It is the Lord

Today is First Friday and the Gospel is that of John telling how Peter decided to go fishing and six of the disciples joined him. They toiled all night without success. At dawn, Jesus was on the shore and called to them. When they said that they had caught nothing, Jesus told them to cast the net over the right side of the boat; they did it and could not pull the net up because it was so full. The disciple whom Jesus loved said, "It is the Lord." Peter immediately jumped into the sea to go to Jesus. Jesus had made a charcoal fire and had fish on it and bread, but Jesus asked for some of the fish they had just caught and then invited them to come and have breakfast.
I just love this story and can picture Jesus standing on the shore waiting for dawn to hail his friends who have worked so hard and have nothing to show for their labors. Then, Jesus not only gives them fish in abundance, but has a fire going and serves them breakfast. He must have come prepared with charcoal and bread and then caught the fish he had ready for them. I guess I like to think that Jesus is still rewarding us when we toil and do not seem to have accomplished much but He waits for us and has prepared some consolation for us.

I had a wonderful day yesterday. Right after Mass, seven of us left in the new bus that holds a wheel chair and two rows of three seats behind the driver and the front seat which was for our "Life Enrichment Director" and who really enriched my life be taking us to one of my very favorite places: the Villa Maria del Mar retreat house in Santa Cruz. The ocean was gorgeous and we had some sun before it became cloudy. We had lunch there and another half hour to enjoy the ocean and then drove home, but it was a wonderful day and very relaxing. I am also signed up for the whale watching outing next Thursday so the Lord is giving me great consolation in many ways.