You change your life by changing your heart

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself - Leo Tolstoy

Gospel text (Mk 1:14-20): After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, «The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News». As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee , he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, «Follow me, and I will make you fish for people». At once, they left their nets and followed Him. Jesus went a little farther on and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee; they were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately, Jesus called them and they followed Him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men.

Today, the Gospel invites us to change: «Change your ways and believe the Good News» (Mk 1:15). Change to what? It would perhaps be better to say, to whom? To Christ! This is how He said it: «Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me» (Mk 10:37). To change means to gratefully receive the gift of Faith and live a life of love and service. To change means to accept Christ as our only Lord and King of our hearts, so that we become a useful servant to Him. To change implies discovering Christ in every event in human history —and in our own personal history too— while realizing He is the origin, the core and the end of all History and that everything has been redeemed by Him and, in Him, everything attains its maximum plenitude. To change also implies living with hope, for He has defeated Sin, the Evil One and Death, and the Eucharist is His guarantee.

To change also involves loving Our Lord more than anything else in this world, with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. To change postulates to deliver our intelligence and our will to Him, in such a way that the Episcopal motto of the Holy Father, John Paul II, Totus tuus, that is, All yours, my God, is made true by our lives. And all, means time, qualities, possessions, illusions, projects, health, family, work, leisure, everything. Therefore, to change requires to love God's will in Christ over all things while enjoying it, which means to be grateful for whatever He may care to send us, even if it is contradictions, humiliations or ailments, and take them as treasures which allow us express more clearly our love for God: if You want it like that, so do I!

As it happened with the apostles Simon, Andrew, James and John, changing means to leave «immediately the nets» and follow Him (cf. Mk 1:18), once we hear His voice. After all, those who fish a lot catch a lot of fish.