READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah Is 6:1-2a, 3-8
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above.
They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. 2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. 3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed. 5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. 8 The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.
Second reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 1 Cor 15:1-11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Luke Lk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is reassuring and decisive: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men”. This is the logic that guides Jesus’ mission and the mission of the Church: go in search, “fish” for men and women, not to proselytize, but to restore full dignity and freedom to all, through the forgiveness of sins. This is the essential point of Christianity: to spread the free and regenerative love of God, with a welcoming and merciful attitude toward everyone, so that each person can encounter God’s tenderness and have the fullness of life. Today’s Gospel challenges us: do we know how to truly trust in the Word of the Lord? Or do we let ourselves become discouraged by our failures? May the Virgin Mary help us to ever better understand that being disciples means placing our feet in the footsteps left by the Master: they are the footprints of divine grace that restore life for all. (Angelus, 7 February 2016)
FAUSTI - The crowd pours over Jesus to hear the Word of God on the seashore. Jesus stands before this people ready for listening and for exodus: He is like the shepherd who gathers the sheep to lead them to pasture. The disciples are already on the boat from where Jesus speaks. This boat is figure of the Church, a small community that floats on the abyss and makes its exodus. It is already the point of arrival of His mission, so He sits down and from there He turns to others ones who are still on the shore. Peter received from Jesus the commission to drive the boat offshore. The fishing represents the Apostolic mission that begins now, and that will extend very far, to the ends of the earth. They are out in the open, after a night of useless toil, and experience, in obedience to His Word, the abundance of the fruits of the promised blessing.The nets that the Apostles drop, St. Ambrose suggestively says in his commentary, are the announcement made of interweaving of words, widening of speech and depth of answers that take in their mesh and do not lose those who are taken. They do not kill those who are caught there, but they keep them alive, they draw them from the depths to the light and from the depths they lead those who were submerged to the surface. How many times they had lowered their nets unnecessarily! That same night they had taken nothing. The order of Jesus, addressed to professional fishermen, seems a little offensive, as well as senseless. Do they not know their profession well and Isn' t at night that they fish? They will have to understand that it is not by force and will that they act, and that action is fruitful precisely during the day, because they obey the "sun" that has arisen to illuminate those who were previously in darkness and in the shadow of death. The vain fatigue of the night indicates the futility of all human efforts made by their own will to establish the Kingdom of God. Because it is of God! Obedience to the Word of the Lord, whose power they have heard and seen, is the only reason to hope for the impossible that it promises to those who obey. Faith has no other support. It bears the infallible and overflowing fruit of this fishery, which exceeds all human expectation and ability. The nets almost break because they are unable to contain the realization of the promise, which is superior to any fame, but nothing is lost! In addition to Peter's boat there is also another boat associated with fishingboth are filled, symbol of God's blessing, to the point of sinking,, but they do not sink. Before the Truth of God and His gift of mercy, man discovers his own truth. Peter feels far away - that's why he tells Him to get away from him - and he sees himself lost: he knows that he is not what he must be and he feels unworthy. There isn't a revelation of God without awareness of one's own sin. His infinite majesty is known at the same time that we know our infinite lowliness, and only by this. Peter receives his mission while recognizing himself as a sinner, his journey of discovery of forgiveness in sin and of fidelity in infidelity will be typical of every believer. Simon will become Peter and will be charged to confirm his brothers in the faith just when he will have consumed to the end his experience of weakness. The mission of Peter, who has experienced the mercy of the Lord Who has fished him from sin, will consist in fishing people. The whole humanity is immersed in the sea, in the abyss of perdition, separated from God and in the arms of death. What Jesus has done and will do with everyone, including the disciples of the boat, that is, the action of saving from the abyss, will be the fishing with which the disciples themselves will be associated, for the benefit of all men.
1. “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (Lk 5:10). Today’s Gospel passage tells us about the vocation of Simon Peter and of the first Apostles. After speaking to the crowd from Simon’s boat, Jesus asks them to put out into the deep for a catch. Peter replies by explaining his difficulties during the previous night when, despite his efforts, he was unable to catch anything. Nevertheless he trusts the Lord and makes his first act of faith in him: “At your word, I will let down the nets” (Lk 5:5).
The subsequent wonder of the miraculous catch is an eloquent sign of Jesus’ divine power and, at the same time, foretells the mission that will be entrusted to the Fisherman of Galilee, of steering the ship of the Church over the billows of history, and, with the power of the Gospel, of gathering an immense multitude of men and women from every part of the globe.
