Jun 28 2009
Fishers of Men
For those who know me, I attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass also known as the Tridentine, Old, or Latin Mass. As such, the readings are not the ones that most Catholics hear on on the same Sunday (yes, there are rare cases when some of the readings are the same). Such was the case with the Gospel reading for this week:
While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennes’aret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zeb’edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Lk 5:1-11 RSV)
Although the term “fishers of nen” (Mt. 4:19 RSV) is replaced “catcher of men”, the meaning is the same. However, what seems to be lost today is how this applies to all Catholics. We are called, in various capacities, to be “fishers of men”. This means we must live our lives in accordance with the teachings of Our Lord. Part of these teachings is to spread the Gospel. How we do it is two-fold: Passive and Active.
The first way, the passive part, I have already mentioned. That is: how we live our lives. Living by example is one of the best ways of showing those who do not follow Our Lord in his fullness of the Catholic Church the true meaning of his teaching. Sadly, many of us do not live in full accordance with the teachings of Our Lord. This, does not mean that we should abandon those teaching as some would suggest. No, we should always strive to amend our lives to live according to those teachings.
The second way, the active part, is more difficult and not for everyone (although it should be). That is: preaching the Gospel. No, I am not talking about joining the priesthood or a religious order. I am talking about evangelization. Yes, what I am talking about can be considered proselytism, and you know what, you are right because it is. We must take the truth to the enemy and get in their faces. Of course, there are some things that must not do. Those things include:
- Forcing people to convert
- Providing physical benefits in hopes that recipients will be open to listening
- Providing physical benefits only to those willing to listen
- Providing physical benefits only who convert
What we must do is preach the Truth to all, both those who are willing to listen and to those who are hardened to the Word of God. We must use the public square as our pulpit at every chance we get. Yes, there is a hostile atmosphere out there, but as Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.“ We must be fearless in this. We must bring everyone possible to the full Truth of the Catholic Church.
