Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2025

When I was a brand new priest, about a few years ago, I was stationed at Our Lady of Victory Basilica with a wonderful pastor. 

One night, as we were watching television in his sitting room, the doorbell rang at about 9. It was completely dark out and, so, I was too afraid to answer the door by myself, and, without hesitating, the pastor got up, walked downstairs and, like a little kid, I followed close behind wondering who could be at the door. 


I did feel a little comforted though because the front door of the rectory is a big sheet of glass and, so, one could easily see and speak to the person without opening the door. 


But, unfortunately, because the pastor was a few steps ahead of me, he was able to turn the corner and open the door before I was able to see who it was.


In my head, I was wondering why he didn’t first talk to whomever this was through the door to figure out if the person was friendly.


So, as I rounded the corner, I saw a towering, almost seven foot, very strongly built man, wearing work-boots, cargo pants, and a bulky coat. And I immediately experienced a feeling of helplessness. 


And this feeling of helplessness turned into terror because, in the span of about 30 seconds, I heard this man accuse the pope of being the antichrist, say that the church was the work of the devil, and then requested that we pour water on his head.


When the pastor asked how he got to our church, he said he walked all the way from ECMC.


I felt dread overcome me like never before. I was imagining the pastor being taken out in front of me and I was going to be next because there was no way I would be able to fight this guy off.


And as quickly as the conversation started, it ended, and the man walked out. 


…And, I think Isaiah felt similarly. In the first reading, Isaiah is having this vision of God, as if God had stepped through this prophet’s front door, and the feeling Isaiah felt was dread; terror. Isaiah, said, “Woe is me, I am doomed.”


Why did Isaiah feel this way? The reading explains: It’s because he wasn’t ready to die; he knew he wasn’t living right. 


Then, in the Gospel, Peter realized he himself was in the presence of God after Jesus performs this extraordinary work with the fish. Peter must have had a similar feeling as Isaiah; a feeling of impending judgment, and, so, Peter tells Jesus to leave due to how sinful he was.


But what happens for the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle Peter? God makes both of them worthy. 


Isaiah and Peter clearly had no time to do something in order to get back into God’s good graces. By no work of their own was Isaiah and Peter made worthy. Instead, in an instant, God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament makes the person worthy of Him and sends them to go to work.


…And that’s the truth for all of us: None of us are worthy to do anything for God; but God makes us ready by God’s own willing it.


…You are called to do something explicitly for God. 


I have done so many funerals where the extent of the deceased’s teaching their kids about God is that they sent them to a Catholic school. And when I ask about prayer, the kids admit their parent was not prayerful at all. 


Don’t end like that. God wants you to encourage others to have a relationship with Him, not just be a nice person, and not to just learn a bunch of commandments. Don’t go to meet God without doing anything explicitly for Him just because you don’t feel worthy. 


Simply ask God to work through you. Pray: “God, work through me.” 


You are not worthy but, if you are willing, God will make you a powerful servant of His.




Scripture readings for this day: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020925.cfm

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