Homily – Thursday, 4 September

St Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is striking. He doesn’t ask that life be easy for them, or that they be spared every trial. He prays that they may “be filled with the knowledge of God’s will,” that they may “live a life worthy of the Lord,” and that they may “bear fruit in every good work.” In other words, Paul prays not for comfort but for holiness.

And the Gospel shows us how such holiness begins. Peter has been fishing all night and caught nothing. He is tired, frustrated, ready to wash the nets and go home. But then Jesus steps into his boat. He tells him: “Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.” At first it makes no sense. Peter is the professional fisherman; Jesus is a carpenter. Yet Peter obeys: “At your word I will let down the nets.” The result is overwhelming — nets breaking, boats sinking, a catch beyond imagining.

The turning point is that little phrase: “At your word.” That is the heart of Christian life. Not our calculations, not our expertise, not our comfort zones — but obedience to Christ’s word. That obedience transforms failure into fruitfulness, despair into hope, ordinary fishermen into apostles.

Notice Peter’s reaction. He doesn’t puff himself up with pride at the catch. He falls to his knees: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” He suddenly sees the holiness of Christ, and in that light he sees his own unworthiness. Yet Jesus does not turn away. He says: “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching people.” Grace both humbles and sends.

The Church is not built on human success. Peter is called precisely in his weakness, at the moment of failure. The mission of the Church does not flow from human planning but from obedience to Christ. That is why, despite every storm and scandal, the barque of Peter still sails. Its foundation is not us, but Him.

Every disciple is called to “put out into the deep.” The Catholic Faith is not lived in the shallows. We are not meant to drift along on the surface of faith, attending Mass now and then or praying when it suits. The Lord asks us to launch into the deep waters of trust, prayer, service, sacrifice. He asks us to cast the net when it seems foolish, to obey His word even when it goes against our instincts. Only then will we see the miraculous catch.

Imagine a child learning to swim. He clings to the edge, afraid to let go. The instructor calls: “Push off, trust the water will hold you.” At first the child resists — the edge feels safe.

But only when he lets go does he discover the joy of moving freely, the thrill of being carried. Faith is like that. The shallows feel safer, but the deep is where life truly begins.

St Paul prayed that the Colossians would be “delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son.” That is what happened to Peter on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. That is what happens to us in Baptism. And that is what must happen each day: letting go of the shallows, trusting Christ’s word, casting our nets into the deep.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord is still climbing into our boats. He is still asking us to launch into deeper waters. He is still turning sinners into apostles. The only question is: will we answer as Peter did, “At your word I will let down the nets”?

Because if we do, we will find — in our weakness, in our ordinary lives — that the catch is His, the mission is His, and the joy is beyond imagining.