Posted on February 7, 2025 View all Pastor's Letter
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus:
Every week, I am pleased to greet you and continue to encourage you in your vital role of building the kingdom of God together. Your efforts, no matter how small, contribute to the greater whole, and I urge you to face the challenges of each day with joy and holiness. Remember, each challenge is an opportunity to draw closer to heaven, the ultimate goal of every Christian.
Today, the Gospel offers us the simple and profound dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter, a dialogue that we could make our own: amid the stormy waters of this world, we strive to swim against the current, seeking the good catch of an announcement of the Gospel that will obtain a response that will bear abundant fruit. However, we must understand that we cannot do anything alone; we will always need the word and the trust of the Master, who never leaves us alone. Peter understands this and knows that with the word of Jesus, everything can be achieved, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets” (Lk 5:5). Peter, seeing the work of Jesus in his own life, recognizes himself as a sinner: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). St. Irenaeus of Lyons discovers a pedagogical aspect in sin: whoever is aware of his sinful nature is capable of recognizing his condition as a creature, and this recognition places before us the evidence of a Creator who is superior to us. Only those who, like Peter, have been able to accept their limitations are in a position to assume that the fruits of their apostolic work are not their own but of the One whom they have used as an instrument. The Lord calls the Apostles to be fishers of men, but the true fisherman is He: the good disciple is nothing more than the net that brings in the catch, and this net is only effective if he acts as the Apostles did: leaving everything and following the Lord (cf. Lk 5:11).
Changing the subject, I invite you to pray this coming week for the couples in our parish. The bishops’ conference dedicates a week each year to reflect on the sanctity of the marriage vocation. This year, it will take place from February 7 to 14. It is an opportunity for couples to revive and grow in their marriages, as a vocation to holiness. This year, the theme is marriage, a source of hope and renewal. God has brought them together so that they may remain alive in love and collaborate with Him in the procreation and education of the future of humanity manifested in their children.
Lent begins in a few weeks. Ash Wednesday will be next March 5, so I ask all who have palms in their homes to bring them to the parish office to make this year’s ashes. Last year, the influx of parishioners was very high, and all our ashes were used, so we need enough palms to have enough this year. You may leave the palms in the church foyer or bring them to the office.
May God bless you all!
