go deep
"Remaining seated, He continued to teach the crowds from the boat. When He had finished speaking He said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.' " —Luke 5:3-4
On January 6, 2001, on the feast of the Epiphany, at the official end of the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II proclaimed and prophesied that the Lord's call for the Church at the beginning of the third millennium is: "Put out into the deep" (Lk 5:4, our transl). Three and a half years later, we need to ask ourselves how we have responded to the Lord speaking through the Church and the Pope.
Many hundreds of thousands of Catholic Christians and other Christians throughout the world have responded. They have accepted God's grace to deepen significantly their relationships with the Lord and to reach out much farther in person-to-person evangelization and in other ways to be fishers of men and women (see Lk 5:10).
Many other Christians are lagging behind in following the lead of the Spirit revealed by the Church. The Lord in His mercy offers repentance and forgiveness to them. If they feel inadequate, the Lord will provide everything necessary to do His will. They must only believe and obey Him.
Jesus could return at any time. Each of us, even the youngest, have only a short time to live. Life is short. Let us not spend what remains of our "earthly life on human desires but on the will of God" (1 Pt 4:2). Live from now on to share the faith farther and deeper.
Prayer: Father, remove anything from me which would hinder me from putting out into the deep and being a fisher of men and women.
Promise: "If any one of you thinks he is wise in a worldly way, he had better become a fool." —1 Cor 3:18
Praise: The older she gets, the more Linda cherishes each day as an opportunity to show her love for God in a deeper way.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Richard L. Klug, January 16, 2004
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, January 26, 2004