Mass Readings—Third Sunday of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter five, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-two, forty(b), & forty-one;
Psalm Thirty (R/. two[a]; or, "Alleluia"), verses two; four & five; & six, eleven, twelve, & thirteen;
The Book of Revelation, chapter five, verses eleven thru fourteen;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty-one, verses one thru nineteen
(or, the Gospel according to John, chapter twenty-one, verses one thru fourteen).
Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, we must attend to the mystical depth of today’s Gospel. At the break of dawn, the disciples spy a mysterious figure on the distant shore who shouts out to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” When they answer in the negative, he instructs them to cast the net over the right side of the ship. When they do, they bring in a huge catch of fish.Video reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire): Sunday Sermon.
This fishing expedition is a symbol of the Church (the barque of Peter), across space and time, at its apostolic task of seeking souls. The life and work of the Church, John seems to be telling us, will be a lengthy, twilight struggle, a hard toil that will often seem to bear little or no fruit. But after the long night, the dawn of a new life and a new order will break, the transfigured world inaugurated by Jesus. The catch of fish that he makes possible is the totality of people that Christ will gather to himself; it is the new Israel, the eschatological Church.
We know this through a subtle bit of symbolism. When the fish are dragged ashore, John bothers to tell us their exact number, 153—a figure commonly taken in the ancient world to signify the total number of species of fish in the sea.
Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M. (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Paschal Reflection.
Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Paschal Reflection.
Audio reflection by Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Breaking the Bread.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Work is not something that people do for the sole purpose of earning a living; it is a human dimension that can & must be sanctified. In this way, work will enable people to fulfill their vocation as cretures made in the image & likeness of God."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"And of what should we be afraid? Our captain on this battlefield is Christ Jesus. We have discovered what we have to do. Christ has bound our enemies for us & weakened them that they cannot overcome us unless we so choose to let them. So we must fight courageously & mark ourselves with the sign of the most Holy Cross."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D., Doctor of the Church (1347-1380, feast: 29 April)
"A litle child has no difficulty in loving, has no obstacles to love. And that is why Jesus, said: 'Unless you become like little children you cannot enter the kindgom of God.'"Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"When I stand up to talk, people listen to me; they will follow what I have to say. Is it any power of mine? Of course not. Saint Paul says, 'What have you that you have not received & you who have received, why do you glory as if you had not?' But the secret of my power is that I have never in fifty-five years missed spending an hour in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. That's where the power comes from. That's where sermons are born. That's where every good thought is conceived."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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