Consent to Change
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus prepares to call his first disciples. He invites them to “put out into the deep”, to go out where the water is deep and the waves more threatening. The fishermen are hesitant, they have been there before and had no luck. Yet, they heed the Lord’s command and lower their nets. They are rewarded with an unbelievable catch, almost more than they can haul in.
Peter realizes that he is in the midst of someone supernatural and he humbles himself before Jesus, recognizing his own unworthiness. Jesus tells Peter not to be afraid and that his future will be about more than catching fish but will involve catching souls for God. Peter, Andrew, James and John took the risk that day and left their prior life behind to follow Jesus.
Jesus calls all of us, in some way, to follow Him. What we are called to do might not be as radical as what Jesus had in mind for Peter, but nonetheless, will probably involve some sort of sacrifice or willingness on our part to consent to making changes in our lives. We should pray for the grace to make those changes and follow Jesus, wherever it may lead.
At Mass on Jan 28th, I shared a prayer that I often pray. It is attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas and it is a prayer that asks God’s help in forming our desires and helping us to pursue what God wants. It goes like this:
Merciful God grant me the grace
to desire what is most pleasing to You.
Help me to search for it wisely,
to know it truly and to accomplish it faithfully,
all for the glory of Your name,
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
