Reading 1
Col 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
Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6R. (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
Lk 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.
Meditation: Colossians 1:9-14
We do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled.” (Colossians 1:9)
If anyone knew God’s grace, surely it was Paul. He was the last person anyone would have expected to dedicate his life to proclaiming Jesus. But here he was, announcing the gospel at every turn. There is only one answer to how this could have possibly happened: The man who once prided himself on living by the law was radically changed by God. And so with confidence in his own experience of God’s grace, Paul prayed that his brothers and sisters in Christ would experience the same thing.
Jesus wants to give us so much! In today’s Gospel, he called Peter to put his nets into the water once again. Undoubtedly exhausted from having worked all day, Peter hesitated for a moment. But then he thought about who was asking him to do this, and he decided to give it a try.
The catch was so overwhelming that he had to call for help! Peter knew that such a huge catch—and in the middle of the day, no less— was nothing short of a miracle. Only Jesus’ amazing generosity, his grace, could have done this. He got the message: Jesus didn’t just want to give Peter some fish. He wanted to give Peter a share in his life.
Jesus wants to fill you with his life and his grace, and he only asks you to receive it. And there’s no better place to receive from Jesus than at Mass. Day in and day out, Jesus offers himself to us on the altar. He is there for us in good times and in bad. He doesn’t ask us to be perfect. He doesn’t wait for us to get our lives in order. He just gives himself away, wanting nothing more than to gather us in his arms and heal us. So come to him and let him fill you—just as Paul prayed.
“Jesus, I am overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you for giving yourself to me at Mass. Your grace is my strength and my hope.”
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