Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the two Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. John who gave great testimony in front of all the elders, the leaders, the elites, the teachers of the Law and all those who were influential among the Jewish society at the time, the testimony of their faith in Jesus, through Whom God had brought into this world a great new light.

Those leaders and elders refused to believe in Jesus, and they thought that by sentencing Him to death on the cross, handing Him over to the Romans and after having rejected Him, and turned their backs from Him, humiliating Him and forcing Him to suffer a most painful death, they thought that they have finally succeeded in getting rid of the One Whom they thought to be their rival.

But in the Gospel, we were shown again, how amazing was our Risen Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world Who had conquered death itself. He showed Himself to have risen from the dead to the Apostles in several occasions, reassuring them and strengthening their faith, that all was not lost, but in fact was the beginning of a new time of grace.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus has opened the gates to salvation, and He has opened the path for us all to walk in, from the darkness into the light. Through Him, mankind who once thought that everything was lost to them, and that there is no hope to escape from the pain of death, now they all have received a new hope, an assurance of life and everlasting peace, joy and harmony through Him, so long as they make the choice to trust in the Lord and follow Him.

And this is where He also laid the work ahead for all of us, just as He had shown it through His Apostles. Today’s event of the miraculous fishing in the Lake of Tiberias is very important as well as meaningful, because it represents the Church, and all of its works to gather the people from all over the world, from many nations, to the Lord and to His salvation.

For you see, the boat represents the Church, and the Apostles are the servants of God and the members of the Church who have been saved by their faith and by their commitment to God. The net represents the efforts and works of the Church in the evangelisation and conversion of the world. The many fishes represent the people of God coming from different countries, origins and places, having different races, languages and cultures.

Remember that Jesus has called His disciples at the beginning of His earthly ministry, calling simple fishermen such as St. Peter, St. John, St. Andrew and St. James? He called them that they may no longer be just fishing for fish and for sustenance, but instead, from then on, to fish for men, that is to look for the lost souls of mankind, and bring them to the salvation in God.

And their works are not yet done even today, brothers and sisters in Christ, and thus we have a long way ahead of us, and a very important mission through which many of our fellow brethren may be saved and may find their way to the Lord. Thus, in this Easter season, as we all rejoice together in the joy of the resurrection and the promise of the life to come for all of us the faithful ones, we have to realise that we have to bring this joy also to those who have not seen the Lord and His truth, that they too may be saved.

May God awaken in all of us the spirit and the desire to love Him by loving one another, and by helping one another on our path towards redemption and eternal life. Let us seek to bring God’s salvation to all, through our words, actions and deeds that will become examples for all to see. God bless us all. Amen.