Another Fish Fry - A Huge Catch of Mercy For YOU!!!

When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.”
So they cast it and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish.When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”  So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.




You know, I do not like fish so much so I guess that is why I wasn't allowed to be born during the time of Jesus as they seem to eat an awful lot of fish. Yes, I know that it can be very healthy for you but then again it's fish.  Anyway, once again Jesus appears to the disciples who it appears decided that the way to fulfill the legacy of Jesus was to go back to fishing.  Now, these were the men that went around with Jesus during His public ministry, three years they hung out with Him and they saw miracles galore, were taught wisdom that the temple gang had never thought of and still they went back to their old way of life.  Didn't they learn anything?  This was the third time he appeared in flesh and bone to them. What did Jesus have to do to prove to them that they had a living, breathing, and loving Messiah on their hands again?

Of course, Jesus knew what He was doing.  He knew he had a short time to jump-start His apostles and to get them moving in the right direction.  He knew that these men were working hard and getting nothing for their trouble.  He told them to put their nets out on the right side of the boat and that they would find something.  And boy, did they ever!  Their nets were full to the breaking!  When they counted the number of fish in the net it came to one-hundred-fifty-three fish.  Now, we all know that this number means something and in this case, it means something that means something!  153 just happened to be the number of different species of fish in the lake.  So, this was a symbol that the Apostles were going to bring the Church of Jesus to the whole world.  

These Apostles were a thick-headed lot at times but their hearts were in the right place.  To a man, they executed their mission to the best of their ability and all but one of them would be martyred for their faith in Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.  

We too are very thick-headed at times.  We have the whole story, we don't even have to guess and still, we wander off chasing soap bubbles that pop when we catch up to them instead of following Jesus.  What more can Jesus do that He hasn't already done?  Actually, He has done more.  This Sunday is Mercy Sunday.  The mercy of God is ready to rain down upon us.  Accept the mercy of God, if you haven't gone to confession, please do so, and follow it up with a communion if you can and gain a plenary indulgence for yourself or for one of the poor souls in Purgatory.  God is very much in love with you.  He will allow you to go your own way if that is what you want but it is His will that we all come to live with Him in the freedom of heaven.  

How to gain the indulgence this Sunday: 
This Plenary Indulgence is obtained by observing the usual dispositions that are in place for the granting of this grace through the Intercession of the Catholic Church, that is: Sacramental Confession (the confession may take place some days before), Holy Communion, to pray for the intentions of the pope (an Our Father and Hail Mary is minimum requirement), when the faithful detached from any sin, even venial, either:

• In any church or chapel take part in the prayers and devotions in honor of the Divine Mercy.
• In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, say an Our Father and Creed.

...in both cases, adding a devout prayer to the Merciful Lord (i.e. "Merciful Jesus, I trust in You.").