DAILY- HOMILY

07 February 2016 

5th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 

Green. 

Is 6:1– 2a, 3 – 8 / 1 Cor 15:1 – 11 / Lk 5: 1 –11.     

From the 1st Reading: Is 6: 1 – 2a, 6 - 8

In the year of that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Above him were seraphs, each with six wings. . . .  

Then one of the seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  He touched my mouth with it and said, "See, this had touched your lips; your guilt is taken away from you and your sin is forgiven." Then I heard the voice of the Lord, "Whom shall I send? And who will go with us?"  I answered, "Here I am, Send me!"

From the 2nd Reading: 1 Cor 15: 1 – 3, 7 - 11

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you have received and on which you stand firm.  By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it.  Otherwise you will have believed in vain. 

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received:  that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says. . . Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles.  And last of all he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit.  Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

Gospel Reading: Lk 5:  1 - 11. 

One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him and listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats left at the water's edge by the fishermen now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore.  There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch."  Simon replied, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing.  But if you say so, I will lower the nets."  This they did and caught such a great number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats almost to the point of sinking,

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, saying, "Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made and so were Simon's partners, James and John, Zebedee's sons.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on."  So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

Reflection

The Mass readings tell us about the people called by God to serve him in special ways.  An angel touched Isaiah's mouth with an ember to purify the words that he will speak. Paul in the second reading promises God upon his conversion from persecuting Christians to be the defender of Christ among the Gentiles. In the Gospel reading Simon and the brothers James and John leave their boats and nets to follow Jesus.  The Mass readings are vocation stories of people who followed the call of God.

Vocation is a call, to be answered "yes" or "no."  A call came to us at our baptism, the call to holiness in life, to living a life centered on God and his son Jesus Christ.

Some are called to the ordained ministry in the Church; others to religious life as vowed men or women living in community.  The call to holiness motivates their lives and their commitment.

Most people live out their vocation in married life, working hard to make God the center of their lives. They live out their married life by being faithful to their marriage vows and their commitment to their spouses and for their children.

Some are called to be unmarried or the single blessedness.  They lead a life with their personal commitments and able to draw closer to God through service, people around them.

Everyone is called to holiness, be it in the ordained ministry, the religious life, and the married or unmarried states.  As long as we try our best to be faithful to our call or commitment to put God in the center of our lives, God will always be there to give us all the help and support we need to live out our call to holiness.

Today we reflect how Isaiah, Paul and the first disciples of Jesus were called and answered the call to serve God.  To whichever life we have been called, how are we doing?  Are we faithful to God's call or  are deaf and not faithful followers to God's call?  It is never too late to answer God's call: to cast the net on the other side and be amazed at the great catch of fish. It can happen to us, as we follow the Lord.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Delly Joson Lim

     Jomar M. Salvador

     Rey Liao

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Ong Su Khun

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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