“Put out into the Deep”

“Put out into the Deep”

St. Anthony’s is a community with such potential, that we can do great things. As I get more and more immersed in the history of this parish, I realize that my first statement is quite accurate.

Throughout the existence of the parish, the members of St. Anthony’s paid heed to the words of Our Lord “Put out into the deep… and wait for a catch”

There will be times when we feel like the Apostles, who after an unsuccessful night of fishing, are most likely downtrodden, disappointed at their lack of fish and were not all that ready to fish some more. And yet, our Lord Jesus directs Simon to do put out into the deep and so he does it. The outcome of following our Lord’s direction is that they caught more fish than they thought they could handle.

To put out into the deep water is more than just the action to fish. Indeed, a miracle happened, the great catch of fish, but deep down, the word “deep” has a profound connotation for us.

Our Lord invites us to take more seriously our mission of evangelizing souls and accomplishing the mission of God. The symbolism of putting out into the deep water gives us the hint that there is something needed from us, that we must be all in and be more committed when it comes to evangelizing and spreading the Word of God.

Individually, we will accomplish our objectives in evangelizing, but as a parish, we can accomplish even more.

We have done our fair bit of evangelization in our parish, and as of late, reaching out to help the most needed of our community. And yet, the Lord still needs us to put more and more into the deep, so that all those who need our Lord may enjoy his benefits.

As a community, let us embrace that call from our Lord, let us join forces to reach out, catch more souls for Christ. Not because it will benefit us, but because we wish to share the bountiful catch we have received from the Lord.