TWENTY-THIRD LESSON
The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.
ST. LUKE V. I-II.
The Gospel represents to us our Blessed Lord standing on the shore of the lake, then entering the boat of Simon Peter, and teaching the multitudes from it. He wished to show, even so early in His public teaching, that St. Peter was chief of those Apostles by whose words He would instruct His Church to the end of time. Then Peter, James, and John are bidden by Him to launch out into the deep, and let down their nets for a draught. They had toiled all night in their fishing, and had caught nothing. Yet, "at Thy word," answered St. Peter, "I will let down the net." "When they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke." The fish were taken in such numbers, that two boats were nearly sinking with the weight of them. Simon Peter, overawed by such tokens of Divine presence and power, "fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken... And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things they followed Him."
A second time our Lord worked the same miracle; and that was after His Resurrection. St. Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, with St. Thomas and Nathaniel, were fishing all night again, and again they caught nothing. Jesus, standing on the shore, and concealing His glory, bade them cast the net on the right side of the ship, and they should find. "They cast therefore; and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes." Then the disciples knew it was Jesus. When they landed, He gave to St. Peter the charge so well-known to us all, that he should feed all his flock, sheep and lambs alike, teachers and taught. This universal charge He repeated thrice.
Now, from these two miracles, we learn that all our best efforts can do nothing towards saving our souls, without the grace of God, and without obedience to His direction, Secondly, we learn, as St. Paul says that we can do all things, through Christ who strengthens us. The three Apostles, and then again the five, toiled all night, and took nothing. How many people's lives are described in these few words! They toil, and toil, and wear themselves out, and at the end of their little span of life they find their hands very empty: why? Because they have toiled, trusting in their own strength, and so have failed. Or because they toiled by a rule they chose by their own self-will. Or because they did not begin with a right and pure intention. This is like casting the net on the wrong side of the ship, and so taking nothing. A good confessor is a far better guide in our case than we can be to ourselves. So let us cast the net on the right side of the ship; let us ask our spiritual guide how to cast it, and teach us to direct the throw.
In the second place, if we do this, and act earnestly, with perseverance, we may take such a multitude of fishes, that it may seem miraculous. The greatest things have been done in the Kingdom of God by those who seemed the least, and the least likely. Who were the Apostles, themselves, when our Lord called them? Poor fishermen. What unlikely men to overthrow the religion of the great Roman Empire! "God," says St. Paul, "has chosen the weak things of the world, that He may confound the strong;" and base things, contemptible things, and things that are not—and why all this? "That no flesh should glory in His sight." St. Teresa was going to build a convent; but she had only half a ducat to begin with. Yet she began; and finished it, too. "For," said the Saint; "Teresa and half a ducat are not much; but Teresa and half a ducat, with Almighty God to help, are a great deal."
So, let us cast the net on that side of the ship pointed out by obedience to our spiritual guide. This is good fishery; and thus, instead of toiling in vain, we may draw a great many fish to land. We shall secure our own salvation and that of others; for our Lord will have made us "fishers of men "—not, indeed, like the Apostles, by preaching and miracles, but by consistent good example, by a wholesome word in season, and by persevering prayer of intercession for all whom we know to be in need of our prayers. We must intercede for others humbly, all the while, as those who are not worthy to be heard even for them-selves. So we shall not be like those proud fishermen, of whom the word of God says, that they "sacrifice to their net." We shall acknowledge that if our prayers are heard, it is through our Lord's mere goodness. But if we succeed only with some small fishes, yet what a joy to bring souls to the feet of Jesus on His throne!
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