R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

cf. Psalm 27:1a (this is a great phrase in times of trouble to meditate on. Do you believe? Can you trust in God?

Come, Follow Me

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.

Then, Jesus calls James and John. Jesus finds both sets of brothers working. Now, Jesus asks them to use their talents of fishing for spreading the gospel. He asks them to drop everything and follow Him. What are the qualities of their work? Perseverance, hope, strength, knowledge of the sea and mending of nets are just some of the things they needed to catch fish.

Talking to kids today, I gave some ways to remember the brothers with their first initials – PAJJ. We used our 4 fingers to say their names in order, over and over again. PETER – ANDREW – JAMES – JOHN. You could turn it into a song! It helps you remember!

Where I live, it’s gently snowing. We talked about our Baptism and becoming new and clean in this Sacrament. We ‘put on Christ’ in a white garment. Jesus is ‘coloring’ the world with snow and making things new again. Have you looked at a snowflake lately? They are amazing and beautiful. How about the sparkle on top of the snow. If it doesn’t snow where you live, there are great ice experiments for kids on the internet! Or, has anything in your freezer grown ice crystals? Something is happening all the time. God is working. He’s healing, comforting, guiding, leading, calling and loving you today.

Listen for the call and watch for the evidence of God everywhere. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone. Look for beauty, truth and goodness! Thank God for everything! Gratitude is contagious and brings you peace, too!

What kind of ‘work’ do you do? How can you use your gifts to follow Jesus? The Holy Spirit is just waiting to help us figure it out! Pray and ask God to show you how you can help Him this week. Can you tell the story of Jesus calling the Apostles to be fishers of men? What story is God writing with your life?

Get your daily Mass Readings at http://www.usccb.org! 

Picture credit: Unsplash

<a href=”https://unsplash.com/@zoltantasi?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText”>Zoltan Tasi</a> on <a href=”https://unsplash.com/s/photos/old-boat?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText”>Unsplash</a&gt;