Thursday, April 4, 2013

Friday within Octave of Easter, 05-04-13

Acts 4:1-12 / John 21:1-14

In his first sermon in the the Sistine Chapel after his election, Pope Francis has this to say to the college of cardinals:
We can walk as much we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens? What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without consistency.

Very bold words from a new Pope to the seasoned cardinals who have heard almost everything and hence that is nothing new.

Yet today's gospel tells us what happens when people lose focus and direction and forget who they are and what is the meaning of their lives.

Simon Peter and a few others were together by the sea of Galilee. Simon Peter decided to go fishing and the rest went along with him.

They forgot that they were not called to be fishermen but that Jesus had called them to be fishers of men.

So it was as if that the Risen Christ had to make His appearance again to remind His disciples who they were and what they were supposed to be doing.

So what Pope Francis said was indeed a reminder to the whole Church. We may do anything and even everything, but if we don't profess Jesus Christ as Lord, then it comes to nothing.

As Peter said the 1st reading : For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.