Easter Octave 2022 - Friday - Catch Fish, Eat Breakfast

 

We all know the famous story in the Gospels about Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry approaching the apostles on the sea of Galilee after a fruitless night of fishing. He tells them to cast their nets into the sea and they do, and they pull in this huge catch of fish. He says, “you think that’s impressive” from now on you will be fishers of men.

We find that story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But not John. Rather, in John we find today’s Gospel passage. Following the resurrection, the apostles spend a fruitless night fishing, but then in the morning, the risen Jesus appears on the seashore, though like the disciples on the road to Emmaus and mary Magdalene at the tomb, the fishermen do not immediately recognize Jesus. The risen Jesus commands them to cast their nets into the waters once again, and after bringing in this catch of fish, they then have breakfast with the Lord, and come to recognize him in the breaking of bread, in that communal meal.

So, while John’s Gospel doesn’t contain that explicit explanation that the disciples will be catching converts, it is certainly implied. And not only that, but the Gospel also implies what exactly the apostles were to do after catching them. They were to eat with them. They were to celebrate the Eucharistic meal, in which Christ is made known in the breaking of the bread. Catch converts, celebrate Mass with them. 

In the early Church, and in some places today, after receiving the Easter Sacraments, the neophytes, still dressed in their baptismal garb, would gather for some post-baptismal instruction and they would gather daily for mass. The pattern of today’s Gospel would repeated in their lives.

But also with the whole Church, the easter season for the whole church means a recommitment to the promises made at our baptism, a recommitment to our belief in the Eucharist, and a recommitment to the Gospel mission. This is why next week we will hear the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, which begins with the need to be born again by water and spirit, and then immediately transitioning into the bread of life discourse.

Where Lent was about emptying, Easter is about filling. Lenten penances helped us empty ourselves of distractions and sinful attachments, so that during easter we might be filled up with knowledge and grace.

In the days ahead, may we contain to be open to the ways the Lord wishes to form us as fishers of men, drawing converts to Him here at the Eucharistic table. And may these Easter days help us to cherish our faith and the sacred mysteries in which the Lord is made known for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - -  

Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, the pope, bishops, and clergy, that they may govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd leading us faithfully in the Gospel mandate.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

That our parish may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

Easter Octave 2021 - Friday - Revealed

 The very first verse and the very last verse of the Gospel passage today contain a very important word: reveal. After his resurrection, the risen Lord “revealed” himself to his disciples. 

St. John likes to use this word, both in his Gospel and in the book of Revelation. He’s even sometimes called “St. John the Revelator” 

The signs Jesus accomplished throughout John’s Gospel: the wedding at Cana, walking on water, multiplying loaves, raising the dead, reveal Jesus’ identity and his mission—his divine identity and his mission to bring about the salvation of mankind.

Two details certainly reveal his identity and mission in the Gospel today: the miraculous catch of fish and the meal Jesus provides. And yet, these two details reveal something about the church, too. Just as at Jesus’ word, the net is cast into the sea after a long night of fruitless fishing, now in the period after the resurrection the church is to cast the net of the Gospel into the world, to bring in souls. We are made fishers of men. And just as the risen lord shares a meal with his friends on the seashore, the members of the church, are to celebrate the holy mass, in which the lord feeds his friends with his body and blood in every corner of the world. 

The Lord wishes to use us to continue to reveal that his is Risen from the dead. The Church’s mission continues and will continue until the Lord’s return: to help people believe that Jesus is God, that he is savior, and that he is risen. 

In the Gospel, it takes a number of disciples to pull in that net of fish, and so too with us. It takes a number of Christians, working together, to bring souls to Christ. Who are your fishing partners? Your not meant to be working all alone. The work of the Gospel is never a solitary act. Where two or three are gathered, the Lord is revealed. 

Lord, reveal to me how you wish me to reveal you to others, today. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -  

Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to and grow in the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

1st Week of OT 2021 - Monday - Beginning of something new

 

When I begin RCIA in the fall, the participants often have had very little exposure to the Gospels—they may have heard some stories about Jesus’ miracles and certainly his death and resurrection on the cross. So one of the first Gospel stories I share with them is todays Gospel, and that’s kind of fitting, for it was peter, james and john’s first encounter with the Lord too.

Here is the call to leave behind the comfortable: our comfortable lives our comfortable habits, perhaps even our livelihoods; everything needs to be set aside that hinders me from following Jesus Christ; everything that keeps me from knowing him and loving him is to be seen as an obstacle—and something to be cast aside like the nets of the fishermen.

It’s no coincidence that we read of this Gospel as we begin, once again, the season of Ordinary Time—the time of the year that we focus on imitating the Lord and putting his teachings into practice in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. Ordering our lives to conform more with his, again, always means setting aside the comfortable—to follow him more closely.

