The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Year C

  

The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Year C, February 9, 2025

If you are interested this is my prerecorded homily for February 9, 2025, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year C.

“Lord I know you are calling me to something greater at this time!”

Praise God! 🙏

You can click on this link to view the homily on YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/CJ3xIJJjhLY?si=P7RfPKfBAiysNKC5 

 

TRANSCRIPT

3:00
Good morning
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today we celebrate the fifth Sunday in
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ordinary time year
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C and as I was contemplating the
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message of the Gospel today I couldn't
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help but remember an event that happened
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to me a few years ago I was sitting
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in my office in the parish where I
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worked and it was a long day really
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long day we had meetings that day I had
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Mass people came for various things at
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the rectory door I had to meet with
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the accountant and it was just I was
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really tired and I usually left the
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office at about
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4:00 and so 4:00 was approaching and I
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was really looking forward to getting
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out of there and the phone
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rang and I was asked to go to a nearby
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hospital to anoint a
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parishioner and to be very honest with
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you
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I was thinking oh gosh I really just
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want to go put my feet up really
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tired um you know I wish this phone call
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wouldn't have come in this is the human
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side of me um lamenting the fact that I
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had to go to the hospital now after such
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a long day when I was really looking
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forward to getting out of the office
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putting my feet up but of course I went
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went to the hospital I got in my car and
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I drove to the
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hospital and I went went up to the
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patients room where he and his wife were
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sitting and he was going to be going
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in for heart surgery the next morning
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really early and he was really
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distressed as was his wife and so I
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spent some time visiting them I
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anointed him with the sacrament of the
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anointing of the sick and we talked for
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a while and it was all
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good and after spending maybe 45
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minutes or so with them I went back got
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in my car and I went home and by the
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time I got home I was utterly exhausted
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to be
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honest I didn't regret going to the
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hospital but it did catch me at a
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very you know bad moment I'm sure that
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you might relate to things like that in
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your own life maybe you've been
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really busy with something at work or
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cleaning the house or
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even on a trip or whatever and something
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unexpected comes up kind of at the last
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minute and kind of sets the plans off
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course and maybe causes some kind of
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inconvenience and and you might even
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like me feel a little selfish about
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not wanting to divert the plan that
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that's how I felt that way in all
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honesty I found out later that the
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Manwent through the surgery and it
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was very successful and about maybe 3
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or 4 weeks later I got a thank you card
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in the mail from the man and his wife it
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was a beautiful card and I only found
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out in reading that card that he had
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actually been away from the church for a
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while and because of that visit and
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because of the success of his surgery
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he and his wife had made a commit to
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going back to church and to embracing
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their faith a new I I kind of felt good
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about that you know I did my job right
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um at the same time I felt a little
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guilty because I remembered thinking
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that I didn't even want to go over there
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that particular day did I want to put it
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off until the next morning did I want to
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ask another priest to do it did I want
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to refer them to the
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chaplain instead I went somewhat
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grudgingly to be
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honest but you know what God God seemed
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to want me
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there and I did what I was supposed to
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do I did what I was called to do and you
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know what because of that I think there
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was a great
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fruit perhaps the man made it through
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his surgery in a state of Peace he and
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his wife embraced their faith more
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enthusiastically after that was all over
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and I probably had a at least a small
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part to do do with that at least that
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was reflected in the thank you card that
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I received from them by the way they
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also gave a large donation to the
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church after that also which was
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impressive to
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me but
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anyway we might find ourselves in
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similar
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situations and from a faith
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perspective sometimes we may have an
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opportunity to respond to God's call
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call in some way in our lives maybe
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it is in a call to some kind of
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service commitment to others in our
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community maybe witnessing our faith
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publicly in some
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way perhaps we might find ourselves in a
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conversation with somebody who's gone
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astray from the faith and we fear
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maybe preaching to them because we
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don't know how to put things into words
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and so we doubt maybe that
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we'll be capable of being authentic
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loving witnesses to the gospel with
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certain
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people maybe maybe we're called to
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embrace some kind of ministry within the
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church some people feel called to be
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Eucharistic ministers or lectors or
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catechists maybe ushers or money
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counters or all kinds of things people
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do in the church that support the
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church and sometimes people feel like
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you know maybe they should be doing more
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and they feel like maybe they should
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respond to that but then they have
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doubts maybe I'm not capable maybe I'm
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not a good reader maybe people will
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think bad thoughts about me because I
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know I'm not perfect or you know there's
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all kinds of excuses right why we might
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not Embrace some calling that we've
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received and I think that the reason
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I bring up these things is because I'm
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reading into the mind of Simon Peter as
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presented in the gospel today and you
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know Jesus is there he's preaching to
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the people he's obviously very popular
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people are gathered around he gets
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into Peter's boat kind of go out to
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out off the shore a little bit so he's
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not you know completely surrounded by
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crowds I think that probably Peter and
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Andrew James and John by this point they
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knew who Jesus was I mean Capernaum the
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town where this happened happened on the
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shores of the Sea of Galilee called the
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sea of Gennesaret in this particular
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gospel same same place that they were
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known to Jesus and and
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likewise and they knew what he was about
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they knew the message that he was
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presenting and and yet they were
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fishermen and they were working really
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hard at their vocation that is to catch
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fish to be businessmen to to help feed
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people and here comes Jesus one day and
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asks them ask Simon Peter in particular
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if he can use his boat for a little
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while to you know
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to separate himself somewhat from the
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people on the shoreline so that he could
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preach to them I wonder what the message
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was people were excited to hear whatever
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it was that Jesus had to say and no
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doubt as Simon Peter and Andrew James
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and John were there listening to him
