The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - How to Cast a Fishing Net

Episode Date: September 13, 2024

Did you know that you are in possession of a fishing net? Using Scripture, Jeff Cavins explains how each of us is in possession of a spiritual fishing net that we are called to use in pursuit of souls for Christ. Jeff also gives five points to remember when casting your net and walking with others who are seeking Christ. Snippet from the Show It is our responsibility to win souls for Christ. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit https://media.ascensionpress.com/?s=&page=2&category%5B0%5D=Ascension%20Podcasts&category%5B1%5D=The%20Jeff%20Cavins%20Show for full shownotes!

Welcome to the Jeff Kaven show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together and living as activated disciples. This is show 394, how to cast a fishing net. Welcome to the show. Ah, I have so many ideas to share with you today, because again, I'm out in. I'm out in the woods here in Minnesota, deep in the woods, and life is changing. The trees are turning color, and that's the nature of life, isn't it? You have a seed, and the seed dies. The seed is in the ground, and new life comes up and fruit, and the cycle continues on.

But as I look out at the lake today, I am reminded of a fishing net because there are people out there fishing, fishing. Not with nets, but with rods and reels. And in the winter, we fish while walking on water in Minnesota. But I want to talk to you today about how to cast a fishing net. And this idea came up a couple of weeks ago in the gospel reading for the liturgical cycle. Luke chapter 5 came up. And it was that story about Jesus telling Peter to cast his net out into the deep, Duke and Altum, we would say. and the results were incredible, absolutely incredible.

So I would like to talk to you about casting a fishing net. And you might say to yourself, I don't even own a fishing net, Jeff. Well, you actually do. And that's what we're going to talk about. And not only are we going to talk about the fact that you own a fishing net, but also we're going to talk about the responsibility that you have with that fishing net. And a little spoiler alert, it's not for fish. It's for human beings and it's humane.

And we subscribe to what we would call a catch and release program. So we're going to get into that a little bit. By the way, if you do want the show notes, all you've got to do is text my name. One word, Jeff Kavins, and text it to the number 3377. We'll get you on board. You'll get them every week. You won't have to put that fish and that rod and reel down to get the hook out. You won't have to take notes when you're doing that.

You can actually just listen and then I'll share the notes with you after you have brought the fish into the boat and back to shore and then prepared it for dinner. So the scripture that came to mind was Luke chapter 5 and verses 1 through 11. and I'll give you the basic setting of it and then kind of look into what I really wanted to talk about. Now, the setting is that Jesus is standing by the Sea of Galilee. He's standing by the Sea of Galilee, and he sees two boats there alongside the lake. The Sea of Galilee is also called a lake, and it's smaller than a lot of the lakes in Minnesota. It's not like a sea that you can't see across.

We have lakes like that in Minnesota, Red Lake, Malax Lake, a bunch of leech Lake, a bunch of big ones. But no, this is more like a small lake, but big, big enough to have big waves, big enough to have a fishing industry. And today, a boating industry. So he saw the two boats along the lake and the fishermen had disembarked. They're not on their boats anymore. And they're washing their nets. They're washing their nets. But here's the problem.

They didn't catch anything, but they're still diligent to take care of the nets and cleaning them. And getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him, can you put me out a short distance from the shore? I got something I'd like to tell all these people. And I don't think it would be heard standing on land. So get me out in the boat, help me with this, set the stage for me to communicate. And then he sat down and he taught. he taught the crowds from the boat and then he finished speaking and then he turns to simon and he said

this he said simon put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch and now this is where simon comes in peter comes in and says master we have worked hard all night and we have caught nothing but at your command i'll lower the nets okay so when they had done this guess what the result it was. Well, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. That's how many fish they have. This is bananas. This is way over the top. This isn't what they expected, but it's what they received from the Lord. Abundance. Abundance. And then they signaled to their partners in the other boat. Guys, come on over here. Help us. This is just as crazy. Come on over here. and they came and they filled both boats,

both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. But then what happens here is that Peter gets a vocation change. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell on his knees before Jesus, and he said, depart from me. Depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man. For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him. just astonished. And likewise, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon.

