Lectionary: 434
Reading 1
1 cor 3:18-23
Brothers and sisters:
Let no one deceive himself.
If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Responsorial Psalm
ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (1) To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
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.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: I'M FOREVER GRATEFUL
"I am a sinful man." –Luke 5:8
One of the greatest events in our lives is when we realize our sinfulness, when we fall "at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me, Lord. I am a sinful man' " (Lk 5:8). When we experience the fear of the Lord and get in touch with reality, we realize the incompatibility of our sin with God's holiness. So we cry out: "Leave me, Lord!" However, if the Lord leaves us, we will never be freed from sin and will be separated from Him forever. Therefore, Jesus must stay so we can be empowered to leave our sins.
Yet how can the all-holy God be in the presence of sin? "For our sakes God made Him Who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in Him we might become the very holiness of God" (2 Cor 5:21). When the all-holy God chose not to leave us in our sinfulness, our sin convulsed in His all-holy presence, and we crucified Him. However, sin crucified itself in crucifying Jesus. "God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin Offering, thereby condemning sin in the flesh" (Rm 8:3). "Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:13). "Now Christ has achieved reconciliation for you in His mortal body by dying, so as to present you to God holy, free of reproach and blame" (Col 1:22). Thank You, Jesus crucified!
PRAYER: Father, thank You for loving me so much that You gave Your Son for my salvation (see Jn 3:16).
PROMISE: "Let no one delude himself. If any one of you thinks he is wise in a worldly way, he had better become a fool. In that way he will really be wise." –1 Cor 3:18
PRAISE: Warren burst into tears of gratitude when praying before a crucifix. That very same day, he shared his conversion testimony for the first time with two other men.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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