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Today's Gospel
Put Out Into the Deep
5 min
Gospel
Lk 5:1-11
While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennes′aret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zeb′edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition
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Transcript
Put Out Into the Deep
What is it that jumps out at you today?
One of the things always strikes me about this reading is, Jesus says, "Take the boats out, put down the nets for a great catch." I think it's important for us to understand the logistics of that, the mechanics of that. We now know, from archeologists and historians, the types of boats they were using, where they were fishing, the types of nets they were using. What Jesus was asking for was essentially a three-hour or four-hour exercise. It wasn't just, "Hey, nudge the boats off the shore and just put down the nets and bring in all the fish." What did he say?
He said, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a great catch." I think we all want the great catch, but we don't want to put out into the deep. We don't want to make the effort. And so the question I challenge you to think about today is, what would putting out into the deep look like for you? What would that mean? Would it mean more time in prayer? Would it mean more time with the Scriptures? Would it mean really learning how to pray, really learning how to meditate and reflect in a deep way? Would it be going to mass more often?
Would it be really allowing other people or books to challenge us to change and grow, and develop? What would it look like? Because I think that Jesus says this to every single one of us today. He says, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a great catch." Now I know you want the great catch. And maybe you want the great catch in your spirituality, but maybe you want the great catch in your marriage, or in a friendship, or as a parent, in your parenting, maybe that's where you want the great catch.
And so you have to ask yourself, what does putting out into the deep and letting down your nets look like in your personal finances, or in your health, or in your marriage, or in your parenting, or in any area of your life? Whatever area in your life you want that great catch, Jesus gives you a prescription there today. You want the great catch? Great. He wants to give you the great catch. But in order to get the great catch, you have to put out into the deep and let down your nets. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.
