The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15
HEBREWS 1:1-6
My Soul's Beloved,
Catholics should thrill at knowing that in the Church You founded on Peter You dwell in the fullness of beauty, truth, and goodness. Here O Lord, You deign to make Your home not just in our tabernacles, our adoration chapels around the world, but most especially in our hearts when we receive You in Holy Communion. You remain in us wholly God and wholly Man. You become flesh of our flesh, soul of our soul, spirit of our spirit - the consummation of marital love between a husband and wife does not even come close to the spiritual union that occurs when You, the Son of God and the Son of Man enters our soul in the Holy Eucharist and makes us truly one together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
My Lord and my God, beloved of my soul, the Truth about the love of God made visible in the flesh by You is the answer to every question and every riddle posed by the human race. The whole quest of our lives is to know God who desires more than we can ever understand and comprehend to be known. This is why He sent You into the world, His only Son containing in Yourself all that God has said has been expressed in one word, the Eternal Word and He has spoken it once and for all time.
The Truth is the incarnate Son of God who came among us, lived among us, has returned to glory with the Father, and has sent His Spirit to abide in us so we may always be one with the Father and the Son in the Spirit.
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
PSALM 96(97):1-2,6-7,9
All you angels, worship the Lord.
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
the many coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
PSALM 96(97):1-2,6-7,9
All you angels, worship the Lord.
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
the many coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
All you spirits, worship him.
All you spirits, worship him.
For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.
exalted far above all spirits.
All you angels, worship the Lord.
MARK 1:14-20
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
We are created for a purpose, this purpose is to discern God's will and once we do so we must set about doing it with alacrity. Sounds simple enough my Lord, but when push comes to shove we would rather remain in our comfort zone however the time for sleeping is long past. After Your baptism in the River Jordan, You announced that the Kingdom of God is close at hand and it has been close at hand ever since. Now is the time to repent, now is the time to believe in the Good News that saves.
Peter and Andrew, James and John were busy at their chosen trade, fishing. They were experts at it. It came to them naturally and with ease since they were at it since they were very young. It was a trade they learned from their fathers and envisioned they would be doing it for the rest of their lives. But You O Lord are a God of surprises and You had life-changing, world-changing plans for them.
Both sets of brothers were busy with the task at hand, it was another day doing things they had always done which was casting and mending nets. You walked along the Sea of Galilee and saw both Simon and Andrew and a little later James and John and all You said to them was, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ The writer of the Gospel goes on to say, 'And at once they left their nets and followed him.' There is no reason to doubt that this invitation from You to the brothers occurred just as the evangelist wrote it although homilists may or may not put their own spin to it.
The response of Simon, Andrew, James, and John to Your invitation to follow You is remarkable but more than that it is a reminder to us to respond as they did when You extend an invitation to us to leave aside the things that we know, are comfortable doing, things that are dear and familiar and perhaps difficult to give up because of force of habit but none of it must prevent us from doing just as You ask which is to follow You. Help me Lord to be attentive to Your voice always, to discern Your voice from the voices in the world that seek to distract me, and having discerned Your will to do faithfully, gladly, willingly, promptly, and obediently all You ask of me.
As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
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