May 4, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

When Peter and his comrades were initially called to follow Jesus, back at the beginning of the Gospel, they were fishing and Jesus produced a miraculous catch of fish. Awestruck, they were told by Jesus to leave their nets behind and follow, that they would now be “fishers of men.” And indeed Peter dropped the net full of large fish and accompanied Jesus.

Fast forward to the end of the Gospel–our Gospel reading this Sunday. It is a similar scene on the Sea of Galilee. Peter and the others are fishing, they have caught nothing on their own, and Jesus gives them a miraculous catch of fish. This time, though, when they bring the nets ashore, Jesus instructs Peter to drag the net over to the campsite and give him some of the fish to cook breakfast. In the first scene Jesus said, “Come, follow me.” Here Jesus says, “Come, have breakfast.”

It seems a little bit of a head scratcher, no? After the resurrection Peter was at a loss as to what was going on. Confused, hurting, and unsure about the future, he said “I’m going fishing.” He went back to what brought him comfort and security. So, you would think Jesus would have to say a second time to Peter, “drop the nets and follow me.” But Jesus doesn’t. He simply says, “bring the nets over and let’s have breakfast.”

Now, Jesus would use this opportunity at breakfast alongside the Sea of Galilee–and what a great breakfast this would have been…the best ever!--to commission Peter one last time with the three-fold “Do you love me?...Feed my sheep.” But, even more simply than this, we could see Jesus’ instruction to “Come, have breakfast” as a sort of sanctification of relaxation. Things don’t always need to be intense in our spiritual lives. All the talk about evangelization can sometimes make us feel like we always need to be working, always need to be achieving to make disciples, always need to be productive with our prayer (whatever ‘productive’ means). It can make God feel like a task-master and our faith lives more about results than relationship. There is certainly a time to be intentional with helping people encounter the Lord, but there is also a time to relax with the Lord. It’s like Jesus was telling Peter, “stop trying to figure it out. Stop working. Just come and be with me.” I imagine they had some laughs around that campfire and had a couple extra helpings of fish. Who knows, maybe even a swig or two of wine, even though it was nine o’clock in the morning. The mission would come later. For now, they could enjoy the beautiful moment.

Please allow yourself this Easter season to “have breakfast” with Jesus.

+

This Sunday, May 4th will be Donut Sunday and New Parishioner Sign Up. Please join us in the gym following the 9am and 10:30am Masses for some Easter treats.

Congratulations to the children who made their First Communion this past Saturday, May 3rd. Our next round of First Communion will be this upcoming Saturday, May 10th at 10am and 1pm. A special thank you to Anna Mae Parkhill for organizing the Masses, and to the 2nd grade teachers and catechists who have prepared our children for this wonderful moment.

This Friday the CRUX teen group will host Friday Night Lights at 7pm in the Upper Church. All are invited to join us for a holy hour of Eucharistic Adoration, music, and benediction on the front steps of the church.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace