Daily Liturgy
Thursday September 2
TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FISHERS OF PEOPLE
Introduction
The background of today’s message to the Colossians is that gnostical tendencies are creeping in, promising a superior human knowledge even of divine mysteries. Hence the prayer of Paul that his Colossians may be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will, with wisdom and understanding coming from God’s Spirit.
Simon Peter and his companions were amazed that an outsider could tell them where to catch plenty of fish when they, fishermen by profession, had been unsuccessful. This man with a striking message was indeed extraordinary. They were caught in his spell and followed him. Later, they would put out into deep water, that is, they would risk and dedicate their life for Jesus and “catch people” to put them in the spell of Jesus’ message and life.
Opening Prayer
Holy God of our happiness,
you entrust your good news of life
to weak and fallible people.
Fill us with the strength of your Holy Spirit,
that we may be ready to speak your message
with the language of our life.
Let Jesus your Son work with us and in us,
that each of us may have the courage to say:
Here I am, Lord, send me as your messenger
to share your glad tidings of happiness
with all who are willing to listen.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Col 1:9-14
Brothers and sisters:
From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you
and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding
to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit
and growing in the knowledge of God,
strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience,
with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share
in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
(2) The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
Alleluia: Mt 4:19
Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
Intercessions
– Lord, attract people to you by opening their eyes and hearts to the beauty of your message of good news, we pray:
– Lord, attract people to you by your inspiring, loving personality, we pray:
– Lord, let your Church with all its communities attract people to you by serving them, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the central event
that sums up our faith
and gives meaning to what we are and do:
the death and resurrection of your Son.
Purify our lips and hearts with his body and blood
and send us to proclaim with our lives
that Jesus is our living Lord
and that you are our Father,
now and for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
in your love you have called each of us
to a task in life and a place in your plan
which no one can fulfill for us;
you have chosen your Church, that is us,
to be the irreplaceable sign and witness
of the death and resurrection of your Son.
Make each and all of us
capable of our mission
and send us out into the deep
by the strength of the body and blood
of our unique Savior,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
The Lord entrusts to you his word and his body. Go now, speak his word and be his body to the world. May the Lord bless you, that you may be a blessing to all, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Conversion in its broadest sense means turning from an absence of faith to a belief in Christ, and it is no small thing. The scriptures clearly see it as the work of God, although human beings may well play a part as his instruments. This is the meaning behind the large catch of fish that the apostles make in today’s Gospel. It had not been a good night for fishing; with the coming of daylight they had nothing to show for their effort.
Jesus advises them to cast their nets once again, and the catch fills two boats.
Recognizing that their success was wholly the work of the Lord, Peter can only admit his own sinfulness. They are then informed that in the future they will bring people to the faith.
The act of conversion requires grace, and the source of grace is God himself. Paul today speaks of God’s role in conversion. “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.” The human agents in this work naturally feel a sense of accomplishment, but this movement of Spirit must be attributed to God. It is a movement of grace for which we are undoubtedly grateful. But it is clearly a work of God.
When someone dear to us has wandered far from the faith, our prayer should be incessant. Augustine’s mother prayed for years for the conversion of her son. What strikes us as being unlikely or impossible is not so for God. As pastoral experience shows us, there is unspeakable joy when the faith is embraced. Prayer can accomplish what human effort cannot. The fruitless night of fishing became a morning of unexpected joy, through the power of Jesus.
Points to Ponder
Grace and conversion
From darkness to the light of the kingdom
Perseverance in prayer.