And Jesus said something to Simon here that is so important, he said, Do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men. Wow. That's a change in the game, isn't it? Well, we're not that good at fishing, at least not last night. We didn't catch anything. And Jesus says, well, if you'll listen to me. And when I tell you to put down the nets and where I tell you to put down the nets, then you're going to live in abundance here. And so when they brought their their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. But prior to that, Jesus said to Simon, he said, do not be afraid. From now on, you'll be catching men. When they brought their boats to the

shore, they left everything and followed him. Talk about a change in life. Come home at the end of the honey, how's the fishing today? Not doing that anymore. What? What do you mean you're not doing that anymore? I'm going fishing for men and women, all kinds of people. Come again, sweetie. What did you say? I'm going fishing for men. Jesus changed the course of my life and he wants me to start fishing for men. So my question to you now is, are you fishing for men? Now you might say to yourself, I don't even know how to fish. And that might be true in the natural, but you might be saying that regarding the supernatural.

I don't know how to fish, Jeff. I don't know how to witness. I don't know how to talk to people about the Lord. I don't know how to pray for them. I don't know what I would do with them once I've got them on the stringer. You know, do I just release them or do I take them to a certain building? Or what do we do about cleaning them up, you know? So I remember getting, I remember it for me, I remember getting a Bible at my confirmation.

Now confirmation, if you have been confirmed, is when you received your nets. You receive nets from the Lord. And you might be thinking yourself, well, like you, Jeff, I got a Bible, I got a rosary. I remember getting a little black prayer book and a $25 gift certificate to my favorite coffee shop. Maybe that's you. well you may have my friend but you also received a net a fishing net for human beings really you say yes you did you really did and a lot of people forget about it and my question is where did you put it if you are called to win souls for christ and jesus demonstrated this

with peter and you have that calling on your life to win souls what are you doing with your net? Well, I would call my net that I received at confirmation. I would call that my means of evangelization, how I deal with that net, how I use it, how I mend it, how I strategically place it in certain places around the lake. So you did receive a net at confirmation. Now, confirmation is about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit

fulfilling the graces and the promises of baptism and receiving courage to be an authentic witness for Christ. So every person has been baptized and confirmed. Every person who has been baptized or confirmed has received this vocation of evangelization. You really have. So in today's gospel reading, the one I'm using today, Jesus told Simon to put his nets out into the deep, into the deep. So what I'd like to talk to you about here today is I'd like to talk to you about

what you do with people that you are evangelizing or that you are discipling, you are nurturing and you're helping people to grow in the Lord. How might these nets be used in starting a conversation and then developing the relationship with the hopes that people will come into fullness, the fullness of truth and to become a member of the household of God to come into the church where they can grow and they can be fed and nourished and healed. That's what I'd like to talk to you about. So as a fisher of men, there are a few things that you have to give yourself to completely if you want to be successful. And I'd like to give you that list of pointers that will help you share your faith with others.

it's by no means an exhaustive list. It's just some things that I think are very important that I'd like to share with you today. And we'll do that right after this. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven's show. Hi, I'm Father Michael Joseph Paris, and I am one of the hosts of Season 3 of Catholic Classics, where we'll read and explain the story of a soul by St. Teresa of Liseu, Doctor of the Church, an incredible saint who has inspired millions of Catholics with her life and teachings. To follow along, get the reading plan at ascensionpress.com slash Catholic Classics. Welcome back, my fellow fisherman. I hope you're doing well fishing for men.

You know, it is an art. It is something that you have to develop, how you talk to people, what you share, how you answer questions that you simply don't know the answer to. You know, where do you bring people that you have been discipling? How do you introduce them? to the local church. Well, let's look at five things real quickly here that you can do in the process of casting your nets wide and deep out into the world. Number one, it's important to remember that number one, you are a co-worker with Jesus. And his will and his plan is the center

for all activities in your life. And that is such an important thing to remember that Jesus is working with you. You are not on your own. You're not left to your own cleverness or your own own devices. You're not carrying this on as someone separate from Christ and then bringing it to him, bringing people to him. You're doing it as you're working with him. That's an important thing to remember. You know, a years ago, I had a beautiful, beautiful period of time. I think it was about six months. And I'm talking about, how long ago was that? Talking about a couple of decades ago, I think, where I was not happy with my relationship with the Lord. I was happy in the Lord, I was happy for the Lord, but I wasn't happy for the way I was conducting

myself. I was losing track of Jesus throughout the day. And I would go a day, two, three, sometimes almost all week without really thinking about him and talking to him and aware of his presence. Oh, sure, I put together studies, I might have wrote an article or something like that, but that's not the same as communing with the Lord and just spending that time with the Lord and being ever aware that he is present at the moment, at the moment. And I made it my prayer, and I decided that I wanted to be mindful of Jesus 24-7, and I didn't want to lose it. So if I was going to the grocery store or going to a sporting event or I was taking a walk or going to a wedding or a funeral. I wanted to be aware of his presence 24-7. And to cultivate that desire in my heart,

