On June 24th,2026, I wrote a blog titled The Light of Hope that ended with the following paragraph: ‘Have you ever noticed the connections you experience in daily life? It is as if the Creator reaches down and causes events to occur and connect to one another to reinforce our faith. In my next blog I’ll reveal some of those connections I have noticed lately.’ (It’s now August 23rd and in a writer’s sense of time, I am keeping my promise because in the meantime my mind was preoccupied with promoting my first published novel.)
As you might have heard this Sept. Archbishop Fulton Sheen will officially be recognized a saint by the Catholic Church. Yesterday we had a Rosary prayer meeting held at the grotto of Our Blessed Moher outside our parish church. Mary R. who had given us that prayer referred to in my June 24th post, distributed copies of several quotes by Bishop Sheen about the Rosary. In addition, the page also included an experience he had at the at the Sea of Galilee.
On a visit to the Sea of Galilee, Sheen reflected on a scrpture passage in which Jesus was standing on the shore tending a charcoal fire where he awaited the Apostles returning after a night fishing without a single catch. He had already ascended to heaven and they did not expect to ever see Him again on earth and didn’t recognize Him. He called out to them to cast their net on the other side. When they did, the net was filled. Peter, being the spontaneous person he was, threw off his outer garments and swam to Him. Later after eating the prepared fish, Jesus spoke to Peter saying: “Feed my sheep.”
Bishop Sheen stood there recalling that incident from scripture. He knew the Lord always used the surroundings of where He was at the time to explain a teaching, but why did He use sheep there by the sea where there were no sheep? It did not make sense to him until a shepherd tapped him on the shoulder and place a lamb in his arms. The shepherd explained he herded sheep on a hillside nearby and bought them to the Sea of Galilee every day. A man took a photo of the Bishop holding the lamb.
He said: “As I cradled the lamb on the shore where the Lord stood, Mr. Karsh came and took the favorite picture of my life–an unworthy shepherd holding a precious lamb in his arms!” Jesus was and is a Master of connections!
DJ Pasternak, Author 