Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Today's Gospel is full of meaning for members of the mystical body,
and often the meaning is hidden,
for we see very clearly that the Apostles would return to their former employment,
that is, they sought to not indulge themselves in that vice of idleness
by which they would be standing around gossiping and leading to all sorts of sins.
But tradition tells us that all of the Apostles, save St. Matthew,
returned to their former employment,
and so we learn very clearly that the Christian must busy himself about gainful employment,
that is, noble employment,
that is not simply resolved upon making money,
but is truly resolved upon edifying the world.
And so St. Matthew would not return to his former employment
because it was an unjust employment for a Christian to be indulging himself in.
And so we learn from the very first part of the Gospel
that we have to be very careful that we do not fall into the modern era of our day
in which we considered the pursuit of money, the end all, and the purpose of our existence.
And so we learn...
we learn the great value of human labor,
that it is not simply something by which we gain our sustenance,
although that is part of it,
but most especially, human labor is a means by which we make reparation for our sins.
And so each and every Christian must be certain they are gainfully employed,
that is, doing labor that is edifying and helps them avoid the idleness that often leads to sin.
And so the Apostles sought to go out fishing,
fishing by night because that was the proper time to fish on the Sea of Tiberias,
for it was a shallow sea and during the day the fish would scatter to the depths
and it was very difficult to catch them.
And so they fished all night and caught nothing.
And as the sun was breaking over the ridge, the Lord came and told them to cast their nets.
Here we see no longer St. Peter arguing with our Lord as he formerly did.
We have been fishing all night.
Do you think we'll catch something?
They merely cast the net over the side at a time of the day when they would expect to catch nothing.
Indeed, their expectations on a human level would be much less than they had formerly been during the night.
And yet, they cast the net over the right side as the Lord had instructed them,
and they catch a great draught of fish.
What are we to learn from this?
That the Holy Apostles go about fishing for souls
under the guidance of Jesus.
And so we are certain that Christ guides His Church
and that Peter and the Apostles are always at work laboring for the salvation of souls.
And when the nets come up empty,
then it is only a time of preparation in which the Lord,
through the sacrifice and the labors of the members of the mystical body,
will eventually use those sacrifices and labors to catch a great draught of fish.
That is, to begin again the conversion of all souls
into the Kingdom of Christ.
And our Lord stands and waits on the shores,
and so the shores are a sign of eternity,
where He waits for St. Peter to deposit all those souls
that have been caught in the net of Holy Mother Church.
And there, St. Peter will bring them safely to the shores of eternity,
where we will no longer ask the question,
Is it the Lord?
Because as we learn at the end of the Gospel,
none of the Apostles at this point asked,
Who are you?
We knew that it was the Lord,
and so too in heaven we will know it is the Lord,
because we will see Him by way of the beatific vision.
And so, let us strive to keep ourselves busy about the things that Christians should be busy about,
engaging ourselves in noble labors for the edification of souls
and also for the sustenance of our family.
But let us always be on guard to avoid that idleness
that leads to all sorts of sins within every member of the mystical body,
and let us always be thankful that we know that the Apostles are laboring
under the guidance of Christ,
and so they are at this moment working for the salvation of souls.
And if the sea seems to be empty of the fish,
it is only a matter of time before the fruitful labors of the mystical body,
the sacrifices and the prayers that they send forth from heaven for the conversion of souls,
it is only a matter of time before the Lord will answer them, and again,
the Church will begin to bring up souls from the depths of darkness,
that is, from the depths of sin, into the light of Jesus Christ,
and we will again look forward to a great era in which the Church,
laboring for the conversion of souls, will draw all souls to that kingdom,
and again, we will see that marvelous expression in society of the love of Christ,
which was formerly known as Christendom, and which some of us tell us
we have no reason to hope that it would come again.
But indeed, the saints, and especially those saints who lived during the first reign of Christ
in culture that became known as Christendom, will tell us that we have reason to hope
that the Christendom to come will exceed by leaps and bounds
the holiness of the former Christendom that existed during its height in the 13th century.
And so, let us labor avoiding that idleness that destroys the souls,
let us labor knowing that,
even if we were not to see that mass conversion in the present life that we have,
we know that someday the Lord will again command Saint Peter and the Apostles to cast the net,
and souls will come to him in his mystical body in droves,
so that all may find the one thing that the Apostles found this day,
the Lord on the shores of eternity,
where now they behold him in the beatific vision for all eternity,
praising their good God together,
and we have that hope of joining them,
if we too labor like the Apostles for our Lord and Savior.
And so, let us always know what we are about.
Everything we do, everything we say, all of it,
we must give back to the Lord so that we communicate to him
that we go about laboring for him and for no other,
so that everything we do redoubts to the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
and then we, like the Apostles,
will receive that greatest of all rewards,
not money according to the standards of the world,
but that vision by which we see Jesus as he truly is.
And so, let us always know what we are about.
And so, let us always know what we are about.
Let us always know what we are about.