Here is my homily from this morning. God bless each of you!
I think one of the greatest temptations for all who try to follow the Lord is the temptation to discouragement and despair. Indeed, when we find ourselves battling against some personal sin, or when some form of darkness invades our lives, or when we consider all the national and international problems, we can be discouraged and hopeless.
For over 40 years we have prayed for and worked to end abortion; yet abortion continues. There are relentless assaults nowadays against marriage and family. So many of our brothers and sister are being persecuted and martyred for the faith in places of terrorism. We can see all this and lose hope, become discouraged.
Yet, what do we hear in the Gospel today? Jesus is telling us to lower our nets again for a catch. Yes, we have been working all night with no results it would seem, but he tells us to lower the nets again. He is telling us to not lose hope.
The Evil One would want us to lose hope. Why? Because if we lose hope, we begin to question our faith. We begin to become blind to the presence and working of God in the world. Satan knows that if he can discourage us in our lives, he can weaken our faith, and then if he can do that, we will become less loving, less like God. That is Satan’s aim, to disfigure God’s image within us.
We must never forget that God has a vision for our lives and for the world. We are to cooperate and advance his vision in faith. To know God’s will, his vision, we must embrace the faith given to us which enlightens us and opens our eyes. God’s vision for us and the world is love. This is a plan, a vision from God that generates tremendous hope for our lives and the world.
My friends, let us be people of hope! Let us cling to our faith and never become discouraged even when all seems for naught, even when we have worked all night and seemingly have caught nothing. Jesus commands us to lower the nets again, to go into the deep and to risk all for the sake of the Kingdom (which he has given us)!
