at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats,
the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he
sat, and continued to teach the crowd.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower
your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught
nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large
number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other
boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point
of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a
sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and
so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus said to Simon,
“Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to
land and followed him, leaving everything.

Reflect

One of Pope Saint John Paul II’s favorite sayings comes from today’s Gospel: Duc in
altum, “Put out into the deep.” This simple saying can teach us on two levels.

First, Jesus gives Peter this instruction after Peter and his friends have already spent all
night fishing without success. So putting out into the deep reminds us that discipleship
will require patience and perseverance. Our growth in holiness will not be linear or fast.
We will take some steps forward but fall back sometimes, starting again with the help of
God’s mercy. We may not see the progress we hope for, but we will continue to follow
Jesus.

Second, putting out into the deep implies risk and danger. We no longer cling to the
safety of the shore. We move to the deep, relying on God’s provident care. We may not
face the wind and waves as the fishermen did, but we will face our own challenges.
Like the apostles, we rely on Jesus to keep us safe and make our efforts successful.

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