“When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11). of Thursday September 7, 2023

It took a miracle to convince the apostles to throw their lot in with Jesus. They must have seen something in this man from Nazareth to just up and quit the job they knew in order to take on a very different and perilous occupation. These poor, uneducated fishermen would cast a new kind of net to win over the hearts and minds of men and women eager for a new beginning, those yearning for a closer relationship with God. The apostles and the early Christians were amazingly heroic in accepting Jesus’ call to follow him. They stood up to the ruling elite and religious authorities, not with a powerful army, but with a powerful message. We are the grateful beneficiaries of that heroism. May we exhibit the same courage in our time.