NEW SERIES STARTS THIS WEEKEND!
KNOW SOMEONE WHO WANTS "MORE" IN LIFE?
BRING THEM TO MASS WITH YOU THIS WEEKEND!
THURSDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME
> All the readings together
> Colossians 1:9-14
> Psalm 98:2-3,3-4,5-6
In today's Gospel reading at Mass we continue from the Gospel of Luke. Three things grab our attention immediately: "he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret"; He was teaching "the word of God"; and there was a huge "crowd was pressing in on Jesus". (Luke 5:1) The northern region of Galilee was a fishing metropolis and Jesus went straight to where the action was: the Lake of Gennesaret. It would be as if Jesus went the C.B.D. or downtown or to the Mall. Jesus went to where the people were. He sought out the ordinary people. He went to them.
There He finds a fisherman named Simon. Simon doesn't regard Himself as one of those types of people who follows people like Jesus. Simon is simply going about his life, doing his thing, expecting that today will be an ordinary day. Simon lives a life like many of us: he's doing the best he can, but he's got bumps in the road, valleys in his story, skeletons in his closet ... for he responds to Jesus: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8)
Jesus persists. Jesus calls Simon to follow Him. Why? Why would Jesus call a fisherman? Why would Jesus call a sinner? Why would Jesus call Simon? Because when Jesus saw Simon He saw Peter deep within Simon.
Of course, this first encounter is not the last. Jesus calls Simon to follow Him today; however, in Matthew 16:17-19 Jesus will forever change Simon's life as He says: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
When Jesus saw Simon He saw Peter. When Jesus saw the fisherman He saw a Pope inside the fisherman.
Simon saw a sinner. Simon saw a simple man. Simon saw only his shortcomings. Jesus saw his future. Jesus saw his holiness. Jesus saw his greatness. Jesus saw the saint inside the sinner.
You and I are a lot like Simon. When we see ourselves we often only see our sin, shortcomings, or excuses as to why we can't be holy. However, God can indeed do great things because God Himself is indeed great. When Jesus looks at you He doesn't see you through your eyes, He sees you through His eyes. He sees the person He made, the greatness that is there, your potential for profound holiness.
What changed in Simon was His encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. That can happen for you too.
Today, spend some time and ask yourself what do you see when you see you? Do you see "Simon" or do you see "Peter"? And, most importantly, ask Jesus: "Jesus, what do you see when you see me?"
© Fr. Mark Toups, 2013
GETTING READY FOR MASS THIS WEEKEND
This weekend I'm going to introduce a new five-week series entitled: "Who is Jesus?" Just as Simon's life changed when he encountered the person of Jesus, our lives can change when we encounter the person of Jesus. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI once wrote: "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." (Deus Caritas Est, no. 1) When we encounter Jesus our lives are changed.
However, it's important for us to know who Jesus is ... who He really is. The five-week series is designed to help us look at Jesus through the lens of the Bible, not television or pop culture. And, of course, the series is ultimately designed to help us encounter Him.
The new series on Sunday coincides with the start of Oremus on Wednesday. Oremus is a life-changing experience that helps us understand the beauty of prayer while at the same time providing an intimate encounter with the living person of Jesus Christ.
DON'T FORGET: FR. MARK WILL BEGIN TEACHING A CLASS ON PRAYER STARTING A WEEK FROM TODAY! WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 @ 6:30 PM @ CHRIST THE REDEEMER CATHOLIC CHURCH. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 985.447.2013.There He finds a fisherman named Simon. Simon doesn't regard Himself as one of those types of people who follows people like Jesus. Simon is simply going about his life, doing his thing, expecting that today will be an ordinary day. Simon lives a life like many of us: he's doing the best he can, but he's got bumps in the road, valleys in his story, skeletons in his closet ... for he responds to Jesus: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8)
Jesus persists. Jesus calls Simon to follow Him. Why? Why would Jesus call a fisherman? Why would Jesus call a sinner? Why would Jesus call Simon? Because when Jesus saw Simon He saw Peter deep within Simon.
Of course, this first encounter is not the last. Jesus calls Simon to follow Him today; however, in Matthew 16:17-19 Jesus will forever change Simon's life as He says: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
When Jesus saw Simon He saw Peter. When Jesus saw the fisherman He saw a Pope inside the fisherman.
Simon saw a sinner. Simon saw a simple man. Simon saw only his shortcomings. Jesus saw his future. Jesus saw his holiness. Jesus saw his greatness. Jesus saw the saint inside the sinner.
You and I are a lot like Simon. When we see ourselves we often only see our sin, shortcomings, or excuses as to why we can't be holy. However, God can indeed do great things because God Himself is indeed great. When Jesus looks at you He doesn't see you through your eyes, He sees you through His eyes. He sees the person He made, the greatness that is there, your potential for profound holiness.
What changed in Simon was His encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. That can happen for you too.
Today, spend some time and ask yourself what do you see when you see you? Do you see "Simon" or do you see "Peter"? And, most importantly, ask Jesus: "Jesus, what do you see when you see me?"
© Fr. Mark Toups, 2013
GETTING READY FOR MASS THIS WEEKEND
This weekend I'm going to introduce a new five-week series entitled: "Who is Jesus?" Just as Simon's life changed when he encountered the person of Jesus, our lives can change when we encounter the person of Jesus. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI once wrote: "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." (Deus Caritas Est, no. 1) When we encounter Jesus our lives are changed.
However, it's important for us to know who Jesus is ... who He really is. The five-week series is designed to help us look at Jesus through the lens of the Bible, not television or pop culture. And, of course, the series is ultimately designed to help us encounter Him.
The new series on Sunday coincides with the start of Oremus on Wednesday. Oremus is a life-changing experience that helps us understand the beauty of prayer while at the same time providing an intimate encounter with the living person of Jesus Christ.
I'm looking forward to these next five weeks of the series on Sundays and the class on prayer on Wednesdays. Let's reach out. Reach out to someone in your life who needs to know the person of Jesus Christ. Bring them to Mass this weekend ... and, bring them to Oremus this Wednesday.
I've presented Oremus before. In fact, I've done it all over the country. Click on the video below to get a glimpse of what we'll be doing next Wednesday, September 11.
A SNEAK PEAK AT OREMUS
