Lowering the Nets Again

by Fr. Roger J. Landry - July 1, 2005

When I began this column seven months ago, I took as its theme Jesus' words to St. Peter, "Put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch" (Lk 5:4). This was the imperative that Pope John Paul II chose as the Church's motto for the third Christian millennium — or loosely, for the rest of our lives.

The Holy Father wanted the whole Church to understand her mission within the context of the encounter between Christ and Simon bar Jonah, whom the Lord was going to make a fisher of men and the rock on whom he would build his Church.

Simon, a professional fisherman on the sea of Galilee, had just seemingly wasted an entire night with his employees, with only dirty, fishless nets to show for their fatiguing labors as they returned to the shore. Jesus asked to borrow one of Simon's boats for a short term pulpit in order to do another type of fishing. When he was done, the carpenter from Nazareth turned to the fisherman and told him to head back out and cast his just-cleaned nets into the deep water.

Simon didn't bother to tell Jesus that his command broke every convention: fish were caught in shallow water during darkness, not in deep water during broad daylight. He merely stated how tired and frustrated he was after a useless night's work. But he had enough respect for this preacher of Galilee that he did what he said, and we all remember the outcome: such a quantity of fish was captured that their nets were at the breaking point. When Peter returned to shore, Jesus told him that from that point forward, he would be casting his nets on the sea of the world.

The reason why Pope John Paul II wanted all of us to take this episode as our thematic marching orders is because he sensed the fatigue in so many of us, especially in the Christian West, who in our attempts to pass on the faith to others sometimes feel like shell-fishermen during red tide. The Pope wanted us, like St. Peter, to trust in Christ and, at his word, launch out again, boldly, against the pessimism of common wisdom, in unexpected times and places, for a big catch.

The successor of Simon bar Jonah spent his 26 year pontificate doing that. Who would have ever thought that an octogenarian with Parkinson's disease could attract hundreds of thousands of young people, at great sacrifice, to World Youth Days across the globe? Who would have ever thought that by the power of prayer and the persistent example of praying for persecutors that the Iron Curtain would come down? He consistently trusted in the Lord, put out into the deep water during daylight and the Lord did not let him down.

With regard to our own diocese of Fall River, the Lord wants us to be as apostolically audacious. There are so many fish in this part of the Lord's sea, many who have been in the net and swum out, others who have yet to be captivated by the message of the Gospel. The Lord has given us all the joint mission to be his fishermen all along the shores and inlands of southeastern Massachusetts.

The Anchor is one of his fishing nets. For over 37 years (and 27 as editor), Msgr. John Moore has been casting it out well and faithfully. He's a tough act to follow. But as I move to the left-hand corner of the page next week, I trust that the same Lord who helped him will guide me.

I'm also happy to announce that Fr. David Pignato, secretary to Bishop Coleman and chaplain at Bishop Stang High School, will be joining our crew next week to take over this column.

The sea is stocked. The fish are waiting. May the Lord help all of us to trust in him, cast our anchor into heaven and launch out for a catch.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.