Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection February 09, 2025

09th February 2025 (Sunday)

Psalter: Week 1

Reading of the Day

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above. They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8 (R. 1c)

R/. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.

R/. Alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 5:1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Daily Gospel Reflection

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Opener: Miracles still happen. Who can say, miracles are no more, or they have stopped, either because God is indifferent and no more interested, or the humans are no more bothered about God and are weak in faith?

There is a miracle in today’s gospel. There is a huge catch of fish. This miracle gives us the greatest assurance that miracles do happen and still continue to happen. The simple reason is God never ceases to love us. He never abandons us. He continues to come to us and intervenes in our life.

Jesus stepped into the situation of the would-be disciples, namely Simon Peter, James, and John. And he changes the whole mood and tempo of the situation. Nothing changes into abundance, failure into success, sadness into gladness, disappointment, and quitting into renewed confidence, perseverance, and continuity.

In fact, a true miracle is this: it is not this or that isolated acts of favours from God. It is not getting big money or opportunity or success or some promotion or some cure. It is essentially a change for the better, a change for more. Still further, the greatest miracle is the change of identity and way of life, being raised to a new dignity: from being ordinary fishermen to fishermen of souls. Yes, we are raised to higher things, higher goals, a nobler and larger mission.

Now how can this miracle happen? What facilitates such change, such raising, such transition? There are a few requisites. First, Listen to the Lord and obey his directive. Second, Cast into the deep. Third, Humble yourself. Fourth, renounce. Finally, follow him closely and constantly.

Listen and obey: As soon as Jesus directed Simon Peter to cast the net into the deep, Peter promptly obeyed. Of course, he notified Jesus of the experience of their futile attempt all through the night. But he did not protest or contest or resist. He did not challenge Jesus’ lack of fishing experience; nor did he insist on his own fishing abilities. The Lord said, ‘cast’, and he cast.

Peter cast the nets into the deep: This is something significant. He could catch abundance because he got into the deep. As long as we prefer to be on the shores and borders, as long as we want to play it safe peripherally and superficially, as long as we do not want to plunge into the deep waters, we cannot have a catch. Therefore, stop being shallow and peripheral. Get into the deep – deep of heart, deep of consecration, deep of love, deep of mission, deep of loyalty, deep of zeal, deep of commitment.

Be humble and realize our unworthiness: In the presence of Jesus, Peter realized his unworthiness and unholiness. That is why he would plead to Jesus, Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man. Similar was the humble self-awareness of Isaiah, I am a man of unclean lips. The more we grow closer to the Lord and in holiness, the more we should become aware of our sinfulness and thus humble ourselves. Humility is the greatest sign of holiness!

Give up everything: The disciples are not carried away by the huge catch of the fish. They do not sit down and begin to calculate the profit. They do not make big plans for sale and business. They do not cling to what they have, namely, their boats, nets, possessions, and properties, even their homes, families, relatives, and friends. They dissociate themselves from all that was ‘theirs’, all that was dear and valuable to them.

Finally, they immediately set out to follow Jesus. They commit themselves to walk with him in his footsteps, to live with him, and to totally build their lives on him. They take up his own mission. This is again the same spirit of following by Isaiah in the first reading. God searches for the emissaries on His mission with the question, “whom shall I send?” Isaiah promptly and unhesitatingly responds: “Here I am! Send me”

Direction: Often many lament that miracles are not many. It is not so much because they are scarce; rather many look for miracles that are more materialistic and worldly. If only we seek the true miracles of interior healing and strength, then they always abound