BECOMING A TRUE MISSIONARY
READINGS: I PETER 4:7B-11 / PS. 96:1-2A.2B-3.7-8A9-10AC / LK. 5:1-11
Luke’s story of Jesus calling the first disciples is unique among the synoptic Gospels. While Mark and Matthew speak of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee and abruptly calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow him (Matt 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20), only Luke tells the story of a miraculous catch of fish preceding the call, which perhaps was an emblem of the triumph of the good news Jesus brought. So amazed by the abundant catch of fish, Simon was caught by surprise and immediately he was humbled by his unworthiness. Jesus responds to Simon saying, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (5:10).
Jesus figuratively catches Peter in His net before commanding him to “catch men” for the Kingdom of God. He calls Simon and his partners to a new vocation of catching people so that they might live. Beloved in Christ the primary mandate of our vocation is to be fishers of men and not fishermen. Men are getting drowned in this world of sin. It is the mission of the Church and all of us to lead them to salvation.
This mission and vocation demand that each of us like in Lk.5:3-4 “put out a little away from the shore” in order to “put out into the deep water”. This is exactly the goal of our formation. In formation we are set apart not for us to fall apart; but for us to learn how to throw our net very well for a great catch. Again, to have a great catch we must cultivate a deep interior life because like Simon we may have the tendency to give up in the face of failures; like Simon we may claim to be masters of our fields; but Jesus directed him on what to do. Every one of us needs direction, irrespective of our expertise. Through spiritual direction we cultivate our interior life to always listen to Jesus to be able to stand the failures and challenges in mission.
Basically, the gospel confronts us with true missionary spirit. Jesus was in the synagogue in the previous chapter; now he is at the lakeside catching souls and of course eventually he will be preaching at the road side.
Beloved in Christ true missionaries leave their comfort zone; they reach out to people, they go in search for the lost sheep. St Patrick whose feast we celebrate today was a true missionary. He evangelized Ireland where he was once enslaved. He went around the remote places building churches and spreading the faith. The success of St. Patrick in Ireland was so much that it led to the growth of many vocations of priests and religious who eventually evangelized Africa.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries the Missionaries from Ireland were present in Nigeria. We cannot relegate the impact of great men like Bishop Shannahan, Bishop Patrick Kelly, Bishop Margetric. In fact the whole of South-South was basically evangelized by missionaries from Ireland and SMA fathers they established schools like St Patrick College in Calabar and in Asaba. The then Irish Bishops in Nigeria named St. Patrick, who is said to have died on March 17 in the year 461, as the Country’s Secondary patron in 1961, the same year Ireland opened its embassy in Lagos.
By and large, what we are today as a Church in Nigeria is because of the labour and efforts of these Irish men who were once evangelized by St. Patrick. Therefore, it is our prayer that through his intercession we may develop true missionary spirit that will help us to evangelize irrespective of comfort. God bless you. Amen.
NOTE: Saint Patrick is one of the most famous Saints in the history of the Church. He is the patron saint of Ireland, Australia, Nigeria and Montserrat Getty. In 1961, the same year Ireland opened an embassy in Lagos, Irish bishops named St Patrick the patron saint of Nigeria because of his profound impact on millions of Nigerians who hold him in high regard as a symbol of faith and resilience.
As for the SNAKES in his picture. Legend has it that during a 40-day fast he observed on top of a hill (Emerald Isle), the slithering reptiles started attacking him and the patron saint of Ireland chased them into the sea and till date, it is said that snakes are not found in that region any longer.
A legend is viewed as a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated. So talking about the snakes; research suggests that snakes never occupied the Emerald Isle in the first place.
ST PATRICK, Patron of Nigeria Pray for us🙏
