Fishers of Men
“Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you caught anything to eat?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ So he said to them, ‘Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.’ So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.” (John 21:5-7)
“Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you caught anything to eat?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ So he said to them, ‘Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.’ So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.” (John 21:5-7)
Today we celebrate the Friday in the Octave of Easter.
Today’s Gospel tells us about the third time that the Risen Jesus appeared to his disciples. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, John and James (Zebedee's sons), and two others of his disciples went out fishing in the early morning but got nothing.
Then the Lord tells them from the shore to cast on the right side of the boat. The Gospel tells us that the net was full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. There is great diversity of opinion on the significance of this number, but one thing that all agree on is this: the great catch of fish signifies that salvation is open to all and that the Church will encompass human beings from every nation, place, class, and time.
The disciples were sent by God to be fishers of men as told in Matthew 4:19. How about us? We can and are called to make disciples of others. For reference see Bishop Parkes’ Pastoral Plan “A Call to Conversion”. Priority 3 of this plans reads, “We will go and make disciples”. I invite you to read this plan by going to www.dosp.org/courageouslyliving.
Salvation is open to all. How can we go and make disciples of our Risen Jesus? How does my soul need to be to achieve that?
Dear Risen Jesus, salvation is open to all because of You. May we be an instrument for others to get to know You. We humbly ask that You send the Holy Spirit to guide us in making disciples with our words and actions. We ask this in your Most Holy Name. Amen.
José Orlando (Landy) Colón was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His journey to faith started as a teenager after accepting Christ during a Juan XXIII weekend retreat in his native town of Arecibo. He has been living in the Tampa Bay area since November 2000. Landy is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. He is serving as Liturgy Committee chair, and Eucharistic Minister at Resurrection Catholic Church in Riverview. He is blessed to be part of the Hispanic diocesan prison ministry. From 2021 to 2024, he served as chair of the Diocesan Hispanic Commission under the Intercultural Ministries of our diocese. His wife Judi and Landy completed the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute program (dosp.org/lpmi) in June of 2023. They are empty nesters but also the caregivers of Judi’s mother. Landy is a firm believer of second chances, that compassion and mercy are vital to evangelize, and that we should trust God under all circumstances.
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