Thomas Aquinas spoke of a sadness that comes from our unwillingness to seek after our greatest good—he called it acedia—a sort of depression that sets in when we aren’t attending to our spiritual lives as we should.

Rather, than acedia, we are to be filled with the excitement Peter, James, Andrew, and John experienced when the Lord said, “Come after me. I will make you fishers of men.” There is an excitement that comes from a willingness to follow the Lord into the unknown, trusting that whatever he has planned is much better than anything than I could come up with. 

This Gospel represents God breaking into our lives to call us to something new, and God is certainly doing that has we enter into this new liturgical season.

It may be a new spiritual devotion, a new way of service, a new way of offering up our sufferings.  But even in these short weeks before the season of Lent begins, the Lord wants to stretch us, change us, transform us, and fill us with the new wine of the spirit.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discover how to follow Christ more deeply today, that he may make you fishers of men for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

 

May 29 2020 - Pope St. Paul VI - The New Evangelization

Today and tomorrow, the last two weekdays of Easter, our Gospel passage comes from the epilogue and the very last chapter of John’s Gospel:  The Risen Lord Jesus sits on the shore of the sea of Galilee with his apostles, who instead of going out into the world to be fishers of men, had returned to their old profession of catching fish.

But he speaks with them, reminding them of their new mission, a mission which is characterized by love. Peter, do you love me? Then feed my lambs. Peter, do you love me? Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep. Love of the Lord Jesus was to motivate and animate Peter’s mission, and the mission of all those who call themselves Christians. Love must always motivate us outward, propel us outward, direct our concern and activity outward.

Pope Benedict XVI writes in his first great encyclical on love, “ The entire activity of the Church is an expression of a love that seeks the integral good of man: it seeks his evangelization through Word and Sacrament, an undertaking that is often heroic in the way it is acted out in history; and it seeks to promote man in the various arenas of life and human activity.” How is the Lord asking me to love in a heroic way the people in my life: family, strangers, fellow parishioners?

Today the Church honors another one of Peter’s saintly successors, Pope St. Paul VI, who was Pope during the lifetime of just about everybody here this morning, save for me and the seminarian. The spread of the Gospel throughout the world was certainly one of the great themes of Paul VI’s papacy, inviting Catholics to engage in “the new evangelization”, a term he coined in his 1975 exhortation, “Evangelii Nuntiandi”,  a document Pope Francis called “the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written.

“For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new… to bear witness that in His Son God has loved the world - that in His Incarnate Word He has given being to all things and has called men to eternal life… Evangelization will also always contain - as the foundation, center, and at the same time, summit of its dynamism - a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God's grace and mercy

Love for our fellow man means concern for his eternal soul, which motivates our sharing of the Gospel with Him. Again, how is the Lord asking me to love today, love which involves sharing the Gospel, sharing the Good News, sharing the truth of God’s grace and mercy…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
- - - - - - -

Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.
For Pope Francis, and all the bishops: may they rightly lead the Body of Christ in the fullness of Christian truth. And that the Holy Spirit may guide the Holy Father in choosing a new bishop for the diocese of Cleveland, a bishop who is convicted of the Truth!
For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote domestic tranquility, national unity, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life.
That the power of Christ’s resurrection may overcome all oppression, prejudice, hatred, addiction and injustice. For those most profoundly impacted by the coronavirus, for the healing of all the sick. For those who selflessly labor for the good of others, for the safety of first responders and medical care workers, police and firefighters. For the protection of all those who serve in our nation’s military, and for all wounded servicemen and women, for all those widowed and orphaned because of war.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for Dennis Dentzer for whom this mass is offered.
Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.

January 13 2020 - St. Hilary - Fishers of Men

On this first weekday of the new season of Ordinary Time, we honor one of the great Fathers of the Church, St. Hilary, a bishop of the fourth century. 

As the Arian heresy spread rapidly through Europe, St. Hilary was devoted to defending and spreading the Catholic faith, which upheld the divinity of Christ, which the Arians denied. Bishop Hilary was ostracized by his brother bishops who accepted Arianism; he was even exiled from France to Turkey by the emperor for preaching the truth.  Yet, even from exile, he worked strenuously to bring the heretics back to the truth.  When he returned from exile, his people welcomed him back enthusiastically. 

Today in the Gospel, we heard Jesus tell Peter and Andrew, “I will make you fishers of men.”  St. Hilary and the great saints show us what the Lord meant.  We, like the Saints, are to work to bring others to the truth about Jesus Christ—the fullness of truth revealed to and handed down from the apostles.

