One day Joe and Bob were out fishing. A funeral service passes over the bridge they're fishing by, and Bob takes off his hat and puts it over his heart. He does this until the funeral service passes by.Joe said, "Gee Bob, I didn't know you had it in you!"Bob replies, "It's the least I could do. After all I was married to her for 30 years."
Now there is a man dedicated to fishing. Actually I want to talk about a fish net today, one that you and I should carry about with us and cast daily.
Remember the gospel story about the big catch in Luke 5:8? After having fished all night and catching nothing, Peter still put down the net and caught so many fish that they loaded two boats to the sinking. It was then Peter decided to follow Jesus and become a fisher of persons.
The Word Among Us in its September 5, 2013 reflection suggests that we carry a net about us as we go through the day. That means we act and speak in such a way that the light of Christ shines through us.
Imagine that you carry an invisible net about you as you encounter family and friends, neighbours and fellow workers. All it takes is a readiness to respond to what God calls us to do in our daily encounters. Sounds difficult? Just recall the Special Olympics motto: Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
When you think back you probably feel like I do, that we haven't "caught" much lately. Perhaps we have experienced a time of spiritual drought, if I may mix my metaphors. But, like Peter, we need to cast out into the deep and let Jesus work through us.
The above analogy applies to our efforts and our life's work. Take my writing as an example. Some books I have published seem to have gone nowhere fast. And yet God seems to be calling me to work on this next project. Exactly! Put out into the deep and let God be God.
Mother Teresa said, "God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that we try". Mother Teresa cast a net about her that seemed to catch everyone near her. Let me share a few of her sayings that apply to today's reflection:
"We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love and together we can do something wonderful."
"True holiness consists of doing God's will with a smile."
"What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God."
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