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they were somehow
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inspired but they wanted to go
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home the gospel tells us that they had
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been fishing all night and in fact they
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had been fishing all night and had
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caught nothing which is even worse here
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they worked all that time and didn't
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didn't even pay off so they were
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probably a little
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frustrated tired they wanted to go home
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they wanted to maybe go home and get
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some
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rest maybe eat maybe see their
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families that's what they were looking
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forward to doing it been a long
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night and here Jesus says to
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them before you
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go put out into deep water again put out
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into deep water and lower your nets for
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a
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catch Jesus calls them literally at the
11:57
last minute the plans had already
12:00
been made to go home they were tired and
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Jesus says put out into deep water lower
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your nets for another
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catch and Simon Peter says Master we
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have worked hard all night and caught
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nothing I read that like this well you
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got to be kidding Lord we have been
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working all night we didn't catch
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anything and you want us to go out again
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come on man this is
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crazy that's kind of how I read response
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to Simon Peter but the Lord called upon
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him he trusted him and he did what he
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was told he said Lord at your command
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we'll go out and we'll lower the Nets
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again and when they went the gospel
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tells us they caught a great number of
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fish so much so that they couldn't even
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the Nets they had couldn't even hold the
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fish it says here that their Nets were
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tearing you know it was so heavy with
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fish that they caught imagine not a
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single fish all night and all of a
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sudden they catch so many fish that
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their nets are tearing and it tells us
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that they they they filled both boats
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with the catch they used both boats all
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four of these men Simon Peter Andrew
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James and John they all worked now
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enthusiastically to bring this great
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catch into the
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boats Jesus
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says it says here that Simon says he
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says Lord after he Witnesses this Lord
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depart from me for I am a sinful man
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depart from me why did he say that
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depart from me for I am a sinful man
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because he knew that Jesus was calling
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him to something greater than what he
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had been doing that's
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it he had been working as a
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fisherman kind of run-of-the-mill daily
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activities some some days they maybe
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they caught fish others they didn't was
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tired he wanted to go home he had other
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things to
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do Lord depart from me I'm a sinful man
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let me interpret that he says really
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saying
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Jesus I know that you are calling me to
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something greater at this moment but I
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am not worthy of this I can't do it I
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can't I'm too
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tired I don't have the
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means I'm not
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ready I'm
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afraid etc
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etc excuses excuses depart from me Lord
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I'm a sinful man
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we might say something like that oh no I
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know I know I know they need me to do
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this I know that I have to go there but
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yeah really I can't I'm not capable we
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tell ourselves
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maybe that way we're perhaps like Simon
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Peter in this
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story and then it says here Jesus said
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to Simon Simon do not be afraid do not
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be afraid from now on you will be
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catching men and women you will be more
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than just a fisher of fish you will be
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doing great things preaching the Good
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News of the kingdom and bringing people
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to a faith in a God who loves them more
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than they can possibly imagine this is
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your calling do not be
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afraid Jesus says that to
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us don't be afraid to respond to the
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calling that I am giving you don't be
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afraid I will give you all the strength
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the guidance the power the
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fortitude the grace you need to do what
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I've called you to
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do this is what he said to Simon Peter
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and to Andrew James and John and I
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believe he says that to us
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too so we might get that call late in
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the day we might be asked to embrace
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some kind of
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ministry we might feel called to do a
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certain kind of work of Charity or
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service to others we might in our prayer
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sense that God wants us to do this or
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that and we might doubt ourselves we
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might say well I'm not really worthy I'm
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a sinful person I really can't do what
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the Lord wants me to do I don't have the
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Power the
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ability but if Jesus calls us like he
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called them Jesus says to us like he
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said to
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them do not be
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afraid do not be afraid I've got this he
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says that's the
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message and when we follow through with
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the calling that we have received
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whatever it is now of course we've got
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to be careful in the discernment process
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obviously talk to others about it
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perhaps do some spiritual reading
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seek guidance from a spiritual director
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and Friends obviously there's a
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discernment process we should go through
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but but once we've decided to set on a
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certain
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path in Ministry in our faith lives in
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service to other people then Jesus
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promises us that we need not be afraid
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because he will give us all the power we
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need to do what he calls us to do
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and like Peter and Andrew and James and
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John and the other Apostles and many
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others were called to be literally
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Fishers of men and women that is people
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who spread the gospel to other people
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bring people to a knowledge of the Lord
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Jesus to enable people to understand
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forgiveness and the love of the father
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this is what they were called to do and
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they did it we know from the rest of the
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story that they did it exceptionally
18:30
well they did what they were called to
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do even though they were initially
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somewhat skeptical of
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themselves today as we contemplate this
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gospel and our own calling to respond to
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needs when they arise and and to do so
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without
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fear let's remember that Jesus himself
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models that for us when he Embraces the
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cross
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he said while he was
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crucified my God my God why have you
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abandoned me it's what he
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said Jesus knew what it was like to feel
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that
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fear demonstrated that and yet he was
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faithful to what he was called to
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do and today because of that we have the
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opportunity as a people of Faith to
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gather around the altar of this church
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and to receive the very life of God as
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we receive the body and blood of
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Jesus the life of God given to
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us is food for the
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journey and Jesus says to us as we
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approach this altar to receive his very
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life do not be afraid I am with you and
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I will give you all the strength you
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need to do whatever it is I have called
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you to do let's encourage one another
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with this great message of
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Faith praised be Jesus Christ now and
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forever amen