The call of Peter and the first Apostles is the work of God’s free initiative, which is answered by man’s free adherence to him. This loving dialogue with the Lord helps the human being to become aware of his limitations and, at the same time, of the power of God’s grace, which purifies and renews the mind and heart: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men”. The ultimate success of the mission is guaranteed by divine assistance. It is God who brings everything to fulfilment. We are asked to trust in him and to comply docilely with his will.
2. Do not be afraid! How many times does the Lord repeat this invitation to us. Today especially, in an age marked by powerful fears and uncertainties, these words resound as an exhortation to entrust ourselves to God, to turn our gaze towards him. He, who directs the fate of history by the power of his Spirit, does not abandon us in trial and makes our steps firm in faith.
Dear brothers and sisters, let this deep awareness pervade your life. God calls every believer to follow him; he asks him to co-operate in his saving plan. Like Simon Peter, we too can proclaim: “At your word I will let down the nets”. At your word! His word is the Gospel, the perennial message of salvation, which transforms life when it is accepted and lived. On the day of our Baptism these “glad tidings” were communicated to us, and we must ponder them deeply and witness to them with courage.
The City Mission, now in its essential phase, asks all Christians to proclaim the Gospel in word, but especially with integrity of life. In this extraordinary apostolic undertaking, consider yourselves as continually sustained by the One who is the first missionary sent by the Father into the world: Jesus Christ, our Lord.
In today’s liturgy, the Gospel according to Luke presents the story of the call of the first disciples, with an original version that differs from that of the other two Synoptic Gospels, Matthew and Mark (cf. Mt 4: 18-22; Mk 1:16-20) . The call, in fact, was preceded by the teaching of Jesus to the crowd and a miraculous catch of fish, carried out by the will of the Lord (Lk 5:1-6). In fact, while the crowd rushes to the shore of Lake Gennesaret to hear Jesus, he sees Simon discouraged because he has caught nothing all night. First Jesus asks to get into Simon’s boat in order to preach to the people standing a short distance from the shore; then, having finished preaching, he commands Simon to go out into the deep with his friends and cast their nets (cf. v. 5). Simon obeys, and they catch an incredible amount of fish. In this way, the evangelist shows how the first disciples followed Jesus, trusting him, relying on his Word, all the while accompanied by miraculous signs. We note that, before this sign, Simon addresses Jesus, calling him “Master” (v. 5), while afterwards he addresses him as “Lord” (v. 7). This is the pedagogy of God’s call, which does not consider the quality of those who are chosen so much as their faith, like that of Simon that says: “At your word, I will let down the nets” (v. 5).
The image of the fish refers to the Church’s mission. St Augustine says in this regard, “Twice the disciples went out to fish at the Lord’s command: once before the Passion and the other time after the Resurrection. In the two scenes of fishing, the entire Church is depicted: the Church as it is now and as it will be after the resurrection of the dead. Now it gathers together a multitude, impossible to number, comprising the good and the bad; after the resurrection, it will include only the good” (Homily 248.1). The experience of Peter, certainly unique, is nonetheless representative of the call of every apostle of the Gospel, who must never be discouraged in proclaiming Christ to all men, even to the ends of the world. However, today’s text is a reflection on the vocation to the priesthood and the consecrated life. It is the work of God. The human person is not the author of his own vocation but responds to the divine call. Human weakness should not be afraid if God calls. It is necessary to have confidence in his strength, which acts in our poverty; we must rely more and more on the power of his mercy, which transforms and renews.
Dear brothers and sisters, may this Word of God revive in us and in our Christian communities courage, confidence and enthusiasm in proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel. Do not let failures and difficulties lead to discouragement: it is our task to cast our nets in faith — the Lord will do the rest. We must trust, too, in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Apostles. Well aware of her own smallness, she answered the Lord’s call with total confidence: “Here I am”. With her maternal help, let us renew our willingness to follow Jesus, Master and Lord.
PAPA FRANCIS - ANGELUS - SAN PIETRO Square - Sunday, February 10, 2019 Today's Gospel (cf. Lk 5:1-11) offers us, in Luke's account, the CALL of St. Peter. His name - we know - was SIMON, and he was a fisherman. Jesus, on the shore of the LAKE of Galilee, sees him, together with other fishermen, setting out his nets. He finds him tired and disappointed, because that night they had caught nothing. And Jesus surprises him with an unexpected gesture: he gets on his BOAT and asks him to step back a bit from the shore because he wants to speak to the people from there - there were a lot of people. So Jesus sits on SIMON'S BOAT and teaches the crowds gathered along the shore. But his WORDS also reopen SIMONE's heart to trust. Then Jesus, in another surprising "move," tells him, "Put out into the deep and cast your nets for fishing" (v. 4). SIMON responds with an objection, "MASTER, we have toiled all night and caught nothing...". And, as an experienced fisherman, he could have added, "If we caught nothing by night, much less will we catch by day." Instead, inspired by the presence of Jesus and enlightened by HIS WORD, he says: "...but on YOUR WORD I will cast my nets" (v. 5). It is the response of FAITH, which we too are called to give; it is the attitude of availability that the LORD asks of all his DISCIPLES, especially of those who have tasks of responsibility in the CHURCH. And Peter's trusting obedience produces a prodigious result: "They did this and caught a great number of fish" (v. 6). It is a miraculous catch, a sign of the power of Jesus' WORD: when we put ourselves generously at his service, he accomplishes great things in us. This is how He acts with each one of us: He asks us to welcome Him onto the BOAT of our lives, to set out with Him and to sail on a new sea that is full of surprises. His invitation to go out into the open sea of the humanity of our time, to be witnesses of goodness and mercy, gives new meaning to our existence, which often runs the risk of flattening out on itself. Sometimes we can be surprised and hesitant before the CALL that the divine Master addresses to us, and we are tempted to reject it because of our inadequacy. Even Peter, after that incredible catch, said to Jesus: "LORD, depart from me, for I am a SINNER" (v. 8). This humble prayer is beautiful: "LORD, depart from me, for I am a SINNER". But he said it on his knees before the One whom he now recognizes as "LORD." And Jesus encourages him by saying: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men" (v. 10), because God, if we trust in Him, frees us from our SIN and opens up a new horizon for us: to collaborate in His MISSION. The greatest miracle Jesus performed for SIMONE and the other disappointed and tired fishermen was not so much the net full of fish, but the fact that He helped them not to fall victim to disappointment and discouragement in the face of defeat. He opened them up to become heralds and witnesses of HIS WORD and the KINGDOM of GOD. And the response of the DISCIPLES was prompt and total: "They pulled their boats ashore and left everything and followed him" (v. 11). May the Blessed Virgin, model of prompt adherence to God's will, help us to feel the charm of the LORD's CALL, and make us available to collaborate with Him to spread HIS WORD of SALVATION everywhere.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah
Is 6:1-2a, 3-8
In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above.
They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it, and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8 The Lord will vindicate me;
your love, Lord, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Second reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
1 Cor 15:1-11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, Christ appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFrom the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is reassuring and decisive: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men”. This is the logic that guides Jesus’ mission and the mission of the Church: go in search, “fish” for men and women, not to proselytize, but to restore full dignity and freedom to all, through the forgiveness of sins. This is the essential point of Christianity: to spread the free and regenerative love of God, with a welcoming and merciful attitude toward everyone, so that each person can encounter God’s tenderness and have the fullness of life. Today’s Gospel challenges us: do we know how to truly trust in the Word of the Lord? Or do we let ourselves become discouraged by our failures? May the Virgin Mary help us to ever better understand that being disciples means placing our feet in the footsteps left by the Master: they are the footprints of divine grace that restore life for all. (Angelus, 7 February 2016)
FAUSTI - The crowd pours over Jesus to hear the Word of God on the seashore. Jesus stands before this people ready for listening and for exodus: He is like the shepherd who gathers the sheep to lead them to pasture. The disciples are already on the boat from where Jesus speaks.
RispondiEliminaThis boat is figure of the Church, a small community that floats on the abyss and makes its exodus. It is already the point of arrival of His mission, so He sits down and from there He turns to others ones who are still on the shore.
Peter received from Jesus the commission to drive the boat offshore.
The fishing represents the Apostolic mission that begins now, and that will extend very far, to the ends of the earth.
They are out in the open, after a night of useless toil, and experience, in obedience to His Word, the abundance of the fruits of the promised blessing.The nets that the Apostles drop, St. Ambrose suggestively says in his commentary, are the announcement made of interweaving of words, widening of speech and depth of answers that take in their mesh and do not lose those who are taken. They do not kill those who are caught there, but they keep them alive, they draw them from the depths to the light and from the depths they lead those who were submerged to the surface.
How many times they had lowered their nets unnecessarily!
That same night they had taken nothing.
The order of Jesus, addressed to professional fishermen, seems a little offensive, as well as senseless. Do they not know their profession well and Isn' t at night that they fish? They will have to understand that it is not by force and will that they act, and that action is fruitful precisely during the day, because they obey the "sun" that has arisen to illuminate those who were previously in darkness and in the shadow of death.
The vain fatigue of the night indicates the futility of all human efforts made by their own will to establish the Kingdom of God. Because it is of God!
Obedience to the Word of the Lord, whose power they have heard and seen, is the only reason to hope for the impossible that it promises to those who obey.
Faith has no other support. It bears the infallible and overflowing fruit of this fishery, which exceeds all human expectation and ability. The nets almost break because they are unable to contain the realization of the promise, which is superior to any fame, but nothing is lost!
In addition to Peter's boat there is also another boat associated with fishingboth are filled, symbol of God's blessing, to the point of sinking,, but they do not sink.
Before the Truth of God and His gift of mercy, man discovers his own truth. Peter feels far away - that's why he tells Him to get away from him - and he sees himself lost: he knows that he is not what he must be and he feels unworthy. There isn't a revelation of God without awareness of one's own sin. His infinite majesty is known at the same time that we know our infinite lowliness, and only by this.
Peter receives his mission while recognizing himself as a sinner, his journey of discovery of forgiveness in sin and of fidelity in infidelity will be typical of every believer. Simon will become Peter and will be charged to confirm his brothers in the faith just when he will have consumed to the end his experience of weakness.
The mission of Peter, who has experienced the mercy of the Lord Who has fished him from sin, will consist in fishing people.
The whole humanity is immersed in the sea, in the abyss of perdition, separated from God and in the arms of death. What Jesus has done and will do with everyone, including the disciples of the boat, that is, the action of saving from the abyss, will be the fishing with which the disciples themselves will be associated, for the benefit of all men.
HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II
RispondiEliminaSunday, 8 February 1998
1. “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (Lk 5:10). Today’s Gospel passage tells us about the vocation of Simon Peter and of the first Apostles. After speaking to the crowd from Simon’s boat, Jesus asks them to put out into the deep for a catch. Peter replies by explaining his difficulties during the previous night when, despite his efforts, he was unable to catch anything. Nevertheless he trusts the Lord and makes his first act of faith in him: “At your word, I will let down the nets” (Lk 5:5).
The subsequent wonder of the miraculous catch is an eloquent sign of Jesus’ divine power and, at the same time, foretells the mission that will be entrusted to the Fisherman of Galilee, of steering the ship of the Church over the billows of history, and, with the power of the Gospel, of gathering an immense multitude of men and women from every part of the globe.
The call of Peter and the first Apostles is the work of God’s free initiative, which is answered by man’s free adherence to him. This loving dialogue with the Lord helps the human being to become aware of his limitations and, at the same time, of the power of God’s grace, which purifies and renews the mind and heart: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men”. The ultimate success of the mission is guaranteed by divine assistance. It is God who brings everything to fulfilment. We are asked to trust in him and to comply docilely with his will.
2. Do not be afraid! How many times does the Lord repeat this invitation to us. Today especially, in an age marked by powerful fears and uncertainties, these words resound as an exhortation to entrust ourselves to God, to turn our gaze towards him. He, who directs the fate of history by the power of his Spirit, does not abandon us in trial and makes our steps firm in faith.
Dear brothers and sisters, let this deep awareness pervade your life. God calls every believer to follow him; he asks him to co-operate in his saving plan. Like Simon Peter, we too can proclaim: “At your word I will let down the nets”. At your word! His word is the Gospel, the perennial message of salvation, which transforms life when it is accepted and lived. On the day of our Baptism these “glad tidings” were communicated to us, and we must ponder them deeply and witness to them with courage.
The City Mission, now in its essential phase, asks all Christians to proclaim the Gospel in word, but especially with integrity of life. In this extraordinary apostolic undertaking, consider yourselves as continually sustained by the One who is the first missionary sent by the Father into the world: Jesus Christ, our Lord.
BENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In today’s liturgy, the Gospel according to Luke presents the story of the call of the first disciples, with an original version that differs from that of the other two Synoptic Gospels, Matthew and Mark (cf. Mt 4: 18-22; Mk 1:16-20) . The call, in fact, was preceded by the teaching of Jesus to the crowd and a miraculous catch of fish, carried out by the will of the Lord (Lk 5:1-6). In fact, while the crowd rushes to the shore of Lake Gennesaret to hear Jesus, he sees Simon discouraged because he has caught nothing all night. First Jesus asks to get into Simon’s boat in order to preach to the people standing a short distance from the shore; then, having finished preaching, he commands Simon to go out into the deep with his friends and cast their nets (cf. v. 5). Simon obeys, and they catch an incredible amount of fish. In this way, the evangelist shows how the first disciples followed Jesus, trusting him, relying on his Word, all the while accompanied by miraculous signs. We note that, before this sign, Simon addresses Jesus, calling him “Master” (v. 5), while afterwards he addresses him as “Lord” (v. 7). This is the pedagogy of God’s call, which does not consider the quality of those who are chosen so much as their faith, like that of Simon that says: “At your word, I will let down the nets” (v. 5).
The image of the fish refers to the Church’s mission. St Augustine says in this regard, “Twice the disciples went out to fish at the Lord’s command: once before the Passion and the other time after the Resurrection. In the two scenes of fishing, the entire Church is depicted: the Church as it is now and as it will be after the resurrection of the dead. Now it gathers together a multitude, impossible to number, comprising the good and the bad; after the resurrection, it will include only the good” (Homily 248.1). The experience of Peter, certainly unique, is nonetheless representative of the call of every apostle of the Gospel, who must never be discouraged in proclaiming Christ to all men, even to the ends of the world. However, today’s text is a reflection on the vocation to the priesthood and the consecrated life. It is the work of God. The human person is not the author of his own vocation but responds to the divine call. Human weakness should not be afraid if God calls. It is necessary to have confidence in his strength, which acts in our poverty; we must rely more and more on the power of his mercy, which transforms and renews.
Dear brothers and sisters, may this Word of God revive in us and in our Christian communities courage, confidence and enthusiasm in proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel. Do not let failures and difficulties lead to discouragement: it is our task to cast our nets in faith — the Lord will do the rest. We must trust, too, in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Apostles. Well aware of her own smallness, she answered the Lord’s call with total confidence: “Here I am”. With her maternal help, let us renew our willingness to follow Jesus, Master and Lord.
PAPA FRANCIS - ANGELUS - SAN PIETRO Square - Sunday, February 10, 2019
RispondiEliminaToday's Gospel (cf. Lk 5:1-11) offers us, in Luke's account, the CALL of St. Peter. His name - we know - was SIMON, and he was a fisherman. Jesus, on the shore of the LAKE of Galilee, sees him, together with other fishermen, setting out his nets. He finds him tired and disappointed, because that night they had caught nothing. And Jesus surprises him with an unexpected gesture: he gets on his BOAT and asks him to step back a bit from the shore because he wants to speak to the people from there - there were a lot of people. So Jesus sits on SIMON'S BOAT and teaches the crowds gathered along the shore. But his WORDS also reopen SIMONE's heart to trust. Then Jesus, in another surprising "move," tells him, "Put out into the deep and cast your nets for fishing" (v. 4).
SIMON responds with an objection, "MASTER, we have toiled all night and caught nothing...". And, as an experienced fisherman, he could have added, "If we caught nothing by night, much less will we catch by day." Instead, inspired by the presence of Jesus and enlightened by HIS WORD, he says: "...but on YOUR WORD I will cast my nets" (v. 5). It is the response of FAITH, which we too are called to give; it is the attitude of availability that the LORD asks of all his DISCIPLES, especially of those who have tasks of responsibility in the CHURCH. And Peter's trusting obedience produces a prodigious result: "They did this and caught a great number of fish" (v. 6).
It is a miraculous catch, a sign of the power of Jesus' WORD: when we put ourselves generously at his service, he accomplishes great things in us. This is how He acts with each one of us: He asks us to welcome Him onto the BOAT of our lives, to set out with Him and to sail on a new sea that is full of surprises. His invitation to go out into the open sea of the humanity of our time, to be witnesses of goodness and mercy, gives new meaning to our existence, which often runs the risk of flattening out on itself. Sometimes we can be surprised and hesitant before the CALL that the divine Master addresses to us, and we are tempted to reject it because of our inadequacy. Even Peter, after that incredible catch, said to Jesus: "LORD, depart from me, for I am a SINNER" (v. 8). This humble prayer is beautiful: "LORD, depart from me, for I am a SINNER". But he said it on his knees before the One whom he now recognizes as "LORD." And Jesus encourages him by saying: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men" (v. 10), because God, if we trust in Him, frees us from our SIN and opens up a new horizon for us: to collaborate in His MISSION.
The greatest miracle Jesus performed for SIMONE and the other disappointed and tired fishermen was not so much the net full of fish, but the fact that He helped them not to fall victim to disappointment and discouragement in the face of defeat. He opened them up to become heralds and witnesses of HIS WORD and the KINGDOM of GOD. And the response of the DISCIPLES was prompt and total: "They pulled their boats ashore and left everything and followed him" (v. 11). May the Blessed Virgin, model of prompt adherence to God's will, help us to feel the charm of the LORD's CALL, and make us available to collaborate with Him to spread HIS WORD of SALVATION everywhere.