St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Weekly Bulletin and Mass Intentions

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

By the Fathers of the Church

EXPOSITION FROM THE CATENA AUREA

V. 7. And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship.

Unable to speak with astonishment at the haul of fish, he calls them with a sign. Their help is then spoken of. And they came, and filled both the ships.

AUGUSTINE, Harmony of the Gospels, 4, 9: John is seen to narrate a similar miracle. But it is a far different one, taking place long after, following the Lord's Resurrection, by the sea of Tiberias (Jn. xxi. 1-11). In this second account not only is the time widely different, but the event is also. For there the net was cast on the right side of the ship, and they caught a definite number, one hundred and fifty-three fishes; also they were great fishes. And the Evangelist was careful to say that though they caught so many, yet the net was not broken: making reference in this way to the former time when, as Luke relates, because of the multitude of the fishes their net broke.

AMBROSE: Mystically, the ship of Peter, according to Matthew, is tossed about by the waves; and according to Luke, is filled with fishes: That you may know that the beginnings of the Church are tempestuous, and know also of her later abundance. This ship which belongs to Peter is not tossed about; but that ship which holds Judas is. Peter is in both; but he who is secure through his own merits is endangered because of others. Let us beware of a traitor, lest through one among us many be threatened by the waves. Where there is little faith there is confusion and distress; where love is perfect there is peace. Lastly, while the others were bidden to cast their nets, only to Peter is it said to, Launch out into the deep.

What is so deep as to know the Son of God? What are the nets of the Apostles which He commands them to let down, if not the forms of words, and as it were certain inflections of speech, and the subtleties of argument, by which they hold those that come to their nets. And aptly is it said that the Apostles use nets in their fishing, since these do not injure but retain the fish they catch. And they bring upwards to heavenly things those who before were tossing about in the depths. And Peter says: Master, we have laboured all night, and have taken nothing. For this is not a task for human eloquence; but the work of a divine vocation. They who before had caught nothing, at the word of the Lord take a great multitude of fishes.

CYRIL: This event was a figure of the future. For they shall not labour in vain who let down the net of the Gospel preaching, but shall gather in the peoples of the Gentiles. AUGUSTINE, Questions on the Gospels II, 2: That the nets broke, and the ships filled with a multitude of fishes, so that they were almost sinking signifies, that so great will be the numbers of carnal men in the Church, that it would be torn by the disruption of Her peace through heresies and schisms.

BEDE: The net was broken, but the fish do not escape: for the Lord preserves His own amid the trials of persecution. AMBROSE: The other ship is Judaea, from out of which James and John are chosen. These therefore come from the Synagogue to the ship of Peter, that is, to the Church, that they may fill both ships; for all, whether Jew or Greek, bend the knee at the Name of Jesus.

BEDE: Or, the other ship is the Church of the Gentiles, and it also is filled with the fish of the elect; one ship not being enough. For the Lord knoweth who are his (II Tim. ii. I9); and with Him the number of the elect is a certain number. And when He does not find in Judaea as many believers as He knows are predestined to eternal life, seeking another ship as a receptacle as it were for His fish, He fills the hearts of the Gentiles also with His grace. And well do they call to the neighbouring ship when the net broke, since Judas the traitor, Simon Magus, Ananias and Sapphira, and many of the disciples went away. And later Paul and Barnabas were set apart for work among the Gentiles.

AMBROSE: We may well understand by the other ship another church; since from one church many others are founded. CYRIL: He beckons to his companions to help him. For many succeed to the labours of the Apostles; first those who have brought out the writings of the Gospels; next the other bishops and pastors; and then those who are skilled in the teaching of the Truth.

BEDE: The filling of these ships goes on to the end of the world. The fact that when filled they are almost sinking, are, that is, low in the water (for they are not sunk but endangered), the Apostle explains when he says:

In the last days there shall be perilous times, and men shall be lovers of themselves (II Tim. iii. 1). For ships sink when men fall back into the world from which they have been called by faith, and this because of their evil way of life.

V. 8. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees . . .

CYRIL: For mindful of the sins he has committed he is in fear and trembling, and thinks that, stained as he is, he cannot endure the presence of the Pure: for he had learned through the Law to distinguish between what was holy and what was defiled.