St. John Paul II would often challenge young people: “ask yourselves if you truly believe that Jesus is Lord.”  Because if you truly believe this, that Jesus is God, and that he teaches with the authority of God, then you must change your life, your life must give witness to this truth.  We must have the courage to witness in some way to those we meet today that Jesus is Lord, that he is God, that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I can’t think of a better saint with whom to begin Ordinary Time: for like St. Hilary, we are to be fishers of men. Our witness that Jesus is God, that Jesus is Lord is to permeate our ordinary lives, our ordinary day-to-day activity. 

In the opening prayer, we asked, “O God, grant that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son, which the Bishop Saint Hilary taught with such constancy”.  Likely, so many of our fellow Catholics who are not coming to Church have not allowed the implications of the divinity of Jesus to penetrate their lives. So let us seek right understanding that we might truthfully profess with St. Hilary and all the saints, that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - -
 
We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.
That the Holy Father and the bishops may be always faithful in defending the Church from heresy and working for the spread of the true faith.
For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January: that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.
For all Catholics who have fallen away from the faith, into heresy, schism or indifference, for all unbelievers, and the conversion of all.
That young people may seek Christ amidst all the chaos and distraction of modern culture.
For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, for those undergoing surgery this week,  that they may find relief in both mind and body.
For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week in OT 2019 - Monday - The time is NOW

Once again we enter into Ordinary Time, the ordered time of the Church year in which we are called to order our lives to follow Christ more perfectly. Both of our readings speak of “time” this morning.
Hebrews spoke of “time past” in which God spoke through prophets, but then the time in which Jesus is made known to the world.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about “time”—“the time of fulfillment”. After 30 years of a hidden life in the home of Mary and Joseph, it was “time” for Jesus to begin his public ministry, to begin preaching the Gospel, calling humanity to conversion—to new beliefs, to a new way of living, of ordering their lives in conformity to His Truth. Similarly, this new liturgical season is a “time” for us to order our lives anew, to examine our ordinary day-to-day live and consider what better needs to be ordered to the truth of Jesus.

For Peter, James, Andrew, and John, it was “time” to leave their father’s fishing business. It was time for them to leave behind the ordinary and to seek the extraordinary. It was time for ordinary men of modest education to undergo an extraordinary journey.

It was not unusual for jewish men to follow a rabbi, a teacher, from time to time. But Jesus was calling them to something new. And there must have been something about the personality, or conviction, with which Jesus called out to them. Peter and Andrew immediately dropped their nets, they stopped in the middle of what they were doing; James and John leave their father in the boat. There is an immediateness to the call of Jesus, an urgency: time must be ordered to Him…NOW. Conversion and belief need to happen, not later, not when it’s more convenient, not when I can get all of my earthly affairs into order, but now.

Christians, we have much work to do, now, in seeking the conversion Jesus wants for us, and going out to be fishers of men. May this new liturgical season bring new conviction for the spread of the Gospel in our midst, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - -
 
To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our hearts for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our parish, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

Thursday - 22nd Week of OT 2017 - "Animated by a missionary spirit"

What a beautiful coincidence…if those really exist…that the Gospel reading for today is the very same as the one for Bishop Perez’ installation Mass on Wednesday: the Lord’s command to Peter and the Apostles to put out into the deep waters to bring in the abundance of fish. This miraculous catch of fish through the efforts of the apostles and the help of God would become symbolic for all those souls who would come to salvation through Christ through the missionary efforts of the Church throughout the ages.

by Michael Dudash

Bishop Perez made it very clear that he is not the only fisherman in town; he is here, sent by the Pope, to help each of us be faithful to our own God-given vocation to be fishers of men.
Today’s Gospel also coincides with Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of September, asks the Lord to help parishes, “animated by a missionary spirit, to be places where the faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

Notice several things about this prayer intention. First, it is about parishes. Parishes are places under the care of a pastor, where a diversity of God’s people come together for worship, to study the faith, to pass on the faith, to contribute to the charitable works. We aren’t in this alone. We have priests to help us, fellow Christians to encourage us. Parishes should always be discerning how God is calling them to use their many gifts to forward the mission of Christ.

Notice also how parishes are to be places where “the faith is communicated” and “charity is seen”. These are two primary ways how we are to be the fishers of men, the Lord spoke about. We communicate the faith by catechesis to our young people, forming new disciples, and studying the faith, that we can communicate it better, more clearly out in the world.

How can the faith be better communicated here at St. Clare? To whom do we need to be better communicators?

And how is our charity to be more clearly seen? What charitable works does St. Clare need to take more seriously or engage in more faithfully?

May the Lord help our parish to become more faithful, more loving, more filled with His own missionary spirit, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - - -
 
For our new Bishop, Nelson Perez, that he may assist all of God’s people in being faithful to all the Lord teaches and commands.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of September: “That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.”

