Do It This Way
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What do you think of people when they tell you what to do?
Luke 5:11
When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Obedience can be difficult especially when you don't completely know the person who is commanding. Because you may not really know them, it can be difficult to trust their judgement and to be obedient. You might even question the task. We see this in our work relationships and in our civic and government leadership.
In today's gospel reading from Luke, Jesus tells Simon to put the nets out to the deep. Simon, an experienced fisherman, says or probably thinks, "Come on… really? We fished all night, caught nothing, have just about finished cleaning the nets and gear, and now you're asking us to go back out in the boats, way out to the deep end, and start fishing again? Really? You don't know anything about fishing?" Yet Simon, who has some knowledge of Jesus, probably feels a stirring in his heart, maybe a feeling of trust, and complies with the command. After seeing the fruits of the command, Simon then truly believes. He believes so much in fact, that he is ashamed at his own questioning, calling himself a sinner and not worthy to be in the Lord's presence. Yet Jesus turns the situation around and says to him that in the future Simon will be fishing for men. Simon, in his mind, has witnessed a miracle and will go anywhere Christ tells him. When Jesus performed miracles, he did things in a big way. In changing the water to wine, he made over 120 gallons of the best wine. When feeding the multitudes, he fed so many yet had leftovers. Today he catches so many fish that they need an extra boat and helpers to help bring in the catch. One might say that we must help in the catching of the fish, in the bringing in of the bountiful harvest. When we trust in God, we are blessed in ways that sometimes we cannot imagine. In your daily life, are you willing to do all that God commands? Do you still question even miracles? Many of us do, partially because we have been duped so many times before that we don't know what to believe. The Christian walk is a glorious and happy one, but also one that has its difficulties and challenges. Jesus didn't ask Peter to put out in the shallow, where it is safe and you can see the bottom. No, instead, he asked him to take a chance, to trust in Jesus and put out into the deep. The deep can be scary but rewards can be tremendous. It takes courage to stretch and go beyond our horizons. Are you willing to put yourself out there in the depth of this world and cast your net for others? That's what Christ is asking of all of us.
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Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
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Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
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Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...