Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2/6

Dear Friends,

Today's Gospel reminds me that God often surprises us. It's a simple truth but one that I often forget! God is so much bigger than us and I believe that we should have an interior disposition of allowing ourselves to be surprised. This docility and openness calls to mind the words of St. Paul in Romans Chapter 12 to be "transformed by the renewal of your mind". In today's passage, St. Peter was certainly not expecting the enormous catch of fish after he had worked hard all night and caught nothing. So often, we project our own expectations onto God and forget that He can do things that we could never even imagine!

If there is a desire in your heart or a conflict that you would like resolved, I invite you to entrust it to the Lord - along with your expectations. When we open our minds and surrender, the Holy Spirit truly does incredible things. Even if you know exactly what you want and how it should be, I invite you to hand that over to Him as well.

May we be "astonished" at the Lord's work - just as the Apostles were in today's Gospel!

~Amy Bishop