Real Monasterio de Guadalupe

Saint Luke 5,1-11: Leaving everything, they followed him.

Today Luke tells us about the vocational call of Peter and the other first disciples: «from now on you will be a fisher of men.» Until now he appeared working alone. Now look for collaborators. Yesterday the Gospel spoke of Peter: Jesus cured his mother-in-law of fever. Today he tells us how, in order to get away a little from the people who were crowding around him, he asks Pedro to lend him his boat. What satisfaction would Peter feel: that preacher who is becoming famous, by his word and by his miracles, has asked him for his boat.

Then, although reluctantly, because he has the experience of the night’s failure, he casts his nets «by the word of Jesus.» And the unexpected happens: the miraculous catch, which provokes in Peter a reaction of horror and admiration: «Get away from me, Lord, I am a sinner.» They must not have understood much about being a «fisher of men.» But that man has convinced them: «leaving everything, they followed him.»

Being «fishers of men» does not mean anything pejorative. Fishing people, in this sense, is not extreme proselytizing, nor is it making them die for our benefit – that’s what fishing for fish is all about – but rather the opposite: evangelizing, convincing, offering on behalf of God to as many more people better the good news of love and salvation. At the origin of our Christian and apostolic vocation there may not be a «miraculous catch» or some extraordinary event. But yes, somehow, there has been and still is a feeling of admiration and wonder for Christ, and the conviction that it is worth leaving everything and following him, to collaborate with him in the salvation of the world.

Probably what we have already experienced are sterile nights in which «we have not caught anything» and days in which we have felt the presence of Jesus that has made our work effective. Without it, sterility. With him, surprising fertility. And so we mature, like those first disciples, on our journey of faith, through good days and bad. So that, on the one hand, we do not fall into the temptation of fear or laziness. And, on the other hand, let us not trust excessively in our methods, but in the power of the word of Christ. If we have not achieved more, in our apostolate, «offshore», could it not have been because we have trusted more in ourselves than in him? Why have we «cast the nets» in our own name and not in his?

Peace and good

Fr. Antonio Majeesh George Kallely, OFM

Saint Luke 4, 38-44: Numerous healings of Jesus.

In today’s Gospel, what Jesus announced in Nazareth he is fulfilling. There he said, applying the prophecy of Isaiah, that he had come to announce salvation to the poor and to heal the blind and free the oppressed. Indeed, today we read the program of a day of Jesus «leaving the synagogue»: he cures Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever, lays down his hands and heals the sick who are brought to him, liberates those possessed by the devil and he never tires of going from town to town «announcing the kingdom of God.» In between, find moments of peace to pray personally in a lonely place. Of course, the Kingdom is already here. The saving force of God has begun to act through his Messenger, Jesus.

Good program for a Christian and especially for an apostle. «When we leave the synagogue», that is, «when we leave our mass or our prayer», a day of work, of preaching and evangelization, of healing service to others and at the same time of personal prayer awaits us. Do we help people get rid of the fever? What to free yourself from your depressions and evils? Do we serve those who come to us, welcoming them with our word and dedicating our time to them? Do we feel compelled to continue announcing the good news of the Kingdom, whatever the success of our endeavours? And do we do it all in a climate of prayer?

We can review two significant features of this page. Jesus, in the middle of a day with an intensive schedule of work and missionary dedication, finds moments to pray alone. And he does not want to «settle» in a place where he has been well received: «I also have to announce the kingdom of God to other peoples.» So that we avoid two dangers: exaggerated activism, neglecting prayer, and the temptation to remain in the environment in which we are well received, neglecting the universality of our mission.

Evangelizing Christ. Liberating Christ. Praying Christ. Fixing our eyes on him, who is our model and teacher, we will learn to live his same lifestyle. Letting ourselves be free from our fevers and helping others to find their true happiness in Jesus.

Peace and good

Br. Antonio Majeesh George Kallely, OFM.

Evangelio según san Lucas (4,31-37)

En aquel tiempo, Jesús bajó a Cafarnaún, ciudad de Galilea, y los sábados enseñaba a la gente. Se quedaban asombrados de su doctrina, porque hablaba con autoridad. Había en la sinagoga un hombre que tenía un demonio inmundo, y se puso a gritar a voces: «¿Qué quieres de nosotros, Jesús Nazareno? ¿Has venido a acabar con nosotros? Sé quién eres: el Santo de Dios.»
Jesús le intimó: «¡Cierra la boca y sal!»
El demonio tiró al hombre por tierra en medio de la gente, pero salió sin hacerle daño.Todos comentaban estupefactos: «¿Qué tiene su palabra? Da órdenes con autoridad y poder a los espíritus inmundos, y salen.» Noticias de él iban llegando a todos los lugares de la comarca.
Palabra del Dios

«¡Sal de ese hombre!» Es el grito de guerra de nuestro Dios que apuesta decididamente por el hombre. Porque el hombre no está hecho para ser poseído por otro, para estar desposeído de sí mismo, envilecido, encadenado por unas fuerzas que es incapaz de dominar. El hombre, según la voluntad eterna del Dios creador, está hecho para vivir en pie, libre, con los ojos levantados al cielo. Somos hijos de la luz e hijos del día, muy dispuestos a luchar contra todo tipo de esclavitud a la que este mundo nos expone para vivir la libertad del Evangelio.

¡Paz y Bien!

Fr. Manuel Díaz Buiza, OFM