September 2
Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Ibrahim Maksom / Ebeneza & Pio Oliverio
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Colossians 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
Psalms 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (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.
Gospel Acclamation
Matthew 4:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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 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.
“The Lord has made known his salvation.”
Reflection
Today in our readings, we see Jesus providing some fishermen with a miraculous catch of fish, to the point where Simon Peter panics and tells Jesus, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man.” He is stunned by the power that Jesus shows him in abundantly showering him and his fellow fishermen with a cascade of fish. Remember, these men had been fishing all their lives and were used to the ups and downs of their craft. Some days, the fish were plentiful, and other days, they were scarce. But the catch that Jesus helped them to make was something they had never encountered, to the point where a grizzled old fisherman like Simon Peter was moved to drop everything and follow Him.
All of us have experience with the cycles of life that exist in our lives. The old phrase, “Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you” is very applicable to these cycles, and we find comfort with the yin and yang of it all. But what Jesus offers is something different. What he offers is an abundance, a cascade of blessings that make us stand up and take notice. We sometimes don’t see or feel the abundance, but it is there in a spiritual tidal wave of monumental proportions. Let us tap in to the blessings that God offers us.
How can we tap into those blessings that Jesus offers us? We can come to church, offer our prayers and petitions to him, and spend our time in joyful hope and growing in the knowledge of God, as Paul tells us in the first reading.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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