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THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)
DISCOVERING OUR VOCATIONS: In spite of Jesus’ appearances
to Mary Magdalene and the apostles (without and with Thomas) in John 20:11-29
after his resurrection, the apostles did not realise the urgency of proclaiming
the message of the resurrection. The whole purpose of the appearances was to
arouse faith in the disciples, so that they might proclaim that Jesus is the
Messiah. The seven disciples we heard about today in the Gospel, instead of
going out to preach Christ, went back to their former occupation. Among them
were the most intimate apostles of Jesus (Simon Peter, James and John). These
were people whom Jesus had called from being fishermen to fishers of men. Their
leader, Simon Peter, took them back to their former occupation. They fished all
night but caught nothing, though they were experts in fishing. This is what
happens when we abandon our vocation for something else. Nobody can be
successful or find any fulfilment in what is not his/her vocation. This is what
happened to these seven disciples. They were not able to discern what their new
mission was, until after the miracle of the great catch. This was under the
direction of Jesus, and the explicit injunction to Peter, “feed my sheep”,
after his confession of love. We need to listen to Jesus every moment of our
lives, so that we may know the line of action he wants us to follow. If we
alone decide on what to do, we may be doing the wrong thing. In such cases,
there is neither real success nor a sense of fulfilment. Let us open our eyes
to see our little vocations with our big Vocation.
PRAYER: Lord, you are the one who calls us to various
vocations. Give us the Spirit of discernment so that we may see clearly our
duties in life. Amen.
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