Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 6, 2022
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.
There are critical moments in our lives when we make decisions that forever change us. Sometimes we can anticipate these moments—like getting married or switching jobs. Other times they are unexpected—like the Apostles being approached by a stranger on the beach after a long night of fishing.
Peter, James, and John answered Jesus’ call and were never the same. Not surprisingly, once they made the big decision to follow Jesus, there were many follow-up decisions they made each day to continue answering Jesus’ call.
The same is true for us.
Many of us have experienced the big moment when, like the Apostles, we hear God’s call and answer it. After that, we, too, are faced with choices each day that can bring us closer to God and the call God has placed on our lives. Most of the time, these decisions are not dramatic or groundbreaking. They are made quietly and consistently living out our values in our daily commitments and responsibilities.
There will be times we fail, but the invitation to become closer in relationship with God always stands. There will be times when God’s intentions for us may not be easy but, ultimately, lead to purpose and service to others.
This call in our lives is unique to the person, but what is universal, as was true for Peter, James, and John, is Jesus’ love for us and his desire to be involved in every step of the plan God has made.
As we reflect on the gospel for today, may we ponder the moment when Jesus has called us. How have we responded in the past, and, more importantly, how will we respond today?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you have given us all that is good. You constantly call us to put out into the deep in service to you and to one another. Give us the courage to listen to your commands, and to be fearless in our baptismal call to holiness. Help us to find ways to serve rather than to be served, even if those ways may be small or unseen by others. May we be faithful in our vocations to do your will rather than our own, and make you known, loved, and served. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Though he is not considered a canonized saint by the Catholic church (nor is he currently being considered for canonization), Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C. was a remarkable man who was animated with a stubborn faith and missionary zeal. He founded the University of Notre Dame in 1842.
Father Sorin was born on this day in 1814, in Ahuillé, Mayenne, a small village in northwestern France. Ordained to the priesthood in 1838, he led a band of seven members of a newly formed religious order, the Congregation of Holy Cross, to what was then mission territory on the Indiana frontier three years later. On Nov. 26, 1842, when he arrived at what is now the campus of Notre Dame, Father Sorin was 28 years old.
In his journal, Father Sorin described the only shelter then standing on the 524-acre site: “An old log cabin, 24 × 40 feet, the ground floor of which answered as a room for a priest, and the story above for a chapel for the Catholics of South Bend and the neighborhood, although it was open to all the winds.”
Undaunted by the cabin’s dilapidation, Father Sorin envisioned there what he soon began to build and to call “L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac” (the University of Our Lady of the Lake), insisting that the new school would become “one of the most powerful means for doing good in this country.”
The confidence of that pledge was tested on April 23, 1879, when a massive fire destroyed the Main Building and virtually the entire fledgling university. In what would become an iconic moment of Notre Dame’s history, Father Sorin addressed the stunned survivors of the catastrophe who had gathered a few days later in Sacred Heart Church.
“I came here as a young man and dreamed of building a great university in honor of Our Lady,” he told them. “But I built it too small, and she had to burn it to the ground to make the point. So, tomorrow, as soon as the bricks cool, we will rebuild it, bigger and better than ever.” The University reopened four months later.
During the years of his presidency at Notre Dame, Father Sorin discouraged public celebrations of his birthday, but did allow a public celebration of the feast of his patron, St. Edward the Confessor, on Oct. 13.
Father Sorin died in 1893, and is buried in the Holy Cross cemetery across St. Mary’s Lake from the Dome. Sorin College, home to about 150 men, was the first residence hall with private rooms; it was named after the founder when it was built in 1888.
In a recent audience with members of Notre Dame’s board of trustees, Pope Francis praised the University’s founder, saying that “the vision which guided Father Edward Sorin and the first religious of the Congregation of Holy Cross in establishing the University of Notre Dame du Lac remains, in the changed circumstances of the 21st century, central to the University’s distinctive identity and its service to the Church and American society.”
On the birthday of Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., let us pray for Notre Dame, that it might become a powerful means for good!