“Put out into deep water”

So much of this weekend’s Gospel has echoes of the teachings of Pope John II. We have the opening line from his letter to the Church at the beginning of the new millennium “Put out into deep water” or as it is in Latin “Duc In Altum”. In this letter the Pope invited the whole Church and each of us personally to put all our trust in the Lord and go out and do great things. In the second reading of this Sunday’s Mass St. Paul praises what he has been able to do with the grace of God active in him.

This brings us to another great phrase of Pope John Paul. “Be not afraid”. At the very beginning of his pontificate he invited the whole world to open the doors of their hearts to Christ and not to be afraid of Christ for he takes nothing from us that is truly human.

All of these phrases come together in the meeting of St. Peter with our Blessed Lord. Peter realizing he is in the presence of a holy man feels deeply unworthy in himself. Jesus, however, takes no notice of his fears and keeps talking. It is as if Jesus is saying to Peter, “Do not be afraid of my love and forgiveness, but put into the depths of that love and become my disciple”.

Very often when we come face to face with the Lord, we like Peter can feel unworthy. Because of the guilt and shame of our sins we can feel like running away from the Lord. So often we ask ourselves “How can I go back to confession after sinning yet again?” But the Lord says to each of us “be not afraid of my mercy, rather trust it and live your life immersed in my love and mercy for you. Put into the deep of my forgiveness and become my disciple”. Our holiness is the triumph of God’s grace in us.

Gospel (Luke 5:1-11):

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.- He got into one of the boats-it was Simon's-and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch'. 'Master,' Simon replied 'we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.' And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, 'Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man'. For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. But Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch'. Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.