I’m not a good fisherman by any means. The few times that I have gone fishing have brought me mostly memories of boredom and frustration. I do however remember that thrill that I got when I finally caught something. It was such a great joy and high to finally catch something.
In the Gospel for this weekend, the resurrected Jesus once again appears to his disciples while they are fishing and asks them if they have caught anything. They say, “No” and Jesus then tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They do it and catch so much that they are surprised that the nets didn’t break.
I’m sure many people have at least one miraculous story about how something unexpected and amazing happened to them. One time, I was trying to fly home from work after being gone for four days. I was flying standby on a flight that was oversold with a long list of other standbys and was worried that I wouldn’t make it home. Commuting to and from work has definitely improved my prayer life. As I was waiting for the flight, I was saying Our Father’s, Hail Mary’s, and many more prayers. Not only did I make it on the flight, I also got a first class seat.
Sometimes things in life are outside of our control and we need guidance on what direction to go or we need help performing the task. We aren’t meant to tackle all of the problems life gives us alone. Sometimes we need help. We need help from each other and we need help from God. We are so small and weak, but God shows us how much we can accomplish with His help. We were all stuck in original sin and Jesus helped us by re-opening the gates of Heaven and allowing us to enter.
We should also make ourselves available to help others when they are stuck or have lost their way. Try to catch a smile from someone who is depressed or a glimmer of hope from someone who is on the brink of giving up. Try to catch a positive comment from someone who is always negative or courage for someone afraid. It will be so rewarding for us to get that catch. The more we catch, the bigger the feast we will have in Heaven.
