FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST


SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP   

1 Pet 4:7-11; Ps 96:1-3,7-8,10; Lk 5:1-11

The Sacraments and Reality of God

The spiritual renewal of all things in Jesus Christ, as we noted in previous reflection, makes the visible or material universe a sacramental universe. Each thing in the universe acquires a new meaning or role in the vocation of the human person to God. The vocation of the human person to God, which is not a new vocation, shines forth more clearly through the Incarnation of the Son of God and his dwelling among us. All of us who have discovered our true identity and mission in Jesus Christ put our minds and hearts in spiritual things, rather than in temporal things. In Jesus Christ, we come to know the true meaning of our life here on earth. Our life on earth is a time of transformation into Jesus Christ, or a time to become like God. The word of God, personified in Jesus Christ, is the means of our transformation. Thus, our Christian vocation is to follow him in all things without exception, and to make our life a sacrifice to him as he sacrificed himself to redeem us from sin and evil.

Everything we do in this temporal life must aid us to achieve the end of our Christian vocation; if that is not the case, then we have misunderstood our mission as Christians. Saint Peter underscores this in the first reading. “Everything will soon come to an end, so, to pray better, keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many sins.” A sincere love for all can only proceed from a mind and heart fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, the end of our vocation. Through his manifestation, we catch a glimpse of our future when we come to the end of our transformation. The revelation of this mystery propels us to commit ourselves and all our resources to the Christian journey and to calling all we meet on the way of life to the same journey. God gives us the graces we need for the mission, as Peter testifies, saying: “Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others.” In our service of others through the grace which God gives us in Christ Jesus, we act as sacraments and the reality of God’s presence and goodness to people around, for their salvation. To hold back from this required sacrificial life means we have misunderstood the Gospel.

Our Lord demonstrated this mystery of our vocation to Peter and his brother Andrew in a unique and dramatic way in the Gospel. Peter, who was harassed and exhausted by the demands of his personal and family needs, encountered the Lord when his professional skills failed him. Our Lord had requested the use of his boat to enable him to preach to the crowd. To express gratitude to Peter and his brother, he worked a miracle for them that changed their lives. “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this, they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.” The miracle made Peter abandon everything to follow Jesus. In the same way, Saint Patrick abandoned all and gave himself to the service of God and his people. He was born in Roman Britain around the end of the 4th century and died in Ireland about the middle of the 5th century. He endured many hardships as a missionary bishop and faced opposition from his friends and fellow Christians. But he sought peace and evangelise the people. His simplicity, pastoral care, humble trust in God, and fearless preaching of the Gospel were his great qualities that converted those who enslaved him in his youth.

Let us pray: O God, who chose the Bishop Saint Patrick to preach your glory to the people of Ireland, grant, through his merits and intercession, that those who glory in the name of Christian may never cease to proclaim your wondrous deeds to all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.    

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