I came up with a lot of things that would keep me on track. Like for example, back in the day when we used Franklin planners, I would put a little J with a circle around it and I would place them couple of them every day in my calendar. And I'd go out two or three months and I'd prepare my calendar by putting this little symbol of a J with a circle around it actually in my calendar. And now, man, that's easy to do with all the Google calendars and Apple and everything else out there, Android. And that would remind me, Jeff, focus. Jesus is with you. At this slice of the day, He is with me. And so by living this way, you're allowing Jesus throughout the day to comfort you, to direct you, to inform you, and also to heal you.

And that took a little time to develop, but I'm, man, I'm happy to tell you that that's what the result was. And still is today. Still my prayer today is, Lord, I don't want to be independent. I want to be your coworker. I want to work with you. I want to know your mind and I want to know your plan. And sometimes you kind of lose it. You might go a day or two, but then you get back.

So number one, if you're going to cast the nets in your neighborhood or your state or your school, if you're in high school, college, whatever it might be, know this. You're a coworker. You're not alone. Number two, prepare to be the example of what Jesus' work can do in, anyone's life. Now, what am I talking about there? Well, one of one of the secrets really to Jesus' teaching was that, and his pedagogy, his whole way of teaching was that he spent mega amounts of time with his men. From morning to night, he was with him. He was teaching

them, giving them examples, giving them, you know, assignments. And they were talking to each other. There was that interaction. But if you want to be an example of what Jesus can do, then you have to, you have to spend time with him. And when I say this, please understand where I'm coming from, as I say this, I'm not talking about just a five-minute thing in the morning. I'm talking about a constant conversation that you have with the Lord that can be had even in the middle of splitting diamonds for a jewelry shop. You can still be in union with Christ. Now, what does this have to do with you casting nets?

Well, it means that if you're going to have an impact on other people, you need to spend time with them. And for me, coffee shops have always been a really wonderful place to bring people and there's other places you can bring people to and in fact you can have them over for dinner but you need to spend time with those that you're hoping will get it and they will experience a transformation in their life if you are not with them the chances are that it's not going to happen it's not going to happen they need your companionship they need your love they need your encouragement in their life And so I think that's a really, really important thing.

So there you go. That's prepared to be an example. Number three, you will want to focus on the sacraments of initiation. Now, if you're not familiar with the sacraments of initiation, the sacraments, there's seven of them in the church. Some churches have five, non-Catholic churches have five. but the Catholic Church has seven sacraments, and each one of them is an encounter with Jesus. An encounter that is the same as the encounters with Jesus in the Bible. Like, for example, baptism, or receiving the Holy Spirit, or the Last Supper, Communion.

These are all very pivotal moments, baptism, confirmation, and communion. These three sacraments are the sacraments of initiation. They literally change us on the inside. And they do what their title says. They initiate you into the walk with Christ, into life with Christ. So I would share with people that you are casting nets for. I would share with them about baptism, confirmation and communion. And you can do it very easily.

You know, you can go and search the, the catechism of the Catholic Church and learn something about baptism plus your own experience, maybe you read a book, and you'll have something to say. Put it in your own language. Share it at the level you're at with joy with somebody else. And by the way, as long as we're talking about the sacraments of initiation, might I suggest that you acquaint your catch with the OCI experience that used to be RCIA? OCIA stands. It's for the order of Christian initiation of adults. And it's how we are initiated into the kingdom of God.

Get to know that. Get to know it at their parish or your own parish so that you can introduce them to that process. Number four, teach them three things. Three things. Number one, teach them salvation history. Teach them salvation history. What do I mean by that? What I mean is teach them the Bible.

from the beginning to the end as a complete story. Now, there is a complete story in the Bible, but it's not organized that way. You have an Old and New Testament, and the Old Testament, the books are arranged by literary genres, history, poetry, wisdom, prophetic. And you also have books like parts of Daniel or Ezekiel and the book of Revelation, of course, apocalyptic literature. So that's the way it's organized. And that person that you are working with is not, and I repeat, is not, I've never seen it,

is not going to come to the right conclusion as to how to read that Bible. They're not going to do it. It's too foreign and it's out of order. It's too foreign and it's out of order. And that's why they need you. So the answer to, can you help me read the Bible should never be just open to John and start reading. I mean, it could be, it could be, don't you know what I'm saying? But the answer should be, let me show you how to read the Bible.

