FIRST READING: Isaiah 6: 1-8. In the year the King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings. And one called to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sins forgiven." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." EXPLANATION: We have here a brief but graphic description of Isaiah's encounter with the Holy God of Israel, an encounter which explains his whole life and teaching. He saw God in a vision seated on a lofty throne in the Temple of Jerusalem. He heard God, as it were, looking for one who would speak in his name to his chosen but unfaithful people, and there and then he volunteered, he accepted the vocation of Prophet or mouthpiece of God. For about forty years (742-700) he tried to wean the people of Judah from their sinful ways. The ever-recurring themes of his preaching were the infinite holiness of God as contrasted with the utter selfish sinfulness of men, and the almost incredible mercy of God who would yet restore the kingdom of David, notwithstanding the ingratitude and the unworthiness of the vast majority of his Chosen People.I saw the Lord: He saw Yahweh the God of Israel and of the whole universe. In a vision God appeared in some visible form: God, being pure spirit, is invisible to human eyes. He was seated on a "lofty throne" to signify his dignity.
above . . . seraphim: These six-winged beings with partly human shape represented God's courtiers. Greater than any earthly monarch, he had to be surrounded by royal attendants. The Golden Cherubs, with their extended wings placed on the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25: 18), were somewhat similar to these seraphim and may have put the image in the mind of Isaiah.
Holy, holy, holy: These angelic spirits chanted the holiness of God. The triple repetition represents the highest in holiness. The preface of our Mass ends with these words of the seraphim.
filled with smoke: The cloud of smoke signified God's presence, as on Mount Sinai (see Ex. 40: 34).
Woe is me . . . unclean lips: That no man could see God and live was the common belief among the Israelites. But Isaiah realizes he is not only man but worse still a sinful man, living amongst a sinful people. How could the All-Holy have any contact with such people---they all deserved death.
Your guilt is taken away: One of the angelic spirits placed a live coal taken from the fire of the altar of sacrifice, on his lips. This was to symbolize a thorough cleansing, and the angel said that the fire did what it symbolized, it purified.
Here I am, send me: Isaiah is not only purified from his sins but he is filled with the love of God and zeal for his cause, so he immediately volunteers to be God's spokesman. He accepts the difficult task of Prophet to his own stubborn people. APPLICATION: This incident---the call of Isaiah to the office of Prophet---happened over 2,600 years ago and yet it has a lesson, a practical lesson, for each one of us today. Every one of us, every human being on earth has his own mission to perform. Each one of us has a personal vocation, a special purpose in life, which God expects (but will not force him) to perform. And this personal task is in addition to the basic, the principal purpose God has for each one of us, namely, that we should work our way to heaven. I said it is in addition to our principal purpose, but in fact it is rather the means through which we shall attain to our principal purpose. In other words if we carry out faithfully our particular vocation we shall earn heaven. Catholics too often understand by vocation a call to serve God in the priesthood or the religious life. This is a vocation, but, so are the various other calls which God gives to men and women in lay life. The call to the married life is a divine vocation, and in many, if not most cases, a more difficult vocation than that of the priest or the religious. The call to the single life when a man or woman, through no personal fault, does not find a life-partner, is also a vocation, and one in which God is frequently served loyally, in spite of difficulties and great personal problems and heart-aches. We are all then in God's army and each one of us has his or her task to perform. Our eternal fate, our eternal destiny, will depend on how well we carry out the task given us. Today, inspired by the example of Isaiah, who willingly accepted his vocation and carried it out loyally till his death, let each one of us have a look at how we are carrying out our God-given vocations. Am I, as a priest, doing all I should to lead the people put in my charge, to their eternal home? Am I, as a religious, an example to inspire my neighbors to work for God? Is my day's work in the classroom, in the hospital ward, or in the care of the aged or the handicapped, a living proof that the love of God is still active amongst our people? Am I, a parent, a model for my children; am I directing them towards their eternal destiny by my instructions and, more effectively still, by the example of truly Christian life? Am I. a bachelor or spinster, using the free time God has given me through not being a parent, to help my neighbor in his temporal and spiritual needs? I feel sure the best of us can hardly give ourselves full marks when answering these questions now, but we can tear up this answer-book and begin to write a better and a cleaner one. We can begin today to face our vocation, our task in life, with renewed fervor, with a new courage, and confidence. Let us say with Isaiah, and say it from our hearts: "here I am Lord, send me," and the good God who accepted Isaiah will accept us too. He will give us the grace and strength to carry on our task loyally, like Isaiah, until our death.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11. I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast---unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the Apostles, unfit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. EXPLANATION: St. Paul is here recalling to the minds of his Corinthian converts the main points of the Christian faith which he had already preached to them. Christ had died for our sins. He had risen from the dead and appeared to many witnesses, of whom Paul himself was one---the most unworthy of them all. Christ had made him an Apostle. In this vocation he had done great work, but it was not he who did it, but the grace of God that was in him. They must hold fast then to this faith which alone will bring them salvation.
