'Lower Your Nets for a Catch': Fishing for Men and Women

The Church is the Ark, the boat, presided over by the Lord. He is at the helm, steering His redemptive course through time.

CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - Our readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time are taken from "Year C". They all emphasize the missionary vocation of every Christian. The Old Testament passage contains the call of the Prophet Isaiah and ends with one of the most used scriptural texts from ordinations, or even the installation of lay leaders, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

The Epistle is from the St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians where he recounts his own call to the apostolic vocation and missionary work, noting that he was "born out of the ordinary course." (1 Cor. 15).

Finally, the Gospel text recounts the story of the Apostles, some of whom were trained in the skills required of fishermen. After having been out all night and having caught nothing, they were instructed by the Lord, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."

When they responded in obedience to the invitation of the Lord and "put out into the deep", they caught so many fish that their nets were breaking. The experience of the miraculous provision filled them with awe and drew Peter to repentance. Jesus explained to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." The passage ends with the proper response from every disciple of the Lord, "When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him." (Luke 5)

The Gospel words formed the basis of a letter written by the Venerable John Paul II entitled "At the Beginning of the New Millennium." He called for a rebirth of a missionary spirit in what he always called a "New Evangelization." His successor, Pope Benedict XVI has continued the call in both word and deed. This call has implications for both the Church - which desperately needs such a new evangelization - and the culture, which has been deeply de-Christianized.

Both aspects of this one call are intricately connected. Only the Church can carry out this evangelical mission. As the Risen Body of Christ she continues to manifest His presence on this earth as a universal sign and "sacrament." She is the missionary agent and -in the words of the fathers of the second Vatican Council in the Catholic Church- the "seed of the kingdom of God".

There is a desperate need for this new evangelization among the faithful. Too many Catholic Christians do not know what the Church teaches and have instead embraced what some have called a "cafeteria Catholicism"- choosing what parts of their faith they will follow. In the worst cases, a practical atheism is spreading. Some bearing the title Christian are professing the Creed but confining its influence only to Sunday. Yet, this is Christ's Church.

Even when we acknowledge her weakness, we must do so with genuine love and affection. After all, we are her sons and daughters. It is Saint Cyprian (A.D. 258) who reminds us: "He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord warns us when He says: `he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.' Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Church scatters the Church of Christ." (On The Unity of the Catholic Church)

The Church is God's plan for the entire world. The early Fathers called her the "world reconciled". Through Baptism, we were born into a new relational reality; we now live in the Church for the sake of the world. We are called to love the Church with the affection of sons and daughters because she is our "mother".

Pope Benedict recently reminded the Bishops of Scotland in their ad limine visit of the importance of adhering to the full teaching of the Church in an age which is steeped in a hungry darkness. He urged them to engage all members of the Body of Christ in the evangelizing task in proclaiming the full truth which she offers to the whole world:

"A renewed focus on lay apostolate will help to clarify the roles of clergy and laity and so give strong impetus to the task of evangelizing society. That task requires a readiness to grapple firmly with the challenges presented by the increasing tide of secularism in your country. Support for euthanasia strikes at the very heart of the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life.

"Recent developments in medical ethics and some of the practices advocated in the field of embryology give cause for great concern. If the Church's teaching is compromised, even slightly, in one such area, then it becomes hard to defend the fullness of Catholic doctrine in an integral manner. Pastors of the Church, therefore, must continually call the faithful to complete fidelity to the Church's Magisterium, while at the same time upholding and defending the Church's right to live freely in society according to her beliefs.

"The Church offers the world a positive and inspiring vision of human life, the beauty of marriage and the joy of parenthood. It is rooted in God's infinite, transforming and ennobling love for all of us, which opens our eyes to recognize and love his image in our neighbour (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 10-11 et passim).

"Be sure to present this teaching in such a way that it is recognized for the message of hope that it is. All too often the Church's doctrine is perceived as a series of prohibitions and retrograde positions, whereas the reality, as we know, is that it is creative and life-giving, and it is directed towards the fullest possible realization of the great potential for good and for happiness that God has implanted within every one of us."

He also recently met with all of the Bishops of Ireland, taking a strong role in steering that Church through a time of intense purification. We can never abandon the Church to the wolves within or without. Rather we must sacrificially love her all the more as she undergoes such purification.

All purification is an invitation to repentance and an opportunity for grace when received with honesty and a firm purpose of amendment. The promise of the Master is still true "The gates of hell will not prevail against her" This is, after all, Christ's Church!

There is no "plan B" through which He will save this world. He established One Church through which to continue His work until His return. She has undergone similar purifications and reforms many times throughout her missionary journey for over two thousand years. Her hull may be battered but she is still the Ark of Salvation. The Church is the Boat, as symbolized so beautifully in our Gospel text on this 5th Sunday of ordinary Time.

Church history demonstrates that seasons of purification are usually followed by times of great restoration and triumph for the Church. So it is in our day . This Church that is called Catholic is not a mere human institution. If it were, it would have shipwrecked long ago.

The Church is the Ark, the boat, presided over by the Lord. He is at the helm, steering His redemptive course through time. The Lord of the harvest is calling workers for the New Evangelization. He is sending us out on mission, fishing for men, women and Nations. Let's all hear that call to "put out into the deep" and "lower our nets for a catch!"

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