Trinity 5 – Desiring Hope

Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

1 St Peter 3:8-15 St Luke 5:1-11

“Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!
But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Feelings of dejection, often described as a state of melancholy, are familiar to many of us. The Bible recounts the experiences of various saints in Christ who faced deep sorrow and despair during the difficult process of growth in the life of virtues. Their souls were humbled (cf. Lamentations 3:20). However, these moments of emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering were transformed into opportunities for grace, hope and trust in the Lord’s power to heal. The lamentations of Job (Job 3:11) and Jeremiah, often referred to as "the weeping prophet," did not prevent them from finding hope in God's love.

Today’s epistle echoes this painful journey of virtue and purgation in our souls. It reads: "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed" (1 Peter 3:14). It is hope that gives us the strength to somehow transcend current suffering.

To attain a higher life of virtue, the desert fathers confronted the evils that afflicted their souls, as well as the anti-Christ influences of their time. Their resilience and courage increased in proportion to their hope in God. The desire for hope expands the capacity of our souls to embrace more of the fullness of God’s presence (cf. Saint Augustine).

“Desiring Hope” is our sacred concept and theme today. Our life as Christians is, in fact, an exercise of holy desire for God. We can glimpse our heavenly life, the blissful existence promised to us by God’s grace. However, due to our human frailty, in both our body and our mind, we are not fully capable of knowing what we truly long for. Yet, the very act of desiring prepares us to encounter Jesus in our limited way, so that when He comes, we may rest in the heavenly life with Him.

We try to love differently and seek out ways to increase our heavenly joy and fellowship, but our human frailty may lead to disappointment. Only our expectant desire and hope in the Lord and in His promises can enable us to believe that we can fully participate in the heavenly banquet, even while still enduring human frailty and passions here on earth for now.

Today’s reading contrasts dejection with its remedy: hope. Contrary to feelings of dejection, such as sadness, meaninglessness, or discouragement, the concept "Happy are you," μακαριος (makarios), from today’s Epistle, echoes the joy of the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew and reflects hope in the Lord’s heavenly promises. There is indeed a blessing and feeling of hope associated with purgation, the painful inward birth of the life of virtues.

Saint Peter experienced dejection, frustration, and distress during the purgation of his soul, his words echo in our minds: “Master, we caught nothing.” Jesus enhanced the strength from his soul and gave him a desire to hope for a more fulfilled life and ministry together with Jesus. Saint Peter presented himself to Jesus, just as many of us do when we need hope and strength, which our Lord graciously provides. Fear not! (cf. David Phillips).

One can reflect on what happened before Saint Peter's restoration and appointment as the first leader of the Church (Matthew 16:19). Scriptures show that Peter faced fears, anxiety, doubt, and denial. He urged Jesus not to take up the cross, struggled with fear that prevented him from walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33), and withdrew from fellowship with Gentile believers. Did foreigners, unlike Saint Paul, intimidate him? Additionally, Peter, along with others, tried to keep children away from our Lord and master Jesus (Mark 10:13-14).

Saint Ambrose's message remains relevant today: we should not ignore the divine power to heal us. Jesus offers that holistic healing. The disheartened disciples on the road to Emmaus found hope when Jesus joined them, embodying what Pope Francis referred to as a “therapy of hope”. What could this therapy of hope look like? How can we frame it in today’s readings and make it live in our daily life?

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First, while Jesus instructed all the disciples present to let down their nets, only Peter was urged to venture into the deep with the command “Duc in altum.” (Go deeper into your inner spiritual life!). This could mean that the journey toward our well-being and salvation can be quite personal; personal growth can equate to a therapy guided by Jesus and His divine words.

Second, the setting of today’s gospel is Gennesaret, which means “garden of riches” or “protected garden.” Our encounter with Jesus and His “therapy of hope” begins in this “protected garden,” offering a moment of divine enrichment, illumination, and transformation, resonating with our baptism.

