.: 09/02/21

Thursday, September 2, 2021

† " .When They Had Done This . ."

†Saint Quote
"I am sent not only to love God but to make Him loved. It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love Him."
— St. Vincent de Paul
† MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Even though we know that God's will and commandments apply to everyone, we do not always have the strength to fulfill them. Now, every time we respond faithfully to a motion of the Spirit, out of desire to be docile to what God expects of us, even if it's something almost insignificant of itself, that faithfulness draws grace and strength down on us. That strength can then be applied to other areas and may make us capable of one day practicing the commandments that up until then we had not been capable of fulfilling entirely."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 20
AN EXCERPT FROM
In the School of the Holy Spirit

† VERSE OF THE DAY
"Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

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ST. BROCARD

St. Brocard (d. 1231 A.D.) was a Frenchman who traveled to the Holy Land to enter into religious life there. He was among the first group of hermits to establish a community of monks on Mount Carmel. Details of his life are scarce, but it is believed that St. Brocard was the prior of the community after the death of St. Berthold, who is considered to be the founder of the Carmelites. Brocard, as the new leader of the community, desired to formalize the monks' way of life on Mt. Carmel. He requested that St. Albert, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, write and establish a rule of life for the community, which he then imposed on the group as their discipline. The Rule of St. Albert established the Carmelites as a new religious order. St. Brocard was considered an expert on Islam and Eastern affairs and was to accompany St. Albert to the Fourth Lateran Council, were it not for St. Albert's murder before the Council convened. The Council suppressed the creation of new religious orders, which put the Carmelites in a tenuous position as they were not approved by the Holy See prior to this new decree. St. Brocard led the community through an uncertain period until they achieved special approval from the Holy Father. St. Brocard's feast day is September 2nd.

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 434
Reading I

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

98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

R. (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.

Alleluia

Mt 4:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.

Daily Meditation: Colossians 1:9-14

From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you. (Colossians 1:9)

Paul had probably never met the believers from Colossae, a town in modern-day Turkey. His coworker Epaphras likely planted the church and then recounted all that God had done among them. From a distance, Paul took them into his heart and prayed tirelessly for them.

As Paul prayed for the Colossians, two themes emerged. First, he praised God for all that he had done in this church. Second, he prayed that they would be even more open to God's work in their lives. These themes of praise and intercession are so intertwined that it's hard to say whether his praise was punctuated with intercession—or if it was the other way around!

Another "pray-er" who blended praise with intercession was St. Julian of Norwich. Born around 1342 in Great Britain, she was separated from Paul by many years and miles. But if you listen to her describe the way she prayed for people, you can hear the similarities: I look at God, I look at you, and I keep looking at God.

How about following this pattern as you pray for people?

I look at God. Begin by fixing your attention on the Lord. You can imagine him enthroned in heaven—glorious, radiant, and filled with love for his people. You may feel praise or gratitude begin to well up in your heart.

I look at you. In this posture of worship, try to visualize the person you want to pray for. Instead of immediately offering a prayer, take a moment to be still. Try to recognize any prayers that seem to be "bubbling up" within you. That may be the Spirit giving you a heavenly perspective on the person or situation you are praying for. But even if you don't sense anything, you're still interceding. You're still being present to God on their behalf. And you can still pray God's blessing upon them and mention their needs.

I keep looking at God. Take a moment to thank the Lord for what he has already done in that person's life—and for what he's going to do. Remember that he hears your prayers.

"Lord, thank you for listening when I pray."

Psalm 98:2-6
Luke 5:1-11

Listen to 2cents

From Saint Paul just one verse, once sentence:
"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."
Amen! What a letter! What an encouragement!

We pray in the Holy Psalms:
"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.

The Lord has made known his salvation."

In the Holy Gospel according to Luke, we heard:
"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."

What was amazing about the story? That the crowds were pressing in on our Lord and forced Him onto a boat?

Or that after speaking, our Lord tells Simon to lower his nets for a catch, knowing full well they were not successful?
This speaks volumes to me, personally. Because I promise, for the most part, for all the ministries I do, I feel no success. I see no success. I have had little if any success for God's Kingdom. And so our Lord asks to go one more time, go back out to sea, and lower the nets for a catch...for Him.
And guess what will happen? He gets what He wants. I don't get to see what I want. Can you see faith and actions and God's fruits? My task and your task is humble obedience, no complaining, just trusting.
And the Holy Gospel continues:
+++
"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."
+++
Have you ever caught so many fish that your boat was about to sink underwater? Me neither! But we will.
Together we will catch souls, God's children back to His flock.
Because our Lord says something critical as St. Peter falls to his knees asking His holiness to depart from a sinner:
"DO NOT BE AFRAID", says our Lord.
From NOW ON, you will be catching men.
How many? That's not for you to know or to count. Those who count, do not count on God.
Those who expect what they want, leave away saddened.

Here, God gets what He wants.
And in the end...it is millions of times better.

Let's pray:
Lord, we depart from You, but You ask us to come back,
we fall on our knees when we are amazed by grace,
and You ask us to go forth with amazing grace to fish in the world, for men, but not just any men...His children, to come back to Him, with all their heart, mind, and soul...what a gift!
Thank you Lord!

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian