Simon's Faith

Gospel Reflection 9/1/2022

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." (Lk 5:3-8)

This week I was challenging the level of my faith. In my mind, I am in the boat with God, but unlike Simon, I am not always so obedient. Maybe it is simply my faith is not as strong as Simon's, and I need to deepen my spiritual center. When the Lord tells me to drop the net in a particular place, I sometimes think I know better and find myself saying I am sure there is a better place for my net to land. Now it could be that I am still discerning the voice of God, and so the emphasis of my reflection today is about how deep our faith is and whether we are able to discern the Lord's direction properly.

It is evident in our world today that man's spiritual senses are becoming dull. For many, it is getting harder and harder to hear the voice of God. This makes sense, of course, because at every turn, we are distracted and pulled by our social media, family life, jobs, etc. With all of these distractions, a spiritually disciplined person must ensure that God is still leading our lives amid all the chaos. The Catechism writes the "intimate and vital bond of man to God" (GS 19 § 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. The cares of riches in this world, the scandal of bad example on the part of the believer, and currents of thought hostile to religion all play into a daily distraction.[1] This may not be the popular narrative but let's not forget the Devil wants nothing more than to keep you in the world and busy while weakening your ability to discern the voice of God.

As we grow in faith, we are, with the grace of God, able to entrust our whole lives, body, mind, and spirit to God, trusting that no matter what happens to us, all will be okay because He will be with us.[2] I hope today's Gospel reading brings you the courage to look deep into your faith and have the spiritual obedience to listen and properly discern God's voice. Trust, He always knows where you should drop your net.

Reference:

1 Hardon, John A. The Catholic Catechism. New York: Doubleday, 1981. n 29.

2 Bernard, Ramona. “Ramona Bernard.” Father Eamon Tobin, January 8, 2020. https://eamontobin.com/uncategorized/divine-revelation/.