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

Easter Friday 2017 - Fish transformed into Fishermen

The sailing ship or fisherman’s boat was an ancient Christian symbol for the Church. The Barque of Peter sailing on a wind-tossed sea of worldliness, disbelief, persecution carrying her cargo of human souls.

The symbol draws some of its imagery from Noah’s Ark, which protected Noah’s family during the flood. Jesus too protects Peter’s boat and the apostles on the storm Sea of Galilee.

Saint Anselm said that the Bark of the Church may be Swept by the Waves of the world, but she can never sink, because Christ is with us. When the Church is in Greatest Need, Christ comes to her help through miracles, or by raising up Saintly Men to strengthen and purify her. She is the Bark of Peter; when the Storm threatens to Sink her, the Lord awakens from His Sleep, and Commands the Winds and Waters into Calm: “Peace; be still!”

Many Church buildings even are built to resemble a ship: the main nave contains the faithful gathered like in the galley of a ship. In fact, the word nave, comes from the Latin “Navis” which means, ship.  The ribbing of the church rafters even resemble the ribs of a ship.

In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord commands Peter to cast the net over the right side of the boat and brings in a large catch. This has always been the Church’s mission.

Under the guidance of the successor of St. Peter, the Pope: we fish for souls, that those souls may come to safe harbor, the port of Heaven. One of the earliest symbols for the Christian was a fish: the icthus. Once safely in the boat, fish are transformed into fisherman and are put to work to cast out into deep waters.

The net cast at the command of Christ symbolizes our Evangelizing Mission. The Quantity of fish netted, One Hundred and Fifty-Three (153), is the total number of Species of Fish known by the Greek Civilization at that particular time in History. Therefore, this Number represents all of mankind to which the saving Gospel is to be preached.

After being pulled into the safety of the Barque of Peter, the disciples then go to shore in order to eat a meal with the Lord: a beautiful symbol of the celebration of Eucharist. We go out into the stormy world with all of its errors and vices, seeking to make a catch of souls, and then come back to the presence of the Lord for the celebration of Eucharist—in thanksgiving for keeping our own souls safe from evil and seeking strength to be more faithful and effective in our mission.

May our celebration of the Eucharist today and throughout the Easter season continue to strengthen us for the evangelizing mission, to spread the Gospel to all people, that no soul may be lost to the watery chaos, including our own, but may be brought to the glory of our eternal homeland, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
- - - - - - -

Filled with paschal joy, let us pray more earnestly to God that he, who graciously listened to the prayers and supplications of his beloved Son, may now be pleased to look upon us in our lowliness.
1. For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely, the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
2. For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace given by Christ.
3. For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness which no one can take from them.
4. For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ Our Lord.

Homily: 22nd Week of OT 2016 - Thursday - Casting into the deep

When the new millennium began, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to the Church and used the words of Jesus to Peter from today’s Gospel.  In latin, they are “duc in altum”—“put out into the deep”. 

You might imagine Peter’s confusion or perhaps muttering under his breath, when Jesus, a carpenter, spoke those words to him, a professional fisherman, telling him how to do his job.  Peter and his crew had just fished all night and had just finished cleaning all of their equipment when Jesus instructed Peter to cast his net into deep waters. 

Even though it contradicted his professional sensibilities, trusting his master, he cast out into the depths of Lake Genesseret, and catching so many fish, they had to call for another boat to bring them all in. 

In his uncertainty, he placed his deep trust in the Lord, and that made all the difference.  Pope John Paul II, sensing the challenges the Church would face in the new millennium: failing economies, impending wars, a culture becoming bent on instant gratification and materialism, he called reminded us of the Lord’s command to Peter: to cast out into the deep, in his own person spiritual life.   If we are going to remain faithful amidst all of these worldly pressures and temptations we must seek to be ever more deeply converted to Christ, to love him ever more deeply, to drink deeply of the Holy Spirit.

In another sense, those words, “put out into deep waters” is a call to every Christian, no matter their state in life, to take up the missionary mandate of the Church: to reach out to those who do not have faith, to reach out to the poor and suffering, and to not be afraid to witness to the truth of the Gospel in the public sphere and the political realm.  Just like Peter casting out into deep waters to bring in this miraculous catch of fish, we too can make a miraculous catch, when we cooperate with Jesus. 

Where are the deep waters in your own life? Who are the fish that seem just out of reach? A fallen away family member? An angry neighbor? Who needs to be invited back to Mass…to the Confessional…to speak with the priest about an annulment…who needs to be gently confronted about an addiction or unchaste behavior?

Today and all days we must have a radical trust in the Lord, rooted in prayer, in seeking ever deeper conversion to Christ for ourselves and others for the glory of God and salvation of souls.