A young girl holds two fish that were given to her from the bounty fishermen brought to shore from the Indian Ocean on this date.
The small Catholic church in Trivandrum, Kerala state, India was filled with mostly women on this second Sunday in February. Many of the young men were in their boats on the ocean as they needed to fish. Since the first of the year, the catch from the Indian Ocean near southern India was sparse.
Shortly after Mass as I was finishing lunch I heard the flip-flop-sounds of many sandals rapidly slapping the pavement outside the convent. People were scurrying toward the orange-sand beach where fishermen were unloading bountiful yields of fish.
Many who surveyed the mounds of began to talk about the Gospel from Mass on this day – Luke 5: 1-11. After a barren night at sea, Jesus instructed Simon, James and John to set out again and lower their nets. Reluctantly they did as told and were astonished when their nets became filled beyond capacity. Afterward, Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Luke, Chapter 5:1-11
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fel