With Jesus, the impossible can be achieved!
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our Lord appears for the third time after his Resurrection in this week’s Gospel passage. The apostles had gone back to their normal jobs after the recent events that had taken place. They were angry, confused and hopeless and to make matters worse, even their job as fishermen was not giving them any satisfaction because they were unable to catch any fish. Jesus, having seen that they had not caught a thing, suggested to throw the net on the other side of the boat. At this stage, he was still unknown to them. Having nothing to lose, they did just as he suggested. Shocked by such a huge large catch, they put the pieces of the puzzle together and recognized the person on the shore to be Jesus. Peter in his usual sporadic fashion, instantaneously dived into the water and swam while the others returned to shore and all responded to Jesus’ request to eat together.
This scene connected the post-resurrected Jesus with the one they had lived with for the last three years. He ate fish. He knew them in and out. Jesus not only arose but was meeting with them as before. But more than proof of a physical resurrection, we see Jesus’ commitment to communion with them and his desire to continue to work with them. The Apostles can do nothing of worth on their own - not even catch a fish, and with gentleness the Lord reminds them that with him, they can do the impossible. This is our story too! We tend to lock ourselves up in our own little world, just like the Apostles did, and only later do we come to realize that there is someone missing - the Lord. The Lord will not allow any barriers to get in his way. He will reveal himself, one way or another, and not allow any of his sheep to wander too far off. Therefore, when we too are angry, confused and have lost hope, we must also remember that we can do nothing of worth without Jesus. He is our hope and our strength and it is only through him and with him that we too can do the impossible.
The month of May home visits continue this week with Our Lady. It has been beautiful to see families gathering together in prayer. We need to encourage this not only during this month, but every day of our lives. This coming week we will be honouring our mothers on Tuesday 9 May beginning at 10.30am with a Mass and then a luncheon in the Cathedral Hall. Please don’t miss out on buying a ticket for your mother. On Friday 12 May, the Novena to Saint Rita begins after the 6pm Mass. We will be praying for the persecuted Christians in Egypt this year through the intercession of Saint Rita. On Saturday 13 May at 9am, our brothers and sisters from the Latin Rite will be joining us to celebrate 100 years of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. We will start here at the Cathedral with morning prayers, then process with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta, where we will celebrate Mass and have lunch together. I look forward to seeing you all at these events.
