Senior Jesuits at Jesuit Center, Wernersville

Senior Jesuits missioned to Prayer for the Society of Jesus

and residing in the Jesuit Center at Wernersville

(name and year of entrance into the Society)

George Aschenbrenner (1954), William Dawson (1946), James Lemon (1954),

John Martinez (1949), John McCaslin (1955), Edwin Sanders (1946)

LUKE 5: 1-11 (Gospel reading for Sunday, February 7, 2016)

…. Jesus sees two boats on the shore.  He distinguishes one from the other though each is suitable and he picks the boat belonging to Peter.  “Why me?   Why my boat?” The answer for us:  Jesus wanted us for particular service.   Besides he wanted us as companions.   As Peter, James and John left their former way of life, we parted from friends and the usual patterns of life that they followed.

Peter, it is written, knows himself unworthy.  He doubts his capacity for courage, loyalty, integrity.  Jesus does not argue with him but as always, the call is bolstered by a promise.  "Do not be afraid, I will make you a fisher of people."

Today The miraculous draught of fish becomes for us: the sum total of spiritual conversations; the Spirit that still enlivens our sacraments; our prayers in so many public places; the multitude of parishioners, students and others who passed before us.

The first call came to us when we were young.   But the call now is no less genuine, loving and urgent.    Genuine because Jesus has come to depend on us, loving because we have shown our love for him by our deeds and urgent because we and he together know more now about the threats to faith and justice than we knew as young men.

Today there are limits to our capacity to serve.   We serve one another in community, we serve others both in person and by means of communications, and we serve all those in need according to our prayer and our own witness to God’s love and mercy.   Perhaps the miraculous draught of fish lives more in memory than present action but still Jesus invites us:  “Do not be afraid, you have been, are and will be fishers of people.   I behold it all and I offer it to you for your consolation.”