After teaching the crowd from the boat, why did Jesus perform the miracle of the great catch of fish ? No doubt the great crowd had something to do with it for they were probably hungry. But Jesus also used this occasion to teach his disciples an important lesson. Although Simon was tired for laboring all night without catching anything, he still did what Jesus told him to do and once more lowered his nets. When we meet disappointment and failure, do we listen to what the Lord is asking of us ?
This incidence teaches us a lot about how God works. God uses ordinary people, like you and me, and he uses ordinary circumstances and work situations in our daily lives to draw people closer to himself. Jesus speaks the same message to us today. We will “catch people” for his kingdom if we let the light of Christ shine through us. With his light we can do greater things than we could possibly do by ourselves. Like Peter, we need to trust what he is telling us to do.
The question for us today is: do we witness to those around us the joy of following the Gospel ? Do we pray for our relatives (family), our neighbors, and our coworkers (environment) ? Do we see ourselves as “catching people” so they may have the knowledge to grow in love and truth ?
St. Joseph, pray for us !
DeColores, Deacon Doug
