Everything is a gift from God!

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people. (Mt 4: 12-23)

The fisherman, more than anyone else, knows not to take God’s gifts for granted, starting from what is essential to meditating in times of silent anticipation, he thanks Him in advance for a successful catch. In fact, the fisherman does not sow seeds like a farmer, and thus the fish he catches are received even more so as a pure gift. For this reason, Jesus chooses these, unrefined but profound men to be the first witnesses of His love, to announce His love to others using the qualities they have developed in their work: the same laborious experience, the sense of trust, and constantly giving thanks. When we pray incessantly for our priests, may we seek to have the same simple but true love the fishermen had.