GREGORY OF NYSSA: For when He commanded them to lower the nets, the number of fishes taken was as great as the Lord of the sea and land willed. For the Voice of the Word is the Voice of Power, at Whose command light and all other creatures came forth at the beginning of the world. Peter is astonished at this miracle; for we read that: VV. 9, 11. He was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes they had taken. And so were also James and John . . .

AUGUSTINE, Harmony of the Gospels, 2, 17, 37: Luke does not mention Andrew by name; nevertheless, from the accounts of both Matthew and Mark he is understood to be in the ship. And Jesus said to Simon: fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men. AMBROSE: Let you also say: Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man, so that the Lord may say to you also: Fear not; for the Lord is forgiving, to those who confess their sin. See how good the Lord is, Who gives so much to men that they too have the power of giving life. For from this we have what follows: From henceforth you shall catch men.

Cuarto Domingo Después Pentecostés

Palabras de los Padres de la Iglesia

EXPOSICIÓN DE LA CATENA AUREA

V. 7. Y hicieron señas a sus compañeros que estaban en la otra barca.

Incapaz de hablar por el asombro ante la pesca obtenida, los llama con una señal. Se menciona entonces la ayuda que prestaron. Y vinieron, y llenaron ambas barcas.

AGUSTÍN, *Armonía de los Evangelios*, 4, 9: Parece que Juan narra un milagro semejante. Pero se trata de uno muy distinto, ocurrido mucho tiempo después, tras la Resurrección del Señor, junto al mar de Tiberíades (Jn 21, 1-11). En este segundo relato, no solo difiere enormemente el momento, sino también el acontecimiento mismo. Pues allí la red se echó por el lado derecho de la barca y pescaron un número concreto: ciento cincuenta y tres peces; además, eran peces grandes. Y el Evangelista tuvo cuidado de señalar que, aunque pescaron tantos, la red no se rompió, haciendo así referencia a la ocasión anterior en que, como relata Lucas, la red se rompió debido a la multitud de peces.

AMBROSIO: Místicamente, la barca de Pedro —según Mateo— es sacudida por las olas; y —según Lucas— se llena de peces: para que sepas que los comienzos de la Iglesia son tempestuosos, y conozcas también su abundancia posterior. Esta barca que pertenece a Pedro no es sacudida; pero aquella barca que lleva a Judas, sí lo es. Pedro está en ambas; pero quien está seguro por sus propios méritos corre peligro a causa de los demás. Guardémonos del traidor, no sea que, por culpa de uno solo entre nosotros, muchos se vean amenazados por las olas. Donde hay poca fe, hay confusión y angustia; donde el amor es perfecto, hay paz. Por último, mientras a los demás se les manda echar las redes, solo a Pedro se le dice: «Adéntrate en lo profundo».

¿Qué hay más profundo que conocer al Hijo de Dios? ¿Qué son las redes de los Apóstoles que Él les manda echar, sino las formas de las palabras —por así decirlo, ciertas inflexiones del discurso— y las sutilezas de la argumentación, con las que retienen a aquellos que llegan a sus redes? Con acierto se dice que los Apóstoles emplean redes en su pesca, pues estas no hieren a los peces que atrapan, sino que los retienen. Y elevan hacia las cosas celestiales a aquellos que antes se agitaban en las profundidades. Y Pedro dice: «Maestro, hemos trabajado toda la noche y no hemos pescado nada». Pues esta no es una tarea de elocuencia humana, sino obra de una vocación divina. Aquellos que antes nada habían pescado, a la palabra del Señor capturan una gran multitud de peces.

CIRILO: Este suceso prefiguraba el futuro. Pues no trabajarán en vano quienes lancen la red de la predicación evangélica, sino que recogerán a los pueblos de los gentiles. AGUSTÍN, *Cuestiones sobre los Evangelios* II, 2: El hecho de que las redes se rompieran y las barcas se llenaran con tal multitud de peces que casi se hundían, significa que será tan grande el número de hombres carnales en la Iglesia, que esta se verá desgarrada por la ruptura de su paz a causa de herejías y cismas.

BEDA: La red se rompió, pero los peces no escaparon: pues el Señor preserva a los suyos en medio de las pruebas de la persecución. AMBROSIO: La otra barca representa a Judea, de donde son elegidos Santiago y Juan. Estos, por tanto, pasan de la Sinagoga a la barca de Pedro —es decir, a la Iglesia— para llenar ambas barcas; pues todos, ya sean judíos o griegos, doblan la rodilla ante el nombre de Jesús.