Friends, welcome to Word on Fire, Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an apostolate dedicated

to the mission of evangelization, using media both old and new to share the faith on every

continent and to facilitate and encounter with Christ and His Church. The efforts of

Word on Fire engage the culture and bring the transformative power of God's Word where

it is most needed. Today we invite you to join Bishop Robert Baron as he preaches

the gospel and shares the warmth and light of Christ with each of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, the story of the miraculous draft of fishes in the gospel

of Luke, that's our gospel for this weekend, is a masterpiece in both the literary and

the spiritual sense, because in many ways the whole of the spiritual life can be read

off of this story. I've spoken often before about the powerful symbolism contained in

the simple act of Jesus getting into Simon's boat. Without being invited, without any

kind of preparation, Jesus simply gets into the fisherman's boat. This was to insinuate

himself in the most direct way possible into Simon's life, into his profession, into

his livelihood. That's what that boat represented. Again, think of someone just getting into

your car, without being asked, without being invited. How would you respond? I thought

you'd be a little bit alarmed. And then, without further ado, Jesus begins to give orders,

first telling Simon to put out from the shore, and then famously to go out into the deep.

This represents what I call the invasion of grace. Grace breaks into our lives, shakes

us up, confronts us. The single most important decision you will ever make, now listen to me,

because we make all kinds of decisions, you know, financial and familial, in terms of

our friendships, and they're all important. But the single most important decision you'll

ever make is this, will you cooperate with Jesus once he decides to get into your boat?

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