In today’s Gospel the crowds continue to follow Jesus as he reaches the lake shore of Gennesaret and encounters Simon Peter, a fisherman, with his companions James and John. Jesus seeks the refuge of Peter’s fishing boat to continue his teaching and when he is finished tells him‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch’. Peter hesitantly follows the instructions of Jesus and is overcome at the quantity of fish as the nets are retrieved. For him this represents a call in his heart to follow Jesus but his past makes him feel unworthy ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man’. The loving response of Jesus however, ‘Do not be afraid’, prompts him and his companions to leave everything and follow the Lord.
Jesus also calls us to follow him and we should not be afraid to make a ‘Duc in Altum’ in our own lives. The upcoming season of Lent is an ideal time for us to respond generously with a renewed yes to the Lord just like Peter did in today’s Gospel. Being a follower of Christ is about putting others and their needs first. It is the small and often invisible signs of love we give to our brothers and sisters which distinguish us as his disciples. Our ‘mission’ is to love as he did, a journey which begins by contemplating his love for us in our hearts. Just as he placed himself on the side of the weak and vulnerable we too can reach out with love and compassion and recognise his face in others, especially in the poor, marginalised, and vulnerable.
In my own life I have heard the gentle and consistent voice of Jesus urging me not to be afraid to‘Put out into deep water’ and follow him with all my heart. Spending a year in Rome at the Emmanuel School of Mission was a wonderful experience which has helped me to trust more in his plans rather than my own. There I learned how to be a missionary in heart and mind through a community life of study and prayer with other young people at the heart of the Church; encountering Christ in a deeper way through the witness of the saints, the sufferings of others in compassion service, and the diverse concrete experiences of evangelisation on mission with the World Youth Day Cross.
In this year of Faith we pray that we may recognise the presence of Jesus as he asks us to follow him in the simple everyday moments of our lives. Knowing that He loves each one of us personally and unconditionally we can bring our prayer to Him now, speaking with Him in the silence of our hearts.
