Prepare for a Catch

                When reflecting on Sunday’s readings, I cannot help but think of the current state of the Church.  After Jesus tells Peter to go back out into the water for another catch, Peter replies that they had already gone fishing that night and had “caught nothing” (Luke 5:5).  Right now, it feels like the Church is the same.  Whether it is the sexual abuse crisis, shrinking Mass attendance, dwindling numbers in Religious Education, or trouble evangelizing, it seems like the Church has also been out fishing without much success.  But, I believe the Church, and each of us individually, must sometimes go through a dry period to get ready for a big catch.

                In the first reading, we hear of the Prophet Isaiah being cleansed of his sins.  Then the Lord God asks Isaiah, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?”  To which Isaiah replies, “Here I am … send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).  This encounter and request is not unique to Isaiah.  At the moment of our baptism, each of us has the same encounter.  Through the waters of baptism, we are cleansed of our sins and brought to a new life in Christ.  Just as we are cleansed of our sins in baptism, we are also given the responsibility to bring all those we encounter to Christ (cf. Matt. 28:19).  When we receive our baptism, the Lord is asking each of us “Whom shall I send?”  Whether we responded directly or through our godparents, the answer is “Send me, Lord!”

                This answer to God’s call is strengthened by the Holy Spirit at our Confirmation.  It is then that we are sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and given the grace and strength to fully carry out our baptismal call of evangelizing the world around us.  This is what St. Paul is speaking of in his first letter to the Corinthians when he says that his preaching and evangelizing is not from him “… but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).  Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, we also are able to be conduits for God’s grace.  We are given the strength and the grace to proclaim Christ in our everyday lives.

                Jesus Christ is continually calling a new generation of the faithful to become fishers of men just as he did to Peter, James, and John over two thousand years ago.  Through the Sacraments, Christ strengthens us to carry out this mission.  He is calling each of us in a unique way to share His Gospel and His Church with the people in our everyday lives.

                The Church is currently sailing through some choppy waters.  Whether we are being tossed about by the sexual abuse crisis or an increasingly secular culture or any other number of problems, Christ is readying a new generation to “[p]ut out into the deep water and lower [their] nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).  Just as Peter and the other disciples had been fishing unsuccessfully all through the night before Jesus appeared to them, it seems as if we are in the same position.

Maybe you feel like your personal evangelical efforts have been fruitless.  Maybe Mass attendance in your parish in a continual decline.  Maybe the youth in your parish just don’t seem engaged.  In one way or the other, I bet most Catholics feel that the Church is going through a difficult time.  Through this time, Christ is preparing us to place our trust fully in Him.  The time is quickly coming where we, the Church, will go out into the deep waters of the world and find our nets quickly filling.  Our trust in Christ will be what evangelizes an increasingly secular world and brings many back into the fold.

For now, Christ is asking each of us to trust in Him and prepare for a big catch.