From Archbishop Donoghue
|
Reflection for the Prayer Service |
My dear boys and girls, Today we have a heard a wonderful story, told by St. Luke, who was a Greek physician and an early follower of Jesus. St. Luke didn't know Jesus personally, but he looked for many of Our Lord's friends and collected stories that they remembered. This is one of those stories, and even though it was written down almost two thousand years ago, we still cherish it and tell it over and over, as you might tell a story that your mother or father told you, and that you will tell your children. And there are two important things for us to learn from this story. First, even though Peter was a hundred percent sure that he wouldn't catch any fish that day, and even though he was dead tired since he had been up fishing all night long, he still did what Jesus told him to - he lowered his nets - and there were so many fish to be caught that day that it took the two boats and all the men to haul in the whole catch. This is the way Jesus teaches us to have faith in Him. You can be dead tired, and you can be absolutely positive, like Peter, that you're not going to get anything done, and that you're going to fail. But if you listen for the voice of Jesus, you will hear it from inside your own heart and you will hear Him telling you to stand up straight, to be courageous, to shoulder the cross and strive for the best things you can. And even though you might have to work hard, just like those fishermen in the Gospel, you will succeed and you will become the best that you can be. This is something Jesus wants for all of us, but we have to play our part too. The second important thing about this Gospel is when Our Lord says to Peter and his friends, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men." Now that was a funny thing to say to men who earned their living catching fish - "From now on you will be catching men." "What on earth does he mean?" they must have said to themselves "How are we going to catch men?". Well, they didn't understand then, but later on, those poor fishermen would spend their lives telling people about Jesus Christ and the wonderful News that He had brought to earth - and Peter would travel far from his lakeside home, finally ending up in Rome, where, you might say, he started a parish, a parish that never stopped growing, even until today; because today, right now, we are all a part of that promise. Christ the King Parish and School are a part of that same Church that Jesus foretold when He said, "From now on, you will be catching men." Peter safeguarded the promise, and then he trusted other bishops with the promise, and now, here I am, two thousand years later, telling you about the same promise. And here you are, ready to carry it on after me. Boys and girls, these are some of the important things about being Catholic and about being a part of a Catholic school. I am proud to have this school as part of the Church in Atlanta, and I pray that God will bless all of you and all of your projects with the success that only He can give. And always remember, Jesus Christ only wants what is good for you. Pray to Him, and He will never fail to tell you what it is. God bless you all. + |