This is Catholic Schools week. Throughout the week, pupils in all our parish schools will celebrate their faith and focus a little on what it means to be a Christian and how they can put that into practice in school each day.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus clear call to ‘Repent, because the kingdom of God is close at hand’. He then invites Peter and Andrew, then James and John to ‘follow me’. We are told that they left what they were doing immediately to follow him. They must have been wondering what Jesus meant when he told them he would make them into ‘fishers of Men’. Can you imagine if someone was to come along to any of us today and invite us to leave all we had to do the same? Would we respond freely to their request?

In a world where contracts and conditions of employment are very important today, it is amazing that the disciples responded without questioning. They followed Jesus in the knowledge and trust that he would not abandon them. These ordinary men, with no special training, were given the job of bringing the knowledge and love of God to the whole world.

That responsibility to share the message of the Gospel with others in now in all our hands as the modern disciples. We are challenged to bring Gods love and compassion to all we meet in our daily lives.

Fr Gerry