It would be useless for us to spend our whole life trying to do good, if we did not rely on our Lord's help.
Christ was in the boat, and told the disciples to cast out their nets once more. Peter obeyed. But now there was a new spirit, an enthusiasm that wasn't there before. And Peter was with our Lord; Jesus was in the boat with him. Peter was no longer working by himself and for himself. It was God who was working through a docile instrument. Peter no longer relied on his own skill and strength.
Confident that he was now working for Christ, “Peter lowered the net anew, and they caught, a great number of fish. Believe me, this miracle is repeated daily."
We should ask ourselves whether we are closely united to Christ in our apostolic work, through obedience to those who direct our progress. Perhaps we will sometimes have to admit: “I have been silly and foolish. I have done what I could, but I have been wasting my time. ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!’ If we have been working on our own account, as we see some people doing outside the unity of the Church, what results can we expect from our apostolate? Working on our own account, we haven't been able to do anything. But let's go on listening: ‘In God's name I will lower the net’. What a beautiful way to redirect an entire life, when, for whatever reason, we have tried to carry out an apostolate on our own account."
If we work with a right intention, seeking God's glory alone, in close union with Jesus Christ, we won't have to wait long for our apostolate to show results. “You can do great good or great harm. You will do great good if you are humble and give yourself joyfully with a spirit of sacrifice. You will do great good for yourself and for your brothers, and for the Church. But you will do great harm if you let your pride get the better of you. Then you will have to say: ‘we caught nothing’. I have accomplished nothing in the black of the night."
But ‘in your name’, because it is what you want. Tell him this: that you are going to work for Christ. The results will be marvelous.
And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. When we hear Christ's voice reaching us through those in charge of coordinating the work, we should leave everything -our comfort, our personal plans, our false prudence- and work apostolically as we are asked. Only in this way will our nets be filled with souls for Christ.
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