Have You Caught Anything, Friends?(Acts 4:1-12, Psalm 118, John 21:1-14)


Today we see the Apostle Peter and the others return to their 'normal' life. A life devoid of their call as apostles. Remember that it was recorded that Jesus had called them from fishing to be fishers of men -to be preachers and carry on his mission when He would nolonger be with them physically.


They did this because they felt the dryness brought by the death of their master Jesus. They were greatly distressed because they saw Jesus as the Messiah and their expectations had been dashed by his 'mysterious' death. They went fishing, that is, back to their previous careers and it so happend that through the night they caught nothing.


Suddenly there stood "Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’" So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in.


Today we learn from this story not to be discouraged or desolate in our trials but wait patiently as the risen Christ is ready to reveal Himself to us in such situations. It is not time to give up or run into hasty conclusions on the many promises of the Lord that is yet to be revealed in ourlives. We should not be tempted to return to our former lives simply because we can not pin point the hand of the Messiah in ourlives at the moment.


The risen Jesus continues to reveal Himself gradually to us as He has been doing to the disciples in the readings of the Easter Octave. So do not worry or feel abandoned if 'you have caught nothing'. Jesus is standing by. You must continue to listen to Him in the words and teaching of the Church and her pastors. In such teachings we keep hearing Jesus telling us what to do to 'cast our nets'.


Let Us Pray: Sweet Jesus, I love you. Many times,we your children have caught nothing but we are not troubled. You are risen and alive and will always be with us. We will cast our nets when and if you say so. Risen and victorious Jesus, hasten to help us.

Popular posts from this blog

Let The Resurrection Witnessing Begin (Acts 10:34,37-43/Ps.118/Col.3:1-4/Jn.20:1-9)

Image
"In those days: Peter opened his mouth and said, You know the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after Baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power and he went about doing good and healing all that were possessed by the devil,  for God was with Him" Acts 10:34,37-38 Today, is the Sunday of the Resurrection and there is joy everywhere, because Jesus is risen and was not held bound by the force of the grave and death. We have been waiting for this day as we practiced our lenten observances and today Joy has taken over the atmosphere because He who was killed and buried has risen as He said He will do. we see that by the power of the resurrection the apostles became witnesses to the events about the life of Christ. They proclaimed His name to all those who were listening to them. This is simply our responsibility as we rejoice and give praise to God for letting His only begotten
Read more

Proclaim What You Have Witnessed!(Acts 4:13-21, Psalm 118, Mark 16:9-15 )

Image
In the Gospel reading of today, we read the evangelist listing some persons to whom Jesus had  appeared to after his ressurection. We hear Jesus chastise his apostles for not believing even by the testimonies of those who had seen Him. Now in the Gospel reading we hear the two apostles refusing to stop witnessing. They too had experienced the resurrected Christ and his first gift of the Holy Spirit and now have become witnesses themselves. Today, the reading brings before our minds the call to believe and to be witnesses of the resurrection. It is not proper that those who are witnesses of the living Christ, in he Church, the sacraments and  the word of God alive in our hearts, refuse to bear witness to the risen Jesus by the way we live ourlives. It is very sad that many times ourlives show that we do not believe Jesus is alive and is watching our every action and thought. We need to brace up and live the new life which we share in he ressurection through baptism. Let the
Read more

Witnessing Without Fear of Persecution (Acts 5:17-26/Psalm 34/John 3:16-21)

Image
For every baptised Christian, we have a responsibility to witness for the Most Blessed Trinity in whose name we have been baptised. By virtue of our baptism we have become chosen witnesses of Jesus. In baptism we received the Holy Spirit which made us children of God; and as God's  children, we are part of a very closely knitted family that we need to stand by always. Today we read about two apostles who were not afraid to be witnesses. Being witnesses earned them imprisonment. But as we know, the work of God must go on. God is able to remove obstacles that stand on the path of the Gospel. Hence they were set free from prison by a miracle and went straight back into witnessing. We have to accept the fact that there will always be opposition to the preaching of the Gospel and persecution for those who try to witness with their lives. We have to make up our minds to be determined to be bold and not afraid. When the trials and persecutions come, we take them with a cheerful h
Read more