Being a faithful Catholic woman has never been easy. When we’re living our faith to the fullest, most of our days are maxed out with “regular” responsibilities. The chasing of children, the juggling of jobs, the busy-ness of parish ministry, our own “vocation within a vocation” and everything and everyone sandwiched in between, can work to wear us down. According to Saint Pope John Paul II, women’s role in salvation history is nothing short of the “self-offering totality of love.” (Redemptoris Mater) He encouraged all believers to “put