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.
Liturgy
of the Word
First
Reading Introduction: Paul warns again his people
against relying on human wisdom rather than on the "foolishness"
of God and against giving in to division.
First
Reading: 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.
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.
GospelIntroduction:
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.
Gospel
Reading:v Lk
5:1-11
One day, as Jesus
stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening
to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats left at the water's
edge by the fishermen now washing their nets. He got into one of the
boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little
from the shore. There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, "Put out into deep
water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon replied, "Master,
we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will
lower the nets." This they did and caught such a large number of
fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in
the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats
almost to the point of sinking.
Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, saying, "Leave
me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and his companions were
amazed at the catch they had made and so were Simon's partners, James
and John, Zebedee's sons.
Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. You will catch people from
now on." So they brought their boats to land and followed him,
leaving everything.
Commentary
PETER
was a professional fisherman, so if he caught nothing it was probably
because there was nothing much to catch. Twice it's recorded that
he went fishing and caught nothing: in today's reading and in Jn 21:3.
But what catches they were!
In today's reading, if Peter had made a large catch by his own skill,
the further large catch on Jesus' instructions would not have been
at all surprising. It would not have turned his life around. He would
just have remarked, "What great fishing there is today!"
But because he came empty-handed, the Lord was able to catch him!
The fish in that miraculous catch was Peter himself!
In Jn 21, Jesus has been executed. Peter and the others didn't know
what to do with themselves. Peter said, "I'm going fishing."
The others said, "We'll come with you." And then the most
pathetic words in the New Testament, "That night they caught
nothing." But look! There on the shore stood Jesus! Had they
caught a lot of fish that night, they might not have seen him at all.
He was their catch that night!
So when have I failed? When have I succeeded? The wonder of it is
that I can never say for sure. (How unbearable life would be if I
could!)
General
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.