The Second Sunday of the Blessed Month of Paope

For this Sunday, the Readings tell us how rich the grace of the Lord and Savior is! 

So the Psalms tell how the grace is shielding all the peoples: “Let all the peoples praise You.” (Vesper Psalm) – “Thus I will bless You while I live” (Morning one) – so covering the earth; even the whole creation as well: “All the earth shall worship You” (that of the Liturgy). 

In addition, the Psalms expound how the riches of the grace come through: it comes through praising Him and bearing Him witness: 

“Let all the peoples praise You.” (Vesper Psalm). 

Such riches also comes through singing, praising and thanksgiving: 

Thus I will bless You while I live” (Morning Psalm). 

Then all souls give Him all glory, worshipping His holy name: 

“Make the voice of His praise to be heard. All the earth shall worship You” (Liturgy Psalm). 

Consequently, the Vesper Gospel shows the essence of the grace, and of those who with which are filled: 

“’Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend them…’” 

That, Man would never be caring for his rights only, but also seeking the salvation of others, even avoiding all things which might be offending or hindering the path of their salvation. 

The readings reveal the spring of the grace of the New Testament: the Incarnate Word (Pauline Epistle), the characteristics of those filled with it (Catholicon), and its riches given to all nations and peoples (Praxis). 

The Pauline Epistle explains what the riches of the grace of the New Testament is: 

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels”. For Christ , to whom be all glory, is our treasure hidden in the fields of our hearts; just as Saint Paul shows where the springs of grace run from: from the daily dying of the lusts of the body with its evil desires: 

“Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Moreover, the strongest evidence of the riches of the grace borne within us is to be manifested when we know that all things we have, work for building up the others, so that they may increasingly thank God, whom only is worthy of all glory: 

“For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” 

Nevertheless the Catholicon shows in what character and nature may be those who are filled with that grace; those who work goodness, with wisdom full of meekness, purity, mercy, and abundant fruitfulness: 

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”; also the peacemakers and the lowly in heart: 

“Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace… ‘But [God] gives grace to the humble.’” More important are those who resist the lusts of the body and the love of the world: 

“Whoever therefore wants to bee a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’? But He gives more grace.” 

Then comes Praxis to show the work of the ministration and the church with her preachers and servants – by grace: 

“From there they sailed to Antioch, were they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.” 

So also it reveals the riches of the grace for all nations and peoples: 

“And that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles… So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.” 

To end up comes the Liturgy Gospel with the most prominent miracle of the riches of the grace, crowning the weariness and darkness of the whole night… that when we had nothing to reap, when our human experience had nothing to do for to save us, the Gospel comes to announce that as we hear His voice and speech, so He will come up to our boat; as we, by the simplicity of faith, receive His commandments and precepts – launching out into the deep – our nets of our life and service will be full of His grace. Thus we shall pour upon the others’ lifeboats and ships – of the flow of the goodness of His grace filling that of ours. When He calls us to forsake all, we should submit all that we own to Him: 

“Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s… When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’… ‘O Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish… So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”