4th Sunday after Pentecost Homily

So many allow themself to labor without coming to acknowledge their God given purpose. Our Gospel shows the apostles unable to make a great catch of fish, but when the Lord was the one to instruct them they were able to make a great catch. This great catch of fish has nothing to do with our material wellbeing. Some prescribe to a Gospel of Prosperity where God rewards faithful believers with riches and happiness. This is not living in the reality of the church and her teachings.

This great catch of fish has everything to do with the reality of salvation and drawing other souls to come to know and believe in Christ Jesus. Even if we profess Christ to be our Lord there will still be difficulties which will come our way. Nevertheless, we can come to embrace these difficulties as our Lord came to embrace the wood of the cross which brought about our salvation. As Saint Paul points out in his Epistle: “We know that every creature groaneth, and travaileth in pain, even till now; and not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body; in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Therefore, let us keep our sight set upon Christ and His Resurrection. There is no question if hardship will come our way or not, but we must realize the importance of staying close to Christ, His mercy, and His Church. If we are to do this we must turn away from sin and also be willing to enter into the silence of prayer. If we ignore the pursuit of virtue or ignore the silence of prayer it will be hard, if not impossible for us in the case of mortal sin, to hear the voice of Christ made manifest within our life.

The apostles were sent forth from this encounter to eventually lead others to Christ. Throughout the history of the church there have been many holy men and women who have led others to Christ. It was not the personality of the apostle or saint which led others to Christ, but rather their trust in Him. Through their trust in Him they casted this net not under their own authority, but from the authority of Christ. How different would the world be and how full would this Church be if we were to act on living our life accordingly.

Sadly, we get caught up in the ways of this world and they overcome our ability to hear and trust in the voice of Christ. It is no wonder that the fruit which produce is so lacking for our attention is not placed on the Lord, but upon the world. If we trust in the mercy of God and spend time in the silence of prayer we will in return come to trust and make the Lord’s voice more manifest. It is only is this manner that we can: “fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”