The Feast of St Gregory the Great on September 3 brings with it a wonderful Gospel reading. The account of the ‘great catch’ at the beginning of chapter five of St Luke’s Gospel is a powerful image of the evangelising Church. Jesus sits in Simon Peter’s boat in order to be seen and heard by the crowds on the shore. He then tells the fisherman to put out his nets once more, even though they had been fishing all night and caught nothing.
“But if you say so…” This is what distinguishes the simple fisherman who will become Peter: he leaves room for the divine initiative, even though human reasoning might tell him that something is impossible. The times he forgets to do this are recorded in painful detail: Peter sinking as he tries to walk on water, Peter receiving the terrible rebuke “Get thee behind me Satan!” when he tries to argue Our Lord out of walking into the nets of his enemies. Not to mention the denial of his master, just before cockcrow, in the dark dawn of Good Friday. All these bits of unflattering biography remind us that the first pope was a fallible man whose authority is drawn from Christ, not from his own resources. He himself must have wished us to know this, or these Gospel accounts would not have survived.
Perhaps the most important thing to take away from the best exemplars of papal holiness, such as St Gregory, is that command of Christ’s after he has finished preaching. Whatever storms assail the barque of Simon Peter, the sight of those nets full to bursting point with fish was surely intended by Our Lord to remind us of the one thing necessary: “Duc in altum!” Put out into the deep.
Leonie Caldecott is the editor of MAGNIFICAT UK and Ireland
MAGNIFICAT is an easy-to-read pocket-sized worship aid, of more than 400 pages. It can be used to follow the daily Mass and can also be read at home for personal or family prayer. To take up one of our MAGNIFICAT subscription offers, go here.
Having been unable to sell in churches for well over a year due to the pandemic, we are now inviting readers to support the Herald by investing in our future. We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values.
Please join us on our 130 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. For more information from our chairman on contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund, click here
Make a Donation
Processing ...
Donors giving £500 or more will automatically become sponsor patrons of the Herald. This includes two complimentary print/digital gift subscriptions, invitations to Patron events, pilgrimages and dinners, and 6 gift subscriptions sent to priests, seminaries, Catholic schools, religious care homes and prison and university chaplaincies. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron Sponsor. Click here for more information about contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund