The joy of Easter extends through May. Half the month is blessed with saints’ days, including two U.S. notables: recently beatified Teresa Demjanovich (8) and Damien de Veuster (10). World Day of Prayer for Vocations aligns with Good Shepherd Sunday (12).

The disciples find themselves at a crossroad: They must strengthen their witness and attend to the business of gathering more souls for the Kingdom, but they must do it against the strict commands of local authority. They choose their faith over the law and following Jesus over falling back into their old routines.

The way of the Kingdom bears little resemblance to the way of the law. Its means, its motives, and its goals often move like a crosscurrent against the accepted moral code. The Pharisees and Jesus once had a telling exchange that underscored the difference between these ways. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people cried hosannas to the king, which alarmed the religious leaders who feared a riot and ensuing crackdown.

After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”

Living a few blocks from a stretch of Lake Michigan in Chicago we dubbed “the rocks” nestled between the Belmont Yacht Club and the Nike Missile Base (we’re talking late '50s early '60s), it’s no surprise that my brother took to fishing.

My dad made breakfast every weekday morning for himself long before the rest of us were awake, and every weekend for the whole family. Scrambled eggs were his specialty.

When I was a kid there was a narrow, shallow, stagnant pond that ran for half a mile or so between two sets of railroad tracks near my home. In the summer we would spend hours at a time there trying to catch crayfish.

God forgives our sins. In a spirit of repentance we turn to God’s mercy.

Holy race of the heavenly Fish [Christ] . . . . Take the saints’ sweet food that the savior sends you. Eat and drink your fill from the Fish you hold in your hands!