5th Sunday in Ordinary Time February 7^th, 2010 Two weeks ago we talked about the importance of coming to Mass on time. We said that we need to listen to God’s word. We need to listen to God and pay attention to Him. This action is more remarkable than what we can imagine.

Today the Gospel says that many people wanted to listen to Jesus. Jesus had an idea about how He could help those around Him to hear Him better. “Getting into Simon’s boat, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore,” and sitting he taught the crowds. I like to imagine this scene. People were fascinated by Jesus’ words and followed everything He said. Something else happened beyond their fascination with his Words, and this something else happened to them while they were listening.

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.” Jesus's instructions did not make sense to them. Peter was a fisher. He knew what he was talking about when he said that their act would be futile, but then again, something happened to him-he felt something, and responded to Jesus, “at your command I will lower the nets.” By listening to the Lord Jesus, Peter was able to believe in Jesus and obey Him.

“When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing”. God blessed his obedience. This was obedience expressed in actions. Saint Paul talks about the importance of doing what we believe when he told the Corinthians: “Through the Gospel you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain”.

When we fulfill God’s will, we make it possible for Him to bless us. God's blessings in our lives are truly amazingly. In the gospel, God blessed the apostles with an abundance of fish; so much fish that,“They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking”.

Something else also happened to Peter: “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Simon Peter had a religious experience, an experience of God. He could see God’s greatness, and therefore, his own smallness. As a result of this divine experience, Peter and his partners had this holy experience that helped them to leave everything behind to go and follow Jesus. By meditating on this passage, I see the importance of listening to God, doing His will, and receiving His blessing. Otherwise, we will not have people who are able, like Peter and his companions, to leave everything and follow Him. If people do not listen to God, then we will not have priests and religious.

Today's Gospel is wonderful because it reminds us about the importance of being attentive to God. We should pay attention to God not only because that is what we are supposed to do, but also because He blesses us for our obedience and gives us strength to move forward. Only after listening to Him are we able to fulfill His will. It does not matter if it is hard to listen or to obey God – we need to listen and obey him. By so doing, we fulfill His will for us and gain access to a new level of spiritual growth. We need to do God's will so that God can act through us, and so that we can receive the blessings He has prepared for us.