Third, we observe Jesus moving from the beach, a public space, to a boat, which provides a more private setting for His teachings. The choice of location, a safe, non-judgmental environment, is crucial for building a strong “therapeutic alliance” with Christ in prayer. The therapy session involves meeting Jesus in prayer, the master initiator and wounded healer of that “protected garden.” Wounded on the cross, He was exalted through His death and resurrection, becoming a divine healer by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In our moment of Oratio (Asking questions during prayer), one might ask: How did Peter cope with the wounds from the pain of denial?

Did that comforting “barbecue breakfast” by the beach provide Peter with an opportunity to viscerally remember his painful emotions, feelings of denial, and guilt in a moment of divine remembrance? Did the question, “Do you love me more than these?” help jump-start the healing process, prompting him to revisit his hidden weaknesses through the lens of faith?

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After His resurrection, Jesus did not conduct a typical therapy session with Peter, where he analysed Peter's past and present behaviours to find coping mechanisms. Instead, one question ushered in healing for Peter: “Do you love me more than these?”

My dear brothers and sisters, the same question Jesus may ask us today: Do you love me more than these? We need God’s love to help us navigate through our failures and troubles. As we come to this Ascension Church, this heavenly boat, we participate in the Lord’s banquet and experience divine and spiritual therapy. We bring our doubts, fears, and suffering for righteousness' sake.

The nets of the fishermen were empty, much like the emptiness and meaninglessness we sometimes experience. Our efforts to achieve peace in our hearts—to cultivate unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble spirit—may sometimes feel unsuccessful.

We may recall moments of humiliation, torture, and abuse that we may have witnessed or experienced. Our bodies may still hold these traumas and fears, ready to surface at any time. These moments shape our lives, influencing how we live, love, and perceive the world around us. At times, like Simon Peter, we might have said, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! You alone can heal the grief of our hearts.” We may pray and silently shout inwardly, as Saint Ambrose of Milan did: “I have found a Physician (Jesus) who secures me in the bonds of Your love. He dwells in Heaven and distributes His healing on earth. He alone can heal my pains, for He has none Himself. He alone, who knows what is hidden, can take away the grief of my heart and the fear of my soul.

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Vademecum (Join me) on a journey of hope this week, moving from discouragement to recognising the blessings from our living God in six sessions:

On day 1: The first session is to build trust. I will invite Jesus into my daily activities, just as He did with the fishermen. He trusts me, so I will trust Him. This trust allows me to share my feelings of shame, fear, and isolation openly.

On day 2: As I embrace change and envision a brighter future with Jesus; in this session, I will reflect on Jesus’ question to the fishermen: “Children, do you have any fish?” (John 21:5). I will explore the “net of my heart” to identify my gifts and talents, my friends, my family, my church, my network, focusing on the good things that the Lord has given me.

On day 3: I will allow Jesus to challenge my understanding of being a Christian and the way I pray. Jesus questioned the fishermen's fishing techniques, instructing them: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” This was because the right side had previously failed to provide what their hearts desired. The grace I seek today is to ask: Is there a way for me to improve how we encounter the Lord so that I may fully enjoy His blessings upon me? Is there an extra mile I should walk? What challenging, evil thoughts and behaviours need the Lord's attention?

On day 4: I will contemplate the various paths that God provides for us to experience His blessings and healing in our daily lives. Christian tradition teaches us three essential actions for happiness: forgive, pray, and always bless.

On day 5: I will pray to Jesus, asking that my past, worries, fears, and history of dejection be replaced by the trust of God's timing.

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We have come today to press in on Jesus to hear the word of God, just as the crowd did in today’s Gospel.

On the table of the word, he nourishes us with the word of God, the potent sword, helping us cut out what is corrupt in us and pave the way for the inward planting of the eternal seeds of the word of God.

Then on the table of the Eucharist, he miraculously fed us with fish. Like Simon Peter did, we can now present to Jesus our ongoing grief and affliction so that He may somehow heal our pain, sorrows or traumas that even our human bodies cannot fully reject.

Time to signal others, as the disciples did, to take part in the celebration of what Jesus did for us once and for all; in the mystery that marvels us and alleviates the fear of our souls and gives us hope.

Amen +