gone fishin'
"Jesus said to them, 'Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' " —Mark 1:17
Have you gone fishing yet this year? The Lord wants you to fish for men and women every day. Fishing as Jesus knew it was more a matter of repeated effort than skill. Fishers needed skill to know where and when to fish, but mostly it took just plain hard work. Fishing in Jesus' day had nothing to do with bait, reels, or poles. Fishing was simply throwing a heavy net into the sea and dragging it back. The more times they cast the net and the longer they worked, the better their chances were of catching fish. Fishing was basically long hours of hard manual labor (e.g. see Lk 5:5).
Fishing for men and women (evangelizing) is similar. We don't need to be smart or articulate. We just need to work daily, frequently, and repeatedly to lead others to Christ. If you keep throwing the net, Jesus will provide the fish (see Jn 21:6ff; Lk 5:5-6). Those who fish a lot catch a lot of fish.
Prayer: Father, may my love for You inspire me to work hard at fishing.
Promise: "In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, He spoke to us through a Son." —Heb 1:1-2
Praise: St. Hilary was praised by Sts. Augustine and Jerome as "a fair cedar transplanted out of this world into the Church."
Nihil Obstat: Reverend David L. Zink, June 12, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 13, 2002