Robert Coles, a Pulitzer Prize winner who taught at Harvard, believes that “the characters in novels can be persistent voices reminding us of the constant temptation toward egotism, and self-deception to which the mind is heir,’ and exhorting us to live lives that are morally inspired.”1
For example, “a medical student reported in class how ‘sometimes the story I read merges with the situation I'm in. . . . It becomes part of me, I mean, it all affects my attitude toward the people I'm with, in the clinic.”2
Similarly, the call, objection, assurance, and commissioning stories of Isaiah and Simon Peter in our readings, are just as alive today as we are. They are meant to intertwine with the story our lives.
E.g., Simon knew that lake well, and Jesus did not ask Simon to do anything he did not already know how to do. However, staying a given course is one thing, going deeper in it is another. E.g., Janet Quinlan shared that when she was pregnant with her fourth child she went on a retreat, saying “having already discerned that God had called me to marriage and motherhood, the message of St. Josemaria Escriva gave that call to motherhood texture and meaning. I saw how my faith and my vocation could and should be unified. My marriage and motherhood were the path to my sanctity.”3
Are the fishermen or evangelists themselves subjective? Yes. Idiosyncratic? Yes. It isn't a question of which one style is right or wrong because there are different kinds of fish.
As Kelly M. Kapic illustrates:
“In most families there are favorite cousins and also eccentric uncles. We may think Uncle Martin is a bit crazy, but also brilliantly intuitive and committed, and so we love to be with him. We laugh at his jokes and absorb his passion,… Aunt Claire’s life is an inspiration, and you love listening to her quiet insights and profound experiences of God, even if you find her personality so different from your own. Great Grandpa Thomas is so organized and careful with his words and actions: from his attentive reflections you have learned to value thoughtfulness, seeing connections between ideas and practices that would too easily be missed if you were on your own.’4
What is fishing for men?
Fish are metaphors for people who are to become Catholic Christians.
It is communicating Christ as the source of salvation for the whole world, then baptizing, teaching, and snatching them from the slavery of error and of idols. That is how Vatican II puts it in Lumen Gentium, 17.
Lumen Gentium focuses on proclaiming the kerygma, namely “Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.”
Pope Paul VI also includes besides the kerygma, “adherence to the community and acceptance of the sacraments.” (Evangelii nuntiandi 18–24).
Monsignor Charles Pope offers a more colloquial version of the ancient kerygma like this:
“You got it bad and that ain’t good. But there is a doctor in the house and his name is Jesus. And if you will call on him, he will go to work in your life and save you from the mess you are, and the mess you have made.”5
In Evangelii Nuntiandi no. 80, Paul VI hopes that evangelizers’ lives glow with fervor.” Robert W. Reid says: “Knowledge is paramount. Confidence is the fuel.”6
After the call, there is the objection.
Distinct voices clash between God and the soul.
Especially if one is called to the priesthood or religious life.
For all, fishing for people is an exposure in itself, a confrontation regarding our inner adherence to Christ.
The Cursillo prayer begins with, “Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success. My God, give us a spirit of self-sacrifice so that we may offer everything to our cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary.
Isaiah said that he was unclean: "Woe is me, I am doomed! Simon's words when he tells Jesus to "go away" echo the command Jesus uses when he drives out demons.
We begin with the Confiteor at Mass, which gives the remedy for venial sins. RE: mortal sins: Someone in R.C.I.A., in a tour of the church, may note that we have a little room in our lives for confession for telling the truth of our lives. Confession can always be a deeper experience because it allows us to verbalize sins to a priest, receive forgiveness, and the deeper part is when we let God heal deeper wounds and get to the root of sins.
After the objection, comes the assurance. The authoritative word- “If you say so” literally in Greek, “at your word.” Simon Peter sees the result and immediately recognizes Jesus divine identity. Isaiah’s purification of the lips indicates preparation for a prophetic mission, for public speaking.
Then, there is the commissioning. They realized that their lives are more important than fishing for fish. They left everything, which means their priorities changed.
The call of eternity is always upon us even when we don’t realize it.
In appropriating the life stories of Isaiah’s and Simon Peter’s callings, challenging both the intellect and the conscience, we can make them their own in new, deeper directions.
1. David Heetland, review of The Call of Stories: Teaching and Moral Imagination by Robert Coles. Houghton Mifflin, 256 pp, in The Christian Century, Feb 07-14 1990. He believes that reading and hearing the impactful stories of others can be freeing and life changing.
2. William Hoover Hethcock, who reviewed: Robert Coles, The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination. Houghton Mifflin, 1989, in Homiletic, Summer 1992
3. https://janetquinlan.com/ep-108-what-motherhood-means-to-me/
4. Kelly M. Kapic, Why a Historical Approach to Christian Spirituality Is Crucial: An Appreciation of Gerald L. Sitter’s Water from a Deep Well, In: Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, Fall 2017
5. Msgr. Charles Pope, What do we mean by the term ‘Kerygma?’, National Catholic Register, July 20, 2021
6. Robert W. Reid, Linked In.
