God's Message For You - 10 February 2019
Rey Dionela
READINGS for 2019-02-10
THE BIG CATCH “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” – Luke 5:4 As a young kid, I lived for more than a year by the sea. Aside from the daily wonderful sight, the fresh breeze, and the free swimming, the sea taught me a lot of things, especially about fishermen—how and why they catch fish. One: The big fish are out in the deep. If you want a big catch, you put out into the deep. Two: Setting out into the deep can be very dangerous. You need companions—very good and reliable friends. Three: If you catch more than your boat can carry, call other nearby boats and share the catch. Otherwise, you’ll sink. Four: Getting a big catch is a blessing that you should acknowledge and thank God for. Five: The big catch of fish is not the ultimate goal. Get ready to trade it—or leave it—for something you need more. Now read the Gospel again today and see how these points apply to your life. Get ready for your One True Big Catch! Alvin Barcelona (apb...@yahoo.com) Reflect: What’s the Biggest Catch you dream of? Where, how, and why will you catch it? Dear Lord, thank You for the catches I have in life. Above all, remind me to be ready to leave behind all these catches for the One True Big Catch—You! St. Scholastica, virgin, pray for us.
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1st READING Let us be careful about the things we say. Unkind words can damage the self-esteem and self-worth of other people. Libel, slander, and defamation are serious offenses that have legal consequences. Let us use our speech to build up one another, not tear down in a fit of anger. Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8 1 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. 2 Seraphims were stationed above. 3 They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” 4 At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” P S A L M Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8 R: In the sight of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord. 1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; 2 I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. (R) Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. 3 When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R) 4 All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth; 5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord: “Great is the glory of the Lord.” (R) 7 Your right hand saves me. 8 The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R) 2nd READING Paul reminds us in today’s reading that the heart of our faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus. In baptism, we were given victory over death and sin through His rising from the dead. We proudly preach about a crucified Christ because we know that God brought Him back to life, thus ending the power of death and sin over us. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 1 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. 2 Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; 4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; 5 that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. 9 For I am the least of theapostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed. GOSPEL The miracles that Jesus performed during His ministry ushered in the coming of God’s Kingdom into the world. Evangelization is proclaiming the truth that people can choose life in heaven starting now. By His resurrection, Jesus began God’s reign in the world. We are called to live by this truth every moment of our life. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Come after me and I will make you fishers of men. Luke 5:1-11 1 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. 3 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. 4 After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. 7 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. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”9 For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, 10 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.” 11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. think: What miracle has Jesus worked in your life? What does it mean to have fullness of life in Him? ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST thank You, Lord, for: ____________________
Read the Bible in one year 1 Corinthians 5-8
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I DID MY BEST
Was there a time in your life when you said, “I did my best but my best wasn’t good enough,” “I did my best in my studies, doing more than enough but my best wasn’t good enough—I got failing grades,” “I did my best in my job, working harder than all my peers, but my best wasn’t good enough—I was not promoted”? This is certainly frustrating and disappointing. I have had my own experiences of frustration and disappointment in my priestly ministry. I have said many times, with deep feelings, “I did my best but my best wasn’t good enough.” I confess that it made me depressed. But eventually I overcame it by simply letting go and letting God. I just try to make a prayer out of it: “I did my best and though it might seem to be not enough, what matters to God is that I did my best.” In the light of today’s Gospel story, Simon could have also said, “I did my best but my best wasn’t good enough.” We are told that Peter and his companions “have worked all night and have caught nothing.” They did their best but their best wasn’t good enough. Perhaps Simon figured out that there was something wrong, something missing, in spite of their own efforts. Though he was “the expert fisherman,” Peter willingly took instruction about fishing from Jesus, a carpenter. Ironic, isn’t it? It was when Peter and his companions humbly accepted Jesus’ offer of help, and when they followed His instructions, that they caught a great number of fish. They had to realize and admit first their own limitations, then turn to the Lord, and trust in His power. All our human efforts to cope with our problems are necessary, but they are not enough. We need something more. We need the help and power of God for this. The answer to our problem is to involve God in our lives. Fr. Nelson Orqueta ------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS ------- Were there times when you did your best but it still fell short of what was expected? What do you think was missing?
You are our victory, O Lord! Everything done with You and in You will always turn out as the best. Amen. Today, I pray for: _____________________________ |