I preached to you the Gospel: The Corinthian converts were for the most part pagans before he came to them. The Gospel---the good news---that he had brought them was the news of salvation, eternal life in the world to come.
If you hold . . . believed in vain: If they practised what he taught them and lived by the Christian faith they would gain the eternal award. If they did not live the faith, accepting it was to no purpose.
Christ died for our sins: Our sins were wiped out, we were made friends of God, and adopted sons, by Christ's death on the cross.
accordance with . . . Scriptures: That the promised Messiah would suffer and die for our sins was foretold in the prophecies concerning the Suffering Servant (see Is. 53: 4-12). So was his resurrection also (see Is. 53: 10-12; Ps. 17; Hos. 6: 1-3; John 2: 1-2).
appeared to Cephas: This seems a schematic arrangement of Christ's appearances after the Resurrection; there is no need therefore to try to reconcile it with those recorded in the Gospels. St. Paul places Peter at the head of the list because of his office.
most of whom are still alive: If the Corinthians sought confirmation of the fact of the Resurrection, eye-witnesses were still alive when he wrote this letter (57 A.D.), including most of the Apostles.
last of all . . . to me: Chronologically he was the last---he saw Christ after the Ascension---but in Paul's estimation of himself he was last in every sense. Paul is referring here to the vision of Christ that be had on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 1-9) while he was still a zealous persecutor of the infant Church.
grace of God: Nothing less than the free gift of God's love and grace could explain his conversion and his appointment to the office of an Apostle.
I worked harder: He cooperated with that great grace of God and has done more than his share for the spread of the Gospel, yet he attributes all his success to God's grace.
whether . . . I or they: It is the same identical Christian faith that he and the other Apostles have taught---the same faith that the Corinthians have accepted. APPLICATION: If St. Paul, the great Apostle, found it necessary to recall to the minds of his Corinthian converts the basic doctrines of the faith that he had preached to them some five years earlier, it is very fitting that we too should meditate on the same basic doctrines today. We have many of the difficulties and problems that made living a truly Christian life a hard struggle for the first Christians of Corinth. They were a relatively small group, living in the midst of pagan neighbors whose purpose in life was to get what they could out of this world. These pagans had no thought for the future and only ridicule for anyone who was foolish enough, according to their philosophy, to forego the pleasures and the comforts of this life for the sake of something they expected after death. It was far from easy to carry the Christian cross through a throng of jeering pleasure-seekers. It was hard to mortify the senses and the flesh when the neighbor's motto in life was "eat, sleep and be merry for tomorrow we die." But what of us Christians today? Is our lot that much easier; have we no pagans or paganism to contend with? Leaving out for the moment the countries that have not yet learned of Christianity---how Christian is the so-called western world? More than half of the people of Europe are living under a regime that not alone denies Christianity but proclaims that there is no God, and no future for man but the grave. And how Christian are the peoples of the other half of Europe, and Europe's western allies, who, for political and commercial reasons, condemn the eastern atheists? In theory they do not deny the existence of God, but what part does God play in their national legislation and their international deliberations? To come down from the legislators to the masses: what part does the law of the Gospel play in the lives of the majority of them? The Christian of today is tempted on all sides to forget his Christian calling. He is tempted to forget the future life and urged to live in the present, to enjoy the pleasures of the moment, to join in the mad rush for worldly wealth and power. But as Christians, we have a philosophy of life which shows up the folly and the emptiness of these temptations. Granted that this world could give us (which, of course, it cannot) all the pleasures, all the wealth, all the power we desire, death will still come to cut us off from all these cherished things. And what then? We know that our true home is in heaven, that true happiness consists in loving God and neighbor, that true wealth is supernatural grace and virtue, which will last for all eternity. The Incarnation, death and Resurrection of our Savior, of which St. Paul reminds us today, are for us an absolute guarantee that God wants us in heaven and that we shall be with him in heaven if we live the few short years given us in the world, as true Christians, lovers of God and of Christ.
