Homily for Monday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time

Whenever there is an interaction between two or more people, they can experience a life-giving moment. The interactions that Simon, Andrew, James, and John had with Jesus were such life-giving moments for those four fishermen; God's life-giving power was present to them in the person of Jesus. That power of God present in Jesus was the power of love, a love that promised forgiveness, healing, acceptance, a love that gave them a mission in life.

The kind of encounter that Simon, Andrew, James, and John had with Jesus is offered to each one of us as well. Jesus is not just a figure from history, existing only in the past. He is the living LORD, still here with His Church and the world, continually calling us and interacting with us in the course of our daily lives, just as He encountered the four fishermen as they were going about their daily work.

The LORD encounters us, and He speaks to us through the Sacraments, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, through Scriptures, through people we meet, through nature, and from deep within our souls. Each time we encounter the LORD, we hear the Good News of God's unconditional love for us. We also hear the call to mission, the call to be good news for others, to be the LORD's body in the world; His feet, His hands, His mouth, His eyes, His ears. "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of [people]." This morning we pray for the grace to be as open and responsive to the LORD's presence and call as were Simon, Andrew, James, and John.+