That's what the great adventure is all about, a journey through the Bible. And I teach that in 24, one-hour talks. And I also teach it in a shorter version called Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible. We'll put these in the show notes for you. But that one is eight half-hour sessions, and I'll take you from Genesis to Revelation. But the big one, the one I really like, the great adventure, a journey through the Bible. It's 24 one-hour talks if you really want to get to know this. So after the Bible, I would recommend also orient them to the catechism of the Catholic Church.

You know the catechism is such a blessing. The new Ascension Catechism is, I think, the best catechism ever to be put together. It's a marvel. And by the way, the Great Adventure Bible and the Ascension Catechism all in one app free. That's right. It's the Ascension app. Go for it. It's going to be one of the biggest changes in your life.

Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. I'm going to do a whole show on it sometime and really introduce you to that app. So the catechism is number two. It's organized by four pillars. It takes everything we believe, except bingo, and the dunking booth at the fall festival. And it puts it in some kind of order that makes sense. So you have the creed. Number one, that's the story.

Number two, sacraments and liturgy. What's that pillar? How you get into the story and how you live it. And then number three is the moral law or life in Christ, and that is what you live. You live the life of Christ. And then the fourth is prayer, which is a part of our whole walk, individually and corporately. So get a catechism, show them how to use it. Get a Bible.

Show them how to use it. And number three, and this would be, I think, the fifth point. I think I told you five points. Either way, it's prayer. It's prayer. Teach them to pray. Now, prayer can be very daunting. It can become a real point of nervousness for people.

They may hear you pray. Oh, Lord, we love you so much, and we thank you, Jesus. And you're going on and on, and you're waxing eloquent and holy. And they're thinking, and I don't know, is he expecting me to do that? I don't know if I can do that. Well, you're in good blessing because we have prayers in the church that are so outstanding, far more outstanding than anything I've ever come up with. And those prayers are so good that they can become yours.

So we have prayers from many of the saints that you can Google, you can look up. And there's a lot of books that are available, Catholic prayer books, that you can have access to some of these great prayers. But the point is this. Give them an example of praying spontaneously, but also give them the freedom of praying the great prayers of the church. But you be the leader, you be the one that sets the pace on that. So those are five things, you know, that are very, very important. Just to review them real quickly for you, we have the point, number one, you are a coworker with Jesus. Number two, be the example that you want them to become. Number three, start with the sacraments of initiation.

That's baptism, confirmation, and communion. And number four, teach them all about the Bible and how to read it and the catechism and how to read it. Number five, how to pray. Yeah, looking at the notes that I'm preparing for you so that you don't have to stop running and write these things down. Yes, number five, teach them. to pray. So I'm going to end this by just challenging you. Maybe today God is speaking to you as he spoke to Peter, put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch. Are you at college? Put out into the deep waters of that college and lower your nets for a catch. Is it your

neighborhood? Is it at work? Remember, in the sacraments of initiation, you received your nets. Let's take care of our nets, but more importantly, let's use our nets and cast them into the deep. Praise God. Well, I hope that works for you this week, and that might give you some ideas on how to be a more effective evangelist for the Lord. I'm going to put all those things and the show notes for you. Let's pray. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, we thank you so much for calling us to yourself. And Lord, we thank you for the call to become fissures of men. We thank you for educating us. We thank you for giving us the skill to bring people to you so that they can enjoy eternal life and the joy of just knowing you.

A new opportunity. Lord, give us courage. to cast the nets, give us fortitude. May we not be all caught up in what people might think of us, but may we be bold and do exactly what you told us to do. Our efforts have not yielded much in the past. And Lord, so now we want to respond to your voice to cast the nets into the deep. Duke and Altum.

In Jesus' name, amen. Love you. I really do. And I'm praying for you. I think about you all week and I'm writing notes down all week things. Oh, I got to share that with you. So there. My friend, I look forward to talking to you next week already.

In the meantime, go out and cast your nets.