The first reading today seems even more complex. It is the conclusion of what Paul has been giving me this week. In an easier manner to follow, St. Ignatius expresses the same idea in the Principle of Foundation of his Spiritual Exercises: God is the center of all that I do, and Christ is God. Whatever leads me to him, I follow; what pulls me away, I banish.
In the Gospel Christ gives Peter, the first pope, his vocation: to be a fisher of men, which was the same vocation that the Father gave to his son at the Incarnation, and it is the same one given to each and every one of us: to be for others.
Peter had been following Jesus for some time. It was only when Peter realized that he was a sinner that he fell at Jesus’ knees and learned what his vocation was. The lesson here: it is when we acknowledge that we are sinners before the one who redeems us that we come to know our vocations and are given the power to follow.
Resolve: I shall pray to the Lord I have been following since my baptism to show me that I am a sinner. I shall desire to know how he calls me to fulfill my vocation so that I may bring myself and others closer to him and know his will for me.