SEPTEMBER 06, 2012 : THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 434

Reading 1 1 Cor 3:18-23

Brothers and sisters:
Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:

God catches the wise in their own ruses,

and again:

The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (1) To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.

Gospel 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.

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Meditation: "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men"

Why did Jesus perform the miracle of the great catch of fish? No doubt the great crowd of people who had pressed upon Jesus had something to do with this miracle. They were very hungry for God and were eager to hear his word. Jesus wanted to use this occasion to teach his disciples an important lesson.  Although Simon was wearied from a night of fruitless toil, he nonetheless pressed upon Jesus for his word of command: At your word I will let down the nets. When you meet disappointment and failure, do you press upon the Lord, like Simon, to hear his word and to receive his command?
This incident tells us an important truth about how God works in and through each of us for his glory. God expects of us greater things than we can do by ourselves.  When we cooperate in his works, we accomplish far beyond what we can do on our own. Therese of Lisieux, A Carmelite nun who died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four, wrote to a friend: "..Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us that he wills that we have a share with him in the salvation of souls. He wills to do nothing without us. The Creator of the universe awaits the prayer of a poor little soul to save other souls redeemed like it at the price of all his Blood." When God's word is spoken his kingdom is revealed and his power is released. When people respond to God's word with faith and obedience they are changed and made "a new creation" in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God chooses ordinary people, like you and me, as his ambassadors and he uses the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives and work situations to draw others into his kingdom. Jesus speaks the same message to us today: we will "catch people" for the kingdom of God if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us. God wants others to see the light of Christ in us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the gospel. Paul the Apostles says, But thanks be to God, who in Christ Jesus always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Cor. 2:15). Do you witness to those around you the joy of the gospel and do you pray for your neighbors, co-workers, and relatives that they may come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge of his love?
"Lord Jesus, fill my heart with love and compassion for those who do not know you or follow you. May I be a good witness of your truth and salvation to my family, friends, and co-workers."

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The Great Navigator

Thursday of Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Listen to podcast version here.  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. Introductory Prayer: Lord, as we begin this meditation, I feel you have stepped into my boat. I put out a short distance from shore, away from all my daily concerns, to listen to you alone. It is just you and I, and I sense that you are going to ask something of me. I am truly humbled and grateful that you would spend so much personal time with me. Petition: Christ, help me to understand and embrace your call to holiness for me. 1. Teacher: Jesus taught by the lake. We know that he taught in many other places too: in the Temple, in synagogues, on mountains, among children. Today he had a great crowd around him by the lake. For these people, the lake was everything: water, food, transportation, an object of beauty and contemplation. Yet beneath its usually still and deep blue surface, there was a whole other world unknown to them. How appropriate that next to it, Christ, who could probe its depths, uncovered for them the many mysteries of faith and the divine plan! He can help us understand so many things that are a part of our daily lives, yet in many ways remain unfamiliar or unintelligible to us. 2. Leader: It is one thing to get the curious crowds to give you a moment of their attention, but quite another to motivate people to give you their dedication and their life. Christ knew that to get someone to commit, directing an interesting story to the general public would not be enough. Personal attention was in order. Christ stepped into Peter’s boat and asked him for a favor, a simple task: “Put out a short distance from the shore.” Christ’s first tasks are usually not that hard for us to execute: simply material compliance and a little generosity. But if we let him ride with us long enough, he will eventually ask us for something that demands faith and may go against our reason or personal comfort. We want Christ to win us over for good, but how can he do so if we don’t let him take us for a ride “out into the deep?” 3. Motivator: Do I get surprised when Christ does something marvelous in my life? Does astonishment seize me? Maybe I’m not surprised. Maybe I am thinking what is good or successful in me originates from myself. Proud is the person who thinks so. Proud, too, is the person who recognizes the hand of God and nevertheless responds, “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Christ just performed a miracle through the obedience of a sinful man; why can’t he do it again? Why do I respond, “Leave me, Lord,” unless I’m not ready to obey? When I call my partners to come over and check it out, do I do so to allow this experience of Christ to touch others? Or do I do so to help them see how greatly endowed I am? If I am to become a fisher of men like Peter, I, too, must purify myself from these all-too-human reactions. Don’t worry, my pettiness doesn’t faze Christ. Listen to him: “Do not be afraid. You will become…” Conversation with Christ: So many souls are hustling through this world without knowing where they are going and without enjoying your friendship as I do. I do not know if you want to reach many or few of them through me, but I think they are many. My heart is ready, O Lord. Fill me with apostolic zeal. Resolution: I will work on being a good and positive motivator today.

www.regnumchristi.com

To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.

