After the resurrection, the apostles took up their ordinary work, like any of us. Peter had denied our Lord three times, and then wept. But he had to work, and being a fisherman, he went fishing.
With the first rays of dawn the fishermen returned with an empty boat. The whole night had been spent in vain. But “When morning came, our Lord appeared on the shore. How many times has Christ not only been near us, but within us! And yet we continue to lead such a material existence. We fail to realize that Jesus is here, right next to us. They failed to recognize him. Then Jesus said to them: ‘Children, have you any fish?’ God asks us, his creatures, for something to eat God needs us. How beautiful that is! What a marvel of God's greatness! God needs us. No one is indispensable: I'm the Founder of Opus Dei and I'm not indispensable either. Nevertheless, I can tell you at the same time, that God needs us; he needs you and he needs me.” St Josemaría
The fishermen were exhausted from having worked all night, and with scarcely a glance towards him, they answered: "No." “This was an act of humility. They told the plain truth. Then Jesus says with all his power: ‘Throw your net to the right of the boat and you will find fish.’”
“They threw the net out to the right of the boat. It was a specific task, so that we too may learn. It was no longer a matter of being leaven for the dough of the multitude. Now, it is a matter of being fishermen catching other fishermen. They are fish of a different kind. They are other instruments who, later on, must turn into fishers of men.”
The disciples obeyed in silence, with a quiver in their hearts, and also with the humility born of a whole night's wasted effort. They were docile, humble, and obedient. And immediately they felt their nets weighed down by the catch.
“What do you and I do for the catch of fish to be abundant, so that many pieces of living silver will come into the boat?”