Thursday of the
Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Corinthians 3:18-23; Luke 5:1-11)
A witness in the process of canonization of St. Dominic, the
founder of the Order of Preachers, testified that the saint never became
agitated or angry. Even on arduous journeys,
Paul of Venice said, Dominic “was always happy in tribulations and patient in
adversities.” This note regarding
another saint may help us appreciate the holiness of Simon Peter in the gospel
today.
Simon
must feel tired and frustrated as he returns from a long night of fishing
without catching anything. We might
think of the writer who spends hours before her computer before realizing that
she has typed nothing worth saving. Or
Simon now may be compared to the farmer who comes home to find his garden
completely ruined by raccoons. Simon may
want to swear and certainly needs to rest before considering his next
outing. When Jesus at that moment tells
him to put out to sea and lower the nets again, he may want to explode saying,
“What do you know about fishing?” But
instead Simon tells the Lord calmly what took place during the night and does
as Jesus commands. The result is a catch
so stupendous that Simon does not think twice about changing his life’s course
to follow Jesus.
Where
Jesus is leading us is demonstrated in today’s first reading. Paul or one of his disciples writes that followers
of Christ exhibit endurance, patience, joy, and thanksgiving. With practice we
can develop these virtues. They will
bring much fruit – not only peace to us but even more followers to Christ.
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