means nothing when all is fabricated.”
How can I, on this Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reconcile my commitment to On Care for Our Common Home—knowing that #nothing in this world is indifferent to us—with the disheartening response I received when my accusations of clergy abuse at St. Mary’s Cathedral were dismissed by Bishop Zurek as “proof means nothing when all is fabricated,” and with his decision to allow a memorial by a convicted pedophile priest in honor of a bishop who made a “serious mistake,” as well as his unwillingness to drive across town to his own Cathedral and park in his rarely used reserved parking spot for an ordinary Friday 7AM Mass (even as the Synod reminds me that “there is nothing higher than this baptismal dignity”), all while I watch the warm fountain at “The Glenn” flow in this season, only to wonder if a change in the weather will freeze it up again—Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but…❓
Lectio Divina on the word “nothing“
Reading I
Other than my oldest son’s suffering from stage four pancreatic cancer, nothing weighs more heavily on my soul than the silence that meets my cries for justice. I spoke out, yet my words were cast aside, dismissed as fabrications, as if nothing had ever happened. The weight of truth is unbearable when it is buried beneath indifference. Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!”—doomed to watch as those in power protect themselves while the innocent remain unheard.
Responsorial Psalm
Nothing in this world is indifferent to us, and yet, I see how easily the cries of the wounded are ignored. The earth itself sings of God’s justice, the heavens proclaim His glory, but those who should listen turn away. Can I still find the strength to lift my voice and proclaim what is true❓ In the sight of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord. Even when my voice trembles, even when I stand alone, I will sing.
Reading 2
Nothing should be more important than truth, yet truth itself is often sacrificed for convenience. I was told that I lacked the knowledge to see clearly, that I must trust those who hold authority over me. But faith demands more than blind obedience—it calls for integrity, for steadfastness. I must hold fast to the word that has been preached to me even when it is inconvenient. What others handed on to me as of first importance is what I also received—but what do I do when those who should guard this truth twist it to their own ends❓
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia. Nothing seems to change, but I am not called to despair. Christ did not choose only those with power; he called the ordinary, the weary, the overlooked. He calls me, even in my frustration and exhaustion. Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. If I trust in that call, if I cast my nets once more, perhaps I will find that what I seek is still within reach. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening
to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
dignity, equally bestowed upon each person, through which we are invited to clothe ourselves
with Christ and be grafted onto Him like branches of the one vine.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
Nothing I have done has yielded the justice I long for, but is it for me to measure success❓ Is it my place to decide when the work is finished❓ The fountain at The Glenn flows today, but the cold may yet come again. Is my work like that—flowing for a time, then freezing, only to thaw once more❓ Can I find the faith to cast my net again, even when all my efforts have seemed in vain❓
Nothing in this world is indifferent to us
THE SUBTITLE TO THE FIRST PART OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME