“Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins His public ministry with urgency and invitation: “This is the time of fulfillment… Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Then, walking along the familiar shores of Galilee, He calls ordinary fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, to an extraordinary mission. They leave their nets, their livelihood, even their families, and follow Him without hesitation.

What moved them so quickly? Perhaps it was the same mysterious attraction that draws us to the Eucharist. When Jesus calls, His voice carries both tenderness and authority, an invitation that reaches the deepest part of the heart.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard understood this well. He believed that the Eucharist is Christ’s continual call, spoken not from the seashore but from the tabernacle: “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Eymard taught that the Eucharist not only nourishes us but also forms us, slowly and intimately, into true disciples ready to leave behind whatever keeps us from following Him fully.

Sometimes our “nets” are worries, routines, or habits we cling to. Sometimes they are comforts or fears that keep us anchored. Yet Jesus keeps passing by the shores of our daily lives, calling us gently, persistently.

A personal thought: every time I sit before the Blessed Sacrament, I sense that same invitation, quiet but unmistakable, calling me beyond myself. Not to great deeds, but to deeper trust.

Let Us Pray:

Lord Jesus, in the Eucharist, you call us as surely as you called the first disciples. Give us the courage to leave behind anything that weighs us down, and to follow you with generous, trusting hearts. Make us, like Saint Peter Julian Eymard, true apostles of your Eucharistic love. Amen.