COLLECT: “ALMIGHTY EVER-LIVING GOD, WHO GAVE US THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE COVENANT YOU ESTABLISHED FOR RECONCILING THE HUMAN RACE, SO DISPOSE OUR MINDS, WE PRAY, THAT WHAT WE CELEBRATE BY PROFESSING THE FAITH WE MAY EXPRESS IN DEEDS. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Acts 4:1-12; Ps 117:1-2,4,22-27 and Jn 21:1-14.
In our Catholic basic catechism, we are taught that the human person is composed of body and soul. Scriptures also tell us that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. This implies that the human person is like a building or a house with its walls. The walls are the body and the soul. God, through His Son Jesus, is the foundation or the cornerstone of the human person. Just as a house or a building cannot stay without a foundation stone or a cornerstone, so the human person can do nothing without the Lord, who is the foundation of the human person. For that matter, Jesus made it clear to us that if we cut ourselves off from Him, we can do nothing. He likens himself to a vine tree and we are the branches of the vine tree (Cf. Jn 15). Just like the branches of a tree that will wither and die when cut off from the tree, so we can do nothing meaningful and profitable if we are off our tree, Jesus Christ.
The two scriptures we reflect on today have made the above very clear. Peter and John having been imbued with the spirit of the Risen Lord had no fear in the face of harassment. With Christ in them they spoke boldly about the power of the name of Jesus Christ (Cf. Acts 4:1-12).
Similarly, with Jesus Christ, we progress and succeed in whatever we do. Otherwise, we will always labour in vain without any gains, progress and success. Psalm 127 is a confirmation of the fact that, without the Lord, we labour in vain “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain… Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain…. It is in vain that you rise early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved” (Ps 127:1-2).
Peter and his colleagues fished, toiling the whole night, but caught no fish, not even a fingerling. However, when the Lord appeared to them and instructed them to cast the net over the right side of their boat, they caught a lot of fish and it was not easy for them to pull the net (Cf. Jn 21:1-14). Peter and his colleagues found strength and courage when they realised that it was the Lord who appeared to them and instructed them to fish.
They were finally nourished and received energy from the breakfast the Lord provided for them. Indeed, the Lord will always provide for us and he will always give us strength, energy and courage to do our work if only we always allow him to be with us. Also, he will always show us the way to go about things in life. He will take all our frustrations away. The only condition is a strong and deep faith in him. May we learn to always be attached to the Lord as our cornerstone and as our vine for without him we grope and stumble in darkness. May we always experience his presence in whatever we do in life. Stay blessed by the Risen Lord.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, FRIDAY, ON THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES: ‘THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN, THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR, THE CROWNING WITH THORNS, THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS AND THE CRUCIFIXION’ (WE PRAY FOR SORROW FOR SIN, PURITY, COURAGE, PATIENCE, AND PERSEVERANCE) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “KEEP SAFE, O LORD, WE PRAY, THOSE WHOM YOU HAVE SAVED BY YOUR KINDNESS THAT, REDEEMED BY THE PASSION OF YOUR SON, WE MAY REJOICE IN HIS RESURRECTION. WHO LIVES AND REIGNS FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863.
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