Reflection for Thursday,  22nd Week of Ordinary Time 

By

Today's WORD of GOD 

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar 

 Luke 5: 8-11 


 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”  For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. 

 Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.  

Today's Reflection

 Counting Our Blessings Sometimes Wealth or Success can be Our Undoing, if We Take It for Granted & Become Arrogant or Worse, Start Despising of Others as “Losers.” 

Paul has a Remedy for Arrogance & Pride: Let there be No Boasting & No Name Dropping like, “I am of Paul or of Apollos or of Cephas.” We should Count Our Blessings, for “All Things are Yours,” but then Remember: U are CHRIST'S & CHRIST is GOD'S.

To Appreciate Our Blessings can Spur Us to Generosity. After Peter & His Friends had Landed a Netful of Fish from Doing what JESUS Told Them, They were Willing to Risk All & Follow HIM. There’s a Real “Noblesse Oblige” about This Story. They were Drawn to Follow JESUS because HE Appealed to the Best that was in Them.

From Failure to Success

Most of Us will have Tasted the Experience of Failure in One Shape or Form. We may have Failed to Live Up to the Values & the Goals that We had Set Ourselves; Some Enterprise or Some Initiative that We had Invested in may have Come to Nothing; Some Relationship that was Important to Us may have Slipped Away from Us. 

All such Experiences can Leave Us Feeling Disheartened.

Such a Move from Failure to Success is Told in the Gospel. We can Hear Peter’s Discouragement when He Mutters, ‘We Worked All Night & Caught Nothing.’ Then after the Miraculous Haul of Fish He Shouts Out, ‘Leave Me, LORD; I am a Sinful Man.’ Their Initial Failure Does Not Have the Last Word. 

JESUS Changed Their Fruitless Labour into a Marvellous Catch; & HE Draws the Reluctant Peter into HIS Own Work of Gathering People into GOD'S Kingdom.

HE is Constantly at Work in All Kinds of Unlikely People & Situations, Changing Failure into Success. For This to Happen in Our Own Lives, We must Put Our Trust in HIM. 

Good Morning

God bless you 

Have a splendid Thursday welcoming the new month to be a month of abundance blessings