GOSPEL: Luke 5: 1-11. While the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the word, of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered: "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. EXPLANATION: The call of the first four Apostles, Peter, Andrew, James and John, is described in Mt. 4: 18-22 and Mk. 1: 16-20 also. St. Luke adds the extra details of Christ's preaching to the crowds from Peter's boat moored by the shore, and of the miraculous catch of fish. Peter is especially mentioned as having recognized the sanctity of Christ in this miracle, and it is Peter's vocation that Luke stresses. But the other three follow Christ also.
put out . . . let your nets: Having preached from Peter's boat to the crowds sitting on the lake-shore, Christ tells Peter to row out into the deep part of the lake to fish.
we toiled all night . . . nothing: The night time was the most suitable time for net-fishing. Peter, who lived by his fishing, knew that if the fish did not rise at night there was little chance they would rise in daylight but he showed amazing trust in the power of Christ, for he says:
At your . . . I will let down the nets: He would try the impossible because he trusted in Christ.
nets were breaking: His confidence was rewarded. The net was filled to breaking point. They called the other boat, and the net held enough fish to fill both boats until they were almost sinking.
I am a sinful man: Peter recognized the sanctity of Christ in this miracle---Jesus must be a close friend of God. He also knew his own unworthiness and sinfulness and felt he should not be near such a holy man.
James and John: The two sons of Zebedee are mentioned, as partners of Peter. The fourth man not mentioned by name is clearly Andrew, Peter's brother. The two boats, with two brothers in each, evidently worked as a team.
you will be catching men: Christ now tells Peter what his future vocation is to be---not catching fish but catching men for the new kingdom of Christ.
left everything . . . followed him: Luke stresses Peter's call but evidently Christ had indicated to all four that he wished them to join him, for immediately they came ashore they left boats and nets and followed Christ. APPLICATION: How the wisdom of God differs from the wisdom of men! If a businessman of today (or even of the year 28 A.D.) were choosing a chairman and assistants for the world-wide enterprise he was about to set up, is it likely that he would choose them from among the unknown, unlettered fishermen of Galilee? Yet Christ, who was about to set up not only a world-wide institute but an everlasting one, chose these simple fishermen and made them his assistants and his successors in the work that he had taken in hand. And it wasn't that he was restricted in his choice. There were many highly educated priests and scribes in Jerusalem whom he could have won over, men who could preach and instruct so much more eloquently than Peter or Andrew. There were Roman officers in Palestine who were highly educated, and who would be much more eagerly listened to in the Gentile world. There were Greek philosophers whose very name would add prestige to the Gospel message had they been Apostles. Yet it was to none of these that Christ entrusted the arduous task of spreading the good news of the Gospel, it was to none of these that he gave the keys of his kingdom. Christ was not influenced in his judgement by external, accidental qualifications. He judged the heart and the will. He knew the true worth of men. Furthermore, the society that he was about to set up was not a worldly business concern but a free transport system to heaven. The truths he was committing to its keeping were not based on earthly wisdom which would require eloquence and prestige to bolster them up. They were the eternal, divine truths which needed no human propaganda, no help from mere men. Thus, in the selection of his Apostles, Christ has given us an extra proof, if one were needed, of his own divine wisdom and of the divine origin of the Christian religion which we profess. Our religion is not man-made, God is its author. While thanking God today for our Christian religion, with its clearly drawn map of salvation, let us show our appreciation by doing our own little part, as humble apostles, weak but willing helpers of Christ. This we can do without eloquence, or personal prestige. We do so by living as true Christians in our homes, in our places of work, and in our recreations, by carrying our cross daily and patiently, ever ready to give a hand when the neighbor's cross seems too heavy for him. This will be Christian eloquence, this will be a true apostleship of Christ, because actions speak louder than words.-c092 Click to return to our Home page
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