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The Time After Pentecost
exalt them. When the day of eternity dawns, they will see the “very great multitude of fishes”
they have taken, and will be amazed at the power of the Lord, which has made their humble
efforts so fruitful and successful.
“The multitude pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God” (Gospel). And Jesus entered
into a boat that was Peter’s and taught them from the boat. We are the people of the Gospel
who press upon Jesus to hear the word of God, and He speaks to us from the bark of Peter. If we
would have the word of God preached to us with fidelity and fruitfulness, then we must come
to the bark of Peter, the Catholic Church. She is infallible, “the pillar and ground of the truth”
(1 Tm 3:15). The Holy Ghost resides in the Church, and He has been given to her in order that
He may teach her “all truth” ( Jn 16:13). Behind Peter and his successors and assistants there
stands the imposing figure of the Lord Himself. We cannot be misled by the Church, by the
popes, bishops, and priests, for the Lord Himself is with them. He speaks through them to us:
“He that heareth you, heareth Me” (Lk 10:16).
We may with confidence entrust ourselves to the net which Peter and his helpers cast out to
take us. In this net we shall be brought to the Lord, and we shall find “the way, the truth, and the
life” ( Jn 14:6). There, too, we shall find a life of grace and the right to eternal life in heaven. With
Peter and the Church we may rejoice while we sing, “The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? My enemies
that trouble me have themselves been weakened and have fallen” (Introit). In the Church, the
net of Peter, we find the holy mysteries, the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, by means
of which we shall be cleansed from our sins (Postcommunion), and shall receive an increase
of grace and the possession of divine life. In the Church “the Lord is my firmament, and my
refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper” (Communion).
Today we should thank God, who, through Peter and His Church and His priesthood, has
rescued mankind from the perdition into which it had fallen through Adam’s sin. We should
thank Peter and the Church and the priesthood that they have so faithfully complied with the
commission given to them by Christ to “catch men.”
On this day we should commit ourselves in loving confidence to Peter and the Church over
which he has been placed. Through Peter we obtain the truth, the forgiveness of our sins, grace,
and salvation. “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church” (Mt 16:18). “He that
heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me” (Lk 10:16). “I believe in the
one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”
Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered
by Thee that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in quiet devotion. Through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Monday
At one time the fourth Sunday after Pentecost was called the Sunday before the feast of SS. Peter
and Paul. It is somewhat like a feast in preparation for that of the apostles. The Gospel relates
the story of the miraculous draught of fishes, the appointment of the apostles to be fishers of
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