Daily Mass Gospel Reflection - Deep Seas Invite

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 2/6/22 | Aux. Bishop R. Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 5:1-11

Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the story of the miraculous draught of fishes. In many ways, the whole of the spiritual life can be read off of this piece.

Without being invited, Jesus simply gets into the fisherman’s boat. This is to insinuate himself in the most direct way into Simon’s life. And without further ado, he begins to give orders, first asking Simon to put out from the shore and then to go out into the deep.
This represents the invasion of grace. The single most important decision that you will ever make is this: Will you cooperate with Jesus once he decides to get into your boat?

In many ways, everything else in your life is secondary, is commentary. When the Lord Jesus Christ gets into your boat, he will always lead you to the depths. Duc in altum, as St. John Paul II loved to quote. More dangerous? Yes. More exciting? Yes.

Now, mind you, the depths we’re talking about here are spiritual depths. The excitement we’re talking about is the true excitement that comes from spiritual transformation. The depths have nothing to do with what the world considers important or exciting.

[MurphsLaw]

+++While the crowd was pressing in on
Jesus and listening to the word of
God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and
were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the
one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short
distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the
crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he
said to Simon,
“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 had done this, they caught
a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in
the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell
at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a
sinful man.”+++

[Scarlett156]

This is one of the many stories - like the one about St Paul’s shipwreck - that I find to be very compelling. There is something random about it, like real life. If somebody made up a story like this, it would be boring or confusing. Everyone would be like, “Ok, so what?” But it has the smell of reality.

[ebb tide]

Without being invited, Jesus simply gets into the fisherman’s boat.

Similar to Bergoglio inserting himself into the Knights of Malta without being invited.

And without further ado, he begins to give orders, first asking Simon to put out from the shore and then to go out into the deep.

Similar to Bergoglio ordering the Knights to change their constitution in order to go into deep debt to finance his "Sin-Nodal Church".