Human limitations lead many to think they are incapable of fulfilling their great call to a Christian vocation. Divine pedagogy gives us a different teaching.
Newsroom (09/02/2025 10:51, Gaudium Press) The expressive power of the animal kingdom for man is undeniable, especially when it offers circumstances to be analyzed that are reminiscent of situations and small events in human life. The attractions of fauna, so common in rural areas, attract particular attention when they highlight one of its richest and most powerful qualities: the maternal instinct.
Now, the maternal instinct – much more profound in the human race – is a faint reflection of the care of the One who, as well as being Creator, wanted to strengthen His relationship with man. God elevated him to the status of a child by making him share in His own divine life through grace, as St. John exclaims: ‘Behold what love the Father had to call us children of God, and we are!’ (1 Jn 3:1).
As a true Father, the Most High never ceases to protect, sustain and draw all human creatures to Himself, continually watching over them. And, going infinitely beyond the care employed by a mother in preparing her children to face life well, the Divine Instructor leads men – through processes as diverse as souls – to the fulfilment of the specific vocation that His Wisdom bestows on each one.
Let us now consider the Gospel for this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time from this perspective.
The miraculous catch
‘AT THAT TIME, JESUS WAS STANDING ON THE SHORE OF LAKE GENNESARET, AND THE CROWD WAS PRESSING ROUND HIM TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD. JESUS SAW TWO BOATS STANDING ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE. THE FISHERMEN HAD DISEMBARKED AND WERE WASHING THEIR NETS’ (LK 5:1-2).
In the episode recounted here, the two boats – one belonging to Simon, the other to Zebedee – had returned after a night of vain endeavours. The fishermen’s general state of disappointment was compounded by the inconvenience of other human factors, such as tiredness from a sleepless night and the need to wash the nets, this being an indispensable labour after fishing, whether successful or not.
The Evangelist then tells us that Jesus went on to teach the crowds from Simon’s boat.
‘WHEN HE HAD FINISHED SPEAKING, HE SAID TO SIMON, ‘GO OUT INTO DEEPER WATER, AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS FOR A CATCH’’ (LK 5:4).
With this command to go ‘into deeper water’, the Redeemer was indicating the boldness that should characterize the goals of those fishermen from then on, predisposing them to a wider action than the limited lake horizons in which they were working: the divine plan for the salvation of mankind. In other words, Our Lord was asking for generous hearts.
‘SIMON ANSWERED, ‘MASTER, WE HAVE LABOURED ALL NIGHT AND HAVE CAUGHT NOTHING. BUT AT YOUR WORD I WILL LET DOWN THE NETS‘’ (LK 5:4-5).
Far from being a manifestation of a lack of faith, the explanation given by Simon – in a tone of voice that we can conjecture is full of deference – ratifies his trust in the Master’s word. By acting in a coherent manner, he is performing an act of perfect obedience, since, being tested, he suspends his judgement and immediately complies with the order he has received. Such faith and docility to divine determination, essential attributes of a genuine apostle, were the response Jesus expected in order to perform the miracle.
Prodigious catch
‘SO THEY DID, AND CAUGHT SO MANY FISH THAT THEIR NETS BROKE. THEN THEY SIGNALLED TO THEIR COMPANIONS IN THE OTHER BOAT TO COME AND HELP THEM. THEY CAME AND FILLED BOTH BOATS TO THE POINT THAT THEY ALMOST SANK’ (LK 5:6-7).
The final result of the fishing was ‘as many fish as the Lord of the sea and the earth wanted’, says St. Gregory the Nicene. As well as representing the abundant harvest – for which, he warned the future Apostles, there were few labourers… – Christ was also showing them the importance of harmony and mutual help among them. Without the collaboration of the companions in the second boat, it would have been impossible to pull those fish out of the water, just as the Apostles’ united forces would have been necessary for the evangelization of the world, in order to lead each and every one of the souls entrusted to them by Providence to the path of salvation.
However, Jesus’ most important objective was to make Simon realize – and the other disciples with him – “that if he hadn’t caught anything all night, all his efforts were useless without Christ, just as all our human actions are useless without divine grace”,[2] explains Maldonado. The Saviour wanted to make it clear that the mission of saving souls will continually be a miraculous catch, in which the apostle is merely an instrument. His ability and diligence will be frustrated if they are not moved by the voice of the One who said of Himself: ‘Without Me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5).
A call for all centuries
The echo of the charge given to the Apostles on the shores of Lake Gennesaret echoes down the centuries and reaches us too, calling us to the mission of working for the glory of God and the Church, whether we are clerics, religious or lay people. As Catholics, we must endeavour to build a society that conforms to the precepts of the Gospel and, in order to do so, we have the responsibility of attracting the souls scattered in the raging sea of the modern world and bringing them to Peter’s boat
However, there are many difficulties in exercising such a lofty function, especially when we come up against our own shortcomings and failures. Faced with this disproportion, going ahead and casting our nets seems impossible. What do we need to fulfil a mission so far beyond our abilities? It is the Master Himself who answers us, in the words of St. Paul: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for it is in weakness that My strength is fully revealed’ (II Cor 12:9).
So, following Peter’s example, let’s be generous and trusting, because Christ has also appeared in our lives commanding: ‘Duc in altum! I want you as instruments to renew the face of the earth! Do not be afraid, for I Myself will give you the strength to achieve a glorious result!’
Extract, with alterations, from CLÁ DIAS, João Scognamiglio. The unpublished Gospels: commentaries on the Sunday Gospels. Città del Vaticano-São Paulo: LEV-Instituto Lumen Sapientiæ, 2012, v. 6, p. 63-75.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
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