"He has done all things well."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:31-37.
Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And (immediately) the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak."

Commentary of the day
Saint Laurence of Brindisi (1559-1619), Capuchin, Doctor of the Church
11th Sunday after Pentecost, First homily, 1.9.11-12; Opera omnia, 8, 124.134.136-138 (©Friends of Henry Ashworth)

"He has done all things well"

Just as the divine law says that when God created the world «he saw all that he had made and it was very good,» (Gn 1,31) so the gospel speaking of our redemption and re-creation, affirms: «He has done all things well» (Mk 7,37)... As fire can give out nothing but heat and is incapable of giving out cold; and as the sun gives out nothing but light and is incapable of giving out darkness, so God is incapable of doing anything but good, for he is infinite goodness and light He is a sun giving out endless light a fire producing endless warmth. «He has done all things well.»

The law says that all God did was good; the gospel says he has done all things well. Doing a good deed is not quite the same as doing it well. Many do good deeds but fail to do them well. The deeds of hypocrites, for example, are good, but they are done in the wrong spirit, with a perverse and defective intention. Everything God does, however, is not only good but is also done well. «The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his deeds. With wisdom you have done them all» (Ps 145[144].17)... Now if God has done all his good works and done well for our sake, knowing that we take pleasure in goodness, why I ask do we not endeavor to make all our works good and to do them well, knowing that such works are pleasing to God?

My Reflection:
Being a Music Coordinator in our Parish, God has gave me a Mission to work in His vineyard. Opening up to Him just like in the Gospel, Jesus has healed call the areas of my life in which before I was in the darkness of sin and pride. But now, having a personal relationship with Him gave me an opening to be an instrument of peace through Music.

"Do not be afraid."

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.


Commentary of the day
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.