Sunday, February 4, 2007
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time


A. We Are Called and Sent
B. The Rich Word of God



Is 6:1-8; Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11
Daily Gospel • Sundays Into Silence
Preaching the Word • A Certain Jesus

 

Greeting (See Second Reading)

By God's grace we are what we are.
May his grace not remain fruitless in us.
What matters is that we spread the Good News.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. We Are Called and Sent

If our faith is truly an integral part of our lives, we should be so much aware of its riches that we cannot keep it to ourselves. What we see in it, what we live in it, we want to share with others. If it makes us feel happy and secure in God, we realize it is given not only for ourselves. Let us make others happy and rich in fath: that is the vocation of every Christian. Let us ask the Lord here in the eucharist that we may bring him to others, at least by the way we live.

B. The Rich Word of God

It is fortunate that the new liturgy has opened the Bible for us. Not only do we hear it now in our own language but also the number and selection of texts read to us has improved immensely. No wonder many people now have a Bible and regularly read from it. Why do we read the Bible? Is it only to seek consolation in it or is it that we want to know God better, especially through encountering Jesus and his message? When we know God better, do we bring others closer to God? Jesus asks of us today to spread his word and message. Let us listen to him as he speaks to us.

Penitential Act

Before the all-holy God we are only sinners.
We ask him to cleanse our lips and our hearts
and to send us to make him known as our healing God.
         (PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you died for our sins
according to the Scriptures:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, on the third day
you rose to life to bring us your life:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, by your grace you call us
to be apostles of your Good News:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

In your mercy, Lord, forgive us
and let your grace not be fruitless in us.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray
that God may make us capable
of making his gospel credible
         (PAUSE)
Holy God of our happiness,
you entrust your Good News of life
to weak and fallible people.
Keep us from discouragement
and give us the strength to speak your message
with the language of our life.
Let Jesus your Son work with us and in us,
that each of us may have the courage to say:
Here I am, Lord,
send me as your messenger
to share your glad tidings of happiness
with all willing to listen.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

 

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: Here I Am, Send Me
         Isaiah believed in God's presence in the Temple but he did not expect to see a vision of the holy God. Moved by this experience, he accepted to become God's unworthy prophet.

First Reading: Is 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the Temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with.

They were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth.
All the earth is filled with his Glory!"

At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, "Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said,
"See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" I answered, "Here I am. Send me!"

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

R. (1c) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
"Great is the glory of the LORD."
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Second Reading Introduction: I Am an Apostle by the Grace of God
      Paul thought that by persecuting Christians he was defending God against a dangerous sect. Jesus took him by surprise and made him an apostle.

Second Reading Introduction: 1 Cor 15:1-11 or 15:3-8, 11

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles. And last of all, he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

Gospel Introduction: I Will Make You Fishers of People
      Peter and his companions were expert fishers. Jesus calls them to be expert fishers of people. They left everything to follow him.

Gospel Reading: Lk 5:1-11

One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats left at the water's edge by the fishermen now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon replied, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets." This they did and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, saying, "Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made and so were Simon's partners, James and John, Zebedee's sons.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on." So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

 

Commentary

Isaiah meets the Holy One in the temple and knows his own sinfulness. Yet he is seared with coals and his mouth is purged of wickedness. And in response to God's cry: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" he responds boldly: "Here I am, send me." And Isaiah goes forth. Paul reminds us that he has gone forth to preach the gospel that is saving us even now and that he hands on to us what he received. By God's favor, we are all what we are-what we are called to be by God to preach, each in our own time.
Jesus teaches by the lake then goes into one of the boats moored there (Peter's) and orders Peter to cast out-out in the deep-and let down the nets for a catch. They had fished all night and caught nothing (they fished trawling along the shore, afraid of the deep-they could not swim). Simon is afraid, but he obeys and they make a great catch. The first to be caught is Peter, falling on his knees, knowing he too is not worthy to be in the presence of Jesus. But all of them (and us) are told, "Do not be afraid, for now on you will be catching men and women." They left everything and became his followers. We too have been called. How are we doing with the catch? Have we left everything and become followers? Who do we preach to, with?

 

General Intercessions

As the people chosen by God, let us bring before our Father in heaven the needs and prayers of all people, and let us say: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

- For the pope and all bishops, called by God to be "fishers of people," that they may face with courage and hope the stormy waves of our time of renewal and continue without fear to preach the gospel of Christ, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people Lord.

- For missionaries, and all who spread the gospel, that by their own evangelical living and their openness to all they may bear witness to the universality and beauty of the message of Christ, we pray: R/ Listen to your people Lord.

- For those called by the Lord to his special service as priests or religious, that their own experience of Christ may be the source of their strength to remain faithful to God's call, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

- For all Christians, that they may have the courage to risk their comfort and personal peace to help prisoners and refugees, old parents, the sick and strangers, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

- For our Christian communities, that the celebration of the eucharist may commit us more and more to one another and give us the strength to work together to make our communities alive in Christ, let us pray: R/ Listen to your people, Lord.

Lord our God, we are but weak people. Make us fit to carry out any task you wish us to do, by the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the central event
that sums up our faith
and gives meaning to what we are and do:
the death and resurrection of your Son.
Purify our lips and hearts
with his body and blood
and send us to proclaim with our lives
that Jesus is our living Lord
and that you are our Father
now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

We praise God for the apostles, his privileged witnesses who became fishers of people, and with them we are willing to spread the Good News. In the "Holy, holy" we echo the words of the angels, whom Isaiah heard singing God's praise.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

In the words of Jesus who saved us
let us pray to the Father who calls and loves us
through the Spirit who guides us: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and meet us in the humility
of our sinful human condition.
Take away from us the fear
that we are too inadequate
to be messengers and instruments
of your forgiveness and love,
since it is you who call us.
Send us out to prepare in joyful hope
the coming in glory among his people
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lamb of God
who saved us from sin
by his death and resurrection.
We are not worthy to receive him,
but he purifies us and sends us
to proclaim his love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
in your love you have called each of us
to a task of life and a place in your plan
which no one else can fulfill for us;
you have chosen your Church
to be the irreplaceable sign and witness
of the death and resurrection of your Son.
Make each and all of us
capable of our mission
and send us out into the deep
by the strength of the body and blood
of our unique Savior,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

The Lord entrusts to you
his word and his body.
Go now, speak his word
and be his body to the world.
May the Lord bless you,
that you may be a blessing to all,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Go in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.

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Taken from Liturgy Alive for Sundays and Weekdays
Vatican II Weekday Missal
MP3 - The Concise Bible (Audio)
Christian Community Bible and Bible Diary 2006
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