5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) - 9 February 2025
9th February 2025
“Humility is the mark of a genuine disciple.” - St Thomas Aquinas
A reflection on today's Gospel by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"After being rejected in His own hometown of Nazareth, Our Blessed Lord directed His steps to Capernaum, which would henceforth be His base of operations. He found Himself so pressed by the crowds that He took refuge in a boat belonging to Simon. Floating off a little from the land, He began to teach the people. Then, when He had finished speaking, He turned to Simon and told him to launch out into the deep. ‘Let down your nets for a catch,’ He directed him.
"Simon, however, was far from convinced. He was not prepared to challenge Him, but neither would he obey wholeheartedly. Even the word he used in answering Jesus reflected the ambivalence of his attitude. ‘Master,’ he said. It was the same word that Judas would use when betraying Him, a word without hint of recognition of the Divine, at most an admission of His status as a teacher, a rabbi. Simon’s words reveal his thoughts. ‘What does He, coming from Nazareth, know about the way to fish at Capernaum,’ he was surely thinking. ‘At this time of day, who would dream of catching fish? The professional fisherman knows that night is the time to fish, and we have worked all night yet found nothing.’
"Peter knew all about fishing on the lake of Gennesaret. It was accordingly as a mark of respect to the Master – as one might say, to humour Him – that he agreed to go part way: ‘but at Thy word I will let down the net.’ Our Lord had asked for nets; Peter compromised with a net. Our Lord asks for complete obedience; the servant gives a begrudging response. The flesh is not spirit; reason is not faith. Peter, relying on reason, let down a net. He flung into the Lord’s face the bitter cry of life’s unfruitful hours. But when the net caught a quantity of fishes so great that it was near breaking, suddenly there appeared from behind the bulk of Simon the priestly form of Peter: Simon Peter fell down and caught Jesus by the knees; Leave me to myself, Lord, … I am a sinner. Notice the double changes of name. Christ is no longer ‘Master’; He is ‘Lord.’ Simon is no longer ‘Simon’; he is ‘Simon Peter’. The priest’s nature asserts itself over that of the man under the impact of the miracle wrought by the High Priest for the benefit of Simon’s unworthy self. It was more than fish that Simon caught; it was the Lord.
"So long as we think of Our Lord as ‘Master’, we feel that what we are doing is enough, that we can settle for a net when He calls for nets. The moment, however, the Holy Spirit makes us realise His Lordship, there comes over us the terrifying awareness of sin. The more we recognise the holiness of the High Priest, the more conscious we are of our own failings.
"The moment that Simon Peter was struck by his unworthiness, it is likely that Our Lord took him by the hand – so at least the last words of the account suggest. But Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; henceforth thou shalt be a fisher of men."
(The Priest is Not His Own)
Prayer for Humility
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine. Grant me the grace to be truly humble and to always seek Your will above my own. Help me to recognise my dependence on You and to trust in Your providence. Give me the right wisdom so that I may remain childlike before You, because it is through humility that I will be able to serve the poor and the sick, the lonely and the destitute, and to discern and to do all that You desire me to do. Amen. 💐🙏💖