Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." Lk 5:5
It is natural to wonder what it was that moved Peter to obey Jesus and lower his nets for a catch. Peter is the fisherman, not Jesus, and has been fishing all night with no success. Despite being tired, Peter listens to the Lord's command, and hauls in a large number fish, but this is not the point of the story. That the Apostle's will "catch" men and women is, and it is still the story.
Our task as Christians is to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ with passion and conviction, all the while knowing that it is not our eloquence or insight that will move our hearers but the power of God alive in us and in the Word. When we have the faith to listen, discern and obey God's command, even if it is counter intuitive or contradicts our experience, our success as evangelizers, like Peter's, will be assured.
Today, let go of your prejudices about how to be effective disciples and let God guide you.
Who or what has been most effective in your understanding and living of the Gospel?
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
We all have Vocations
"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." Lk 4:39
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her." Lk 4:39
Tomorrow, I will complete 55 years of Capuchin life. It hardly seems possible. 55 years ago, after a silent 8 day retreat (no easy task for me), I was clothed in the Capuchin habit with more than two dozen other frightened young men. It was an amazing day and its memory brings me to a point of deep gratitude. When I entered the Capuchins I could never have imagined the wonderful friars I would meet and live with, the education I would receive, and the opportunity to meet, teach and serve people from so many different cultures and countries. Though not without its struggles, Capuchin life has been a great gift!
It is these rich memories that make me stop and pray in gratitude with Peter’s mother in law whose story is told in today’s gospel. When Jesus heals Peter’s mother in law she gets up immediately and waits on all those assembled. The immediacy of her response is what most impresses me. She doesn’t hesitate at all or ask to rest, something that would seem perfectly natural after a severe fever. Anyone who has suffered with a high fever knows how tired one can be when the fever passes. But, then again, perhaps that was part of the miracle. Not only was she freed of fever, she got her strength back. In the light of God’s goodness to me, and conscious of how often God has forgiven me, I hope that I will always want to serve others immediately like Peter’s mother in law.
Today, be grateful for your vocation.
What are you grateful for today?
Monday, August 29, 2016
We are the Body of Christ
"We have the mind of Christ." 1 Cor 2:16
Often I find myself praying in gratitude for the people I have met along the way, especially people who could easily have walked away from faith because their journey was so difficult. Many of these people are the cornerstones of our parishes and faith communities, but many others are from the developing world where their contact with parishes as we know them is limited. Strong in their faith, these powerful and committed believers continue to study, reflect and celebrate the mysteries of faith despite their poverty. They are, for me, contemporary heroes who I not only admire but try to emulate.
St Paul regularly boasts about the believers who came to faith through his ministry. Never claiming them for himself, but for Christ, Paul reminds them that they "have the mind of Christ," and it will sustain them. Knowing how difficult it is to live their faith when few support them, Paul holds up the glory of their witness to Christ as an example for all to follow.
Today, boast about someone others ignore.
What helps you endure in faith on a daily basis?
Often I find myself praying in gratitude for the people I have met along the way, especially people who could easily have walked away from faith because their journey was so difficult. Many of these people are the cornerstones of our parishes and faith communities, but many others are from the developing world where their contact with parishes as we know them is limited. Strong in their faith, these powerful and committed believers continue to study, reflect and celebrate the mysteries of faith despite their poverty. They are, for me, contemporary heroes who I not only admire but try to emulate.
St Paul regularly boasts about the believers who came to faith through his ministry. Never claiming them for himself, but for Christ, Paul reminds them that they "have the mind of Christ," and it will sustain them. Knowing how difficult it is to live their faith when few support them, Paul holds up the glory of their witness to Christ as an example for all to follow.
Today, boast about someone others ignore.
What helps you endure in faith on a daily basis?
Sunday, August 28, 2016
A Christian Response to Violence
“'I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.'... So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl." Mk 6:26
The beheading of John the Baptist has always been one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to read. Horrific and barbaric, we cringe and withdraw from the image of someone bringing the head of another human being to a banquet to satisfy the rage of a woman whose marriage has been condemned.
Unfortunately, to the horror of most people in the world, this scene has been repeated often in recent years. Beheading Christians simply because they are Christians is a tactic of ISIS whick does its job well. Horrified and enraged, people around the world vow vengeance and Isis wins. By goading the world to respond, they continue the cycle of violence making reconciliation difficult if not impossible.
Pope Francis, in responding to these atrocities, reminds believers that despite the awfulness of what we are witnessing, we must continue to live the Gospel: "Wars are always madness: All is lost in war, all is to be gained in peace, In deploring all of these, I wish to assure my prayers and my solidarity for those who are being held in captivity and for their families, and I appeal to the humanity of the kidnappers to free their victims," Solidarity with all people trapped by war and the willingness to seek new roads to peace is the only Gospel response.
Today, pray for anyone, especially children, caught in wars they cannot possibly understand.
What do you think is the Gospel response to overwhelming violence?
The beheading of John the Baptist has always been one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to read. Horrific and barbaric, we cringe and withdraw from the image of someone bringing the head of another human being to a banquet to satisfy the rage of a woman whose marriage has been condemned.
Unfortunately, to the horror of most people in the world, this scene has been repeated often in recent years. Beheading Christians simply because they are Christians is a tactic of ISIS whick does its job well. Horrified and enraged, people around the world vow vengeance and Isis wins. By goading the world to respond, they continue the cycle of violence making reconciliation difficult if not impossible.
Pope Francis, in responding to these atrocities, reminds believers that despite the awfulness of what we are witnessing, we must continue to live the Gospel: "Wars are always madness: All is lost in war, all is to be gained in peace, In deploring all of these, I wish to assure my prayers and my solidarity for those who are being held in captivity and for their families, and I appeal to the humanity of the kidnappers to free their victims," Solidarity with all people trapped by war and the willingness to seek new roads to peace is the only Gospel response.
Today, pray for anyone, especially children, caught in wars they cannot possibly understand.
What do you think is the Gospel response to overwhelming violence?
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