christ in our neighbor.

That doesn’t only include our family, our friends, and people whom we love. But also, those we’d rather avoid, those whom we disagree with, those who are different from ourselves.

Whatever we do to one another today, we do to Christ.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Mother Teresa: The Life of a Saint, The New York Times (2) The Collector (3) The Collector