CHAPTER XIX Of the meal taken by Christ with those same disciples of His
CHAPTER XIX
Of the meal taken by Christ with those same disciples of His
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Comforter of those in distress, Pitier of the poor, Giver of food to the hungry, Strengthener of toilers, for the actual meal which Thou didst take with Thy disciples, and for the abundant draught of a multitude of great fish taken by the hands and by the toil of Thy disciples, before Thy eyes, and by the power of Thy words when Thou saidst to them: “Cast the net on the right side of the ship: and you shall find.” Great indeed is God’s grace! Thou art the Maker of all things; Thou providest for the little ones and for the poor; for those who have no storehouses full of food, nor money-bags stowed away in chests. Woe to those who put their trust in their coffers, for in one night thieves may empty them and squander their contents.
I praise and glorify Thee, most glorious Jesus, for Thy friendly invitation to Thy disciples to eat with Thee after their long fast and their hard toil in fishing when Thou saidst to them: “Come and dine; for I have got ready for you, who are hungry and tired, bread and broiled fish. If any of you is cold, let him come to the fire and warm himself. If the clothes of any of you are soiled, or his boots are wet, let him wash them and dry them at the fire which has been kindled at My command. Ye know well what I did to you formerly at the Supper before My Passion when I washed your feet and dried them, and what My words to you were about showing humility and charity one towards another, even as I had before so long time preached to you by My example: and now, after My Resurrection, I appear to you in order that I may eat with you, and may admonish you to observe carefully what I have told you.
“I have no need of food, but to prove to you the verity of My glorified Body I now speak to you and eat with you. Break your fast therefore with me in love, soberly and modestly, in silence, abstaining from idle talk, as I have taught you, and ye have seen Me do, and have often heard Me bid you. Never have light words passed My lips, but always such as were pleasing to My Father, and profitable and edifying to those who heard them. Witnesses of this are the four holy Gospels published throughout the world, in which is to be found not a word that is idle, not a word that is unseemly. Be then content with the scanty food which ye see before you, which I made ready for you, my children, who said: ‘We have no meat’: there is here no roast fowl or spiced chicken—things suited to dainty feeders, not to men and women in Religion—be ye thankful to have plain food, the bread and the fish which is by God’s grace lovingly permitted you. Perchance by reason of strangers and poor folk coming to you, whom ye ought not to turn away, but should to the best of your power comfort and cherish, that which is provided may not be enough for you: therefore I say to you, be not down-hearted when ye have but little, but putting your trust in Me bring some of the fish which ye have just caught in such abundance, and with so much gladness of heart.”
When Simon Peter heard this, being quick and prompt in obedience, he went up at once, and with the help of his companions drew the net to land full of great fishes, one hundred and fifty and three. And they all wondered, giving thanks to God the Father, and to Thee, His Son Jesus Christ, Whom they saw before them, and knew by the grace of the Holy Ghost. And so none of them dared ask Thee “Who art Thou Who standest here with us and speakest to us, and eatest with us?” For they all knew of a truth that Thou wert Jesus Christ, their Lord, Who had risen from the sealed tomb, alive and never more to die, and had manifested Himself to them.
I praise and thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, dear Friend of all the devout, sweet Visitor of the joyful soul, constant Guest of Thy brethren and of Thy friends, for the excellent meal and social feast which Thou didst prepare for Thy disciples who were tired out with their long toil in fishing, when Thou didst bid them to a meal and didst give them with Thy own Hand bread, which Thou hadst Thyself blessed, and in like manner broiled fish, hot with love, inwardly seasoned with spiritual sweetness. O how sweet must have been the flavour of that food of which Jesus Himself was at once the Cook, the Server, and the Refectorian!
What can I say more? Pleasant indeed was that feast of which Jesus then partook with His disciples: much more excellent, however, much grander, and much pleasanter, is that sacred banquet of His precious Body and Blood, which is day by day celebrated in Church, in Which Jesus Himself is received, but is not destroyed; in Which the remembrance of His Passion, undergone for our sakes, is kept alive; in Which the mind, in itself too often dry and cold, is filled with grace by the presence of Jesus making the heart ready to shout for joy. In that sacred Feast moreover a pledge of future glory is given to the devout soul for its comfort, and for its spiritual sustenance in this its pilgrimage, till such time as Christ shall come and take it to Himself, out of all the labour and sorrow of this present life, to its everlasting rest in the company of those holy Apostles of His, in the house of His Father, where shall be neither hunger nor thirst, but joy in His Presence for evermore. Unwillingly do I quit that holy and blessed company of the saints, and that precious feast which Jesus shared with His disciples on the shore of the Lake. From my inmost soul I long and pray to be made now in this life present (by contempt of the world and by the renouncing of all those things which perish and decay) one of the least of those disciples whom Jesus loves; and I hope (not for any merits and labours of my own, but by the grace of God, and the mercy of Christ Jesus my Lord) to be found worthy to be visited by Him in His heavenly Kingdom, to be comforted by Him, to rejoice with all the Saints, and to be made blessed for ever in glory. Amen.