HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II (4)

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II

THEME: ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.

BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2022

*READINGS OF THE DAY*
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Psalm 23:1-6
Luke 5:1-11

*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
GREEN

*THEME OF THE HOMILY*
‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.

*FROM THE FIRST READING*
Saint Paul says in the first reading ‘the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God’. God brought new life out of the most unpromising situation imaginable, the crucifixion of his own Son, who was the embodiment of his love for the world. The God whom Jesus revealed is a God who sees abundance in the most unpromising of situations. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can begin to see life as the Lord does, with eyes that are attentive to the signs of life beneath the surface.

*FROM THE GOSPEL READING*
In today’s gospel reading Simon Peter and his companions had worked hard all night long, fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and had caught nothing. Night time was the best time to catch fish. There was no reason to think that it was worthwhile to go out again in full daylight. However, Jesus could see that there was life below the surface of the sea and he told them to put out into deep water and let down their nets for a catch. When they did so, they were overwhelmed by the abundance of the catch. They had to call on other boats to come and help them. Very often the Lord can see signs of life that we miss.

*WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE GOSPEL READING OF TODAY?*
Most of us will have tasted the experience of failure in one shape or form. We may have failed to live up to the values and the goals that we had set ourselves; some enterprise or some initiative that we had invested in may have come to nothing; some relationship that was important to us may have slipped away from us. All such experiences can leave us feeling disheartened.

*CONCLUSION*
Let us remember that, the Lord is constantly at work in all kinds of seemingly unpromising situations, drawing new life out of loss and failure. Yet, for this to happen, the Lord needs us not to give in to discouragement. He needs us to keeping putting out into deep water in response to his faithful word.
May God bless us all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA