GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke
Luke 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.

The Incomprehensible

There are times when God’s logic seems incomprehensible, even absurd, according to our way of reasoning and thinking. This is what Peter says to the Lord: If they’ve been fishing for hours and caught nothing, how are they going to fish at the wrong time?
But Peter trusts in His Word above all else, and shows us what happens when we trust in Him. The Lord is generous and abundant.
This is the same experience that we husbands and wives encounter when we do not value our spouse according to our own criteria, but instead embrace the spouse as a gift from God. Then, a miracle of similar proportions to Peter’s catch takes place.

Applying it to married life:

Jorge: We’ve been trying for several years to stay together, but it’s not possible. We are totally incompatible.
Mercedes: You, husband, come in the name of the Lord, but I just can’t fully believe it. But I’m determined to try to see it, even if it means shedding blood, if necessary.  

(After some time…)  

Jorge: Finally, the drought between us is over. We’ve understood that we need to allow ourselves to be influenced by each other, to discover what God wants to give us through each other.
Mercedes: We are learning, overcoming attachments that had us trapped, and we are sharing our intimacy. We have become a great treasure to each other. We thank God for showing us the beauty of our vocation.

Mother,  

We look at each other with our eyes and judge with false criteria, and of course, there are no fruits. Purify our sight and change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Thank you, Mother!