Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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 they 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.
Saint Antony of Padua (c.1195-1231), Franciscan, Doctor of the Church
Sermons for Sundays and Saints' days
"Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men"
«At your word I will lower the nets.» It is at the command of divine grace and supernatural inspiration that the nets of preaching are to be spread out. Otherwise the preacher wastes his time in lowering the lines of his words. People's faith is won, not by carefully composed speeches but the grace of a divine vocation... O fruitful humility! When those who so far haven't caught a thing put their trust in Christ's word, they catch a great number of fish...
«At your word I will lower the nets.» Whenever I lowered them on my own I wanted to keep what belongs to you for myself. It was myself I was preaching and not you; my words, not yours. That's why I caught nothing. Or if I did catch something, it wasn't fish but frogs, only good for croaking my own praise...
«At your word I will lower the nets.» Running out the net at the word of Jesus Christ means not attributing anything to oneself but all to him; it means practising what one preaches. Then a great number of fish will be caught.
My reflection:
As I was reading the gospel for today, I can't help myself to be on Simon's shoes. Everyday in my life, I am filled with worries and doubts about my life, my family, my friends, my church and our priest. But that was before until I really feel the presence of God when I attended the CLSS (Catholic Life in the Spirit Seminar)
And to this day, there are doubts but faith overcomes them.
GOD is Good! All the Time!
Note: The Gospel and commentary comes from the Daily Gospel.
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