DEEP WATER

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Thursday 4 September 2014

DEEP WATER

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:1-11)

Reflection. Shallow water rushes along in a stream while deep water seems so still and silent. You can sit and look at a lake for a long time allowing its depths to soothe your soul. Jesus inviting his disciples to ‘put out into deep water’ is a parable in itself. They will catch a great quantity of fish but they will also go deep into their own lives. Peter is overwhelmed by the experience which brings him instant self-knowledge. ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ The going out into the deep with the boat was accompanied by a going into his own depths – and he did not like what he saw. The catch of fish revealed who Jesus really was – and showed up who Peter really was. It was a distinctly uncomfortable experience. Yet, we sense that it is a step in Peter’s growth as a disciple, a step in knowing himself and so coming to know his need for God.’

Prayer. Lord Jesus, help us to follow St Augustine who ‘entered into my own depths, with you as guide’ and came to know Truth and to know himself in the light of truth. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