They left everything and followed him.
Jesus had been speaking in the synagogues, but gradually those doors were being shut against him and his church was becoming the lakeside and the open road and his pulpit a rock or, as here, a boat moored close to the shore. It is not necessary to think that Jesus created a shoal of fish just for this situation. I have seen such a shoal appear suddenly quite close to the shore of the Lake of Galilee. There are miracles all round us, if only we have keen eyes to see them.

Peter was prepared to try again and in ‘unfavourable’ conditions. Lord, help me to realise that the great thing is to get goin’—and to get goin’ with a generous heart. 

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Rabindranath Tagore

SOUL AND SURPRISE

I asked for strength,

that I might achieve greatness.

I was made weak

that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health,

that I might do greater things.

I was given infirmity,

that I might do better things.

I asked for riches,

that I might be happy.

I was given poverty,

that I might be wise.

I asked for power,

that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness,

that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things,

that I might enjoy life.

I was given life,

that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for But everything I hoped for.

Almost despite myself,

My unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men,

Most richly blessed.

- Rabindranath Tagore

 

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

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MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Proof of Love
The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist. –Pope St. Gregory the Great
— from Would You Date You

March 23
Blessed Claudio Granzotto
(1900-1947)

Born in Santa Lucia del Piave near Venice, Claudio was the youngest of nine children and was accustomed to hard work in the fields. At the age of nine he lost his father. Six years later he was drafted into the Italian army, where he served more than three years.

His artistic abilities, especially in sculpture, led to studies at Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts, which awarded him a diploma with the highest marks in 1929. Even then he was especially interested in religious art. When Claudio entered the Friars Minor four years later, his parish priest wrote, "The Order is receiving not only an artist but a saint." Prayer, charity to the poor and artistic work characterized his life, which was cut short by a brain tumor. He died on the feast of the Assumption and was beatified in 1994.

Comment:

Claudio developed into such an excellent sculptor that his work still turns people toward God. No stranger to adversity, he met every obstacle courageously, reflecting the generosity, faith and joy that he learned from Francis of Assisi.

Quote:

In the beatification homily, Pope John Paul II said that Claudio made his sculpture "the privileged instrument" of his apostolate and evangelization. "His holiness was especially radiant in his acceptance of suffering and death in union with Christ’s Cross. Thus by consecrating himself totally to the Lord’s love, he became a model for religious, for artists in their search for God’s beauty and for the sick in his loving devotion to the Crucified" (L’Osservatore Romano, Vol. 47, No. 1, 1994).

www.americancatholic.org

St. Eleutherius - Abbot

St.Eleutherius-Abbot

Feastday: September 6

Died: 585

A wonderful simplicity and spirit of compunction were the distinguishing virtues of this holy man. He was chosen abbot of St. Mark's near Spoleto, and favored by God with the gift of miracles. A child who was possessed by the devil, being delivered by being educated in his monastery, the Abbot said one day: "Since the child is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him." These words seemed to savor of vanity, and thereupon the devil again entered and tormented the child.

The Abbot humbly confessed his fault, and fasted and prayed with his whole community till the child was again freed from the tyranny of the fiend. St. Gregory, the Great, not being able to fast on Easter-eve on account of extreme weakness, engaged this Saint to go with him to the church of St. Andrew's and offer up his prayers to God for his health, that he might join the faithful in that solemn practice of penance.

Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the Pope, coming out of the church, found that he was enabled to perform the fast as he desired. It is also said that St. Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. Resigning his abbacy, he died in St. Andrew's monastery in Rome about the year 585.

www.catholic.org

BLESSED THOMAS TZUGI

Born to nobility and educated by the Jesuits of the Arima province around 1571, Thomas entered the Jesuit order upon the completion of his schooling at around 17 years old. He quickly developed a reputation for his excellent preaching and evangelical zeal.

He was exiled to the island of Macao during a persecution of Christians, yet he managed to return to Japan in disguise and continue his priestly ministry.

He was recaptured and sentenced to death, yet he refused to seek his freedom through his family’s political connections.

He was burned to death at the stake in 1627 in Nagasaki, Japan, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

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LECTIO: LUKE 5,1-11

Lectio: 

 Thursday, September 6, 2012  

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty God,
every good thing comes from you.
Fill our hearts with love for you,
increase our faith,
and by your constant care
protect the good you have given us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 5,1-11

Now it happened that Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats at the water’s edge. The fishermen had got out of them and were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats - it was Simon’s - and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ Simon replied, ‘Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled both boats to sinking point.
When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely awestruck at the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is people you will be catching.’
Then, bringing their boats back to land they left everything and followed him.

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel we have the call of Jesus to Peter. The Gospel of Mark places the call of the first disciples after the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus (Mk 1, 16-20). Luke after that the fame of Jesus was already extended across the whole region (Lk 4, 14). Jesus had cured many people (Lk 4, 40) and had preached in the Synagogues of all the country (Lk 4, 44). The people looked for him and the crowds pushed him on all sides in order to hear the Word of God (Lk 5, 1). Luke makes more understandable the call. In the first place, Peter can listen to the words of Jesus to the people. And then he is a witness of the miraculous catch of fish. It is only after this double surprising experience that he understands the call of Jesus. Peter responds, he abandons everything and becomes a “fisherman of men”.
• Luke 5, 1-3: Jesus teaches from the boat. People look for Jesus in order to listen to the Word of God. Many persons get together around Jesus, they make a throng around him. And Jesus seeks help from Simon Peter and from some of his companions who had just returned from fishing. He goes into the boat with them and responds to the expectation of the people, communicating to them the Word of God. Sitting down, Jesus takes the attitude of a Teacher and speaks from a fisherman’s boat. The novelty consists in the fact that he teaches, not only in the Synagogue for a choice public but in any place, where there are people who wish to listen, even on the seashore.
• Luke 5, 4-5: “But if you say so, I will pay out the nets”. When he had finished speaking, he addresses himself to Simon and encourages him to fish again. In Simon’s response there is frustration, tiredness and discouragement: “Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing!” But trustful in Jesus’ word, they throw in the nets again and continue the struggle. The word of Jesus has greater force for them than the experience of frustration of that night!
• Luke 5, 6-7: The result is surprising. The catch is so abundant that the nets are about to tear and the boat begins to sink. Simon needs the help of John and of James who are in the other boat. Nobody is complete in himself, alone. One community has to help the other. The conflict among the communities, both at the time of Luke as well as today, should be overcome in order to attain a common objective, which is the mission. The experience of the force of the word of Jesus which transforms is the axis around which the differences are embraced and overcome.
• Luke 5, 8-11: “Be fishermen of men”. The experience of the closeness of God in Jesus makes Peter understand who he is: “Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man!” Before God we are all sinners. Peter and his companions are afraid and, at the same time, they feel attracted to Jesus. Jesus drives away fear: “Do not be afraid!” He calls Peter and commits him to the mission, ordering him to be a fisherman of men. Peter experiences, quite concretely, that the word of Jesus is like the word of God. It is capable to bring about what it affirms. In Jesus those rough and tough labourers will have an experience of power, of courage, of trust. And so then, “they will abandon everything and follow Jesus!” Up until now it was only Jesus who announced the Good News of the Kingdom. Now other persons will be called and involved in the mission. This way in which Jesus works, in ‘equipe’, in a team is also Good News for the people.
• The episode of the catch of fish along the lake indicates the attraction and the force of the Word of Jesus. He attracts people (Lk 5, 1). He urges Peter to offer his boat to Jesus to be able to speak (Lk 5, 3). The word of Jesus is so strong that it overcomes the resistance in Peter, it convinces him to throw the nets into the sea again and there is the miraculous catch (Lk 5, 4-6). It overcomes in him the will to leave Jesus and attracts him to become a “fisherman of men” (Lk 5, 10). This is the way the Word of God acts in us, up until now!

4) Personal questions

• Where and how does the miraculous catch of fish take place today; the one which takes place paying attention to the word of Jesus?
• And they leaving everything followed Jesus. What do I have to leave in order to follow Jesus?

5) Concluding Prayer

Who shall go up to the mountain of Yahweh?
Who shall take a stand in his holy place?
The clean of hands and pure of heart,
who does not swear an oath in order to deceive. (Ps 24,3-4)

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