Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

4th Sunday In Ordinary Time (February 1, 2004)

Suggested Emphasis

"Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man."

Salesian Perspective

We have every reason to believe that Peter was a very good fisherman. He would know how, when and where to catch fish. He would know all the good spots. He would know when to stick with a place; he would know when to move on to another. Perhaps most importantly, Peter would know that even the most successful fisherman sometimes comes home empty-handed.

Enter Jesus: a new face; a new name. While apparently a great teacher and healer, he was the last person from whom Peter would expect to receive fishing advice. Can anyone fault Peter for his initial skepticism?

Still, he relented. For whatever reason - an intuition about Jesus' power, a desire to show Jesus up - Peter and his colleagues returned to the deep water of the lake. And as we know, his reluctant second effort was rewarded with a catch far beyond his expectations.

This sudden and mysterious turn of events prompts Peter to consider his own sinfulness. In particular, perhaps his belief - understandably so - that he knew far more about fishing than Jesus; perhaps his hope of embarrassing Jesus; perhaps his own pride or bullheadedness; perhaps his resentment that Jesus had, in fact, been right after all.

Seems that Peter wasn't so perfect after all.

And yet, it is precisely this imperfect person (along with so many others) whom Jesus called to learn about, experience and share his love. Why?

St. Francis de Sales hits the nail on the head: Although he was subject to so many imperfections, St. Peter was chosen because, notwithstanding his defects, he was always filled with enough courage to take a second look at a situation. Peter had the courage to listen - however reluctantly - to Jesus' advice. Peter had the courage - after all, he would have appeared foolish to his colleagues - to follow Jesus' advice. Peter had the courage to confront his own arrogance. Ultimately, Peter had the courage to consider that sometimes God's wisdom flies in the face of human experience, opinions and expectations.

We, like Peter, are imperfect people. We, too, have our share of defects and shortcomings. Yet, Jesus calls us, as in the case of Peter, as we are, to be his disciples. Take heart: have the courage to name your gifts; have the courage to name your sinfulness; have the courage to learn from your successes; have the courage to learn from your failures.

Most importantly, have the courage to follow God's invitation no matter where, when or how it leads you.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is Executive Director of the
De Sales Spirituality Center in Washington, DCSuggested Emphasis

"Love rejoices in the truth…"

Salesian Perspective

Jeremiah wanted no part of being a prophet. This avocation seemed to be nothing but trouble, and with good reason: prophets of the past had a nasty habit of getting hassled; being rejected; getting beat up; sometimes, ending up dead. Nevertheless, God was adamant that Jeremiah live a prophetic life - that is, being willing to speak the truth, being able to tell it 'like it is' - and that God would sustain Jeremiah in the face of whatever opposition or dangers he might encounter.

No surprise that Jesus, too, experienced his share of opposition, hostility and rejection. As today's Gospel illustrates, speaking the truth - living the truth - sometimes stirs up its own share of hornets nests.

By virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation we, too, are called to live life in a prophetic manner. In the words of St. Paul, we "do not rejoice in what is false; we rejoice in the truth." As we all know, however, this is easier said than done. There are many occasions on any given day when we hesitate to tell the truth for any number of reasons: we don't want to cause trouble; we don't want to upset others; we don't want others to be angry with us; we don't want to be rejected; we want to be liked. And so, we measure our words; we speak in convoluted ways; we don't say what we mean; we don't mean what we say.

We lie.

Francis de Sales wrote: "Your language should be restrained, frank, sincere, candid, unaffected and honest. Be on guard against equivocation, ambiguity, or dissimulation." This does not give us the license to use blunt force when telling the truth: remember, Francis de Sales also tells us that we are more likely to win over other people with a teaspoon of honey rather than a gallon of vinegar. Wherever possible, we should speak the truth in a gentle, mild, simple and straightforward manner, avoiding the two extremes of being either mush-mouthed or vesuvial. In addition, telling it 'like it is' is not the same as 'letting it all hang out'. Francis continued: "While it is not always advisable to say all that is true, it is never permissible to speak against the truth."

Regardless of how much or little of the truth that we speak in a manner that is as calm, humble, gentle and respectful as humanly possible, the bottom line is that we cannot always predict - and certainly cannot control - how that truth will be heard or received by others. Perhaps it is no coincidence, then, that love not only "rejoices in the truth", but that it also requires patience; it also requires forbearance; it is not prone to anger; it does not brood over injuries; it ultimately requires "trust, hope and the power to endure."

Jesus promised us that "the truth will set you free." Jesus never promised us that it would always be easy.

Edmund F. Gordon is Director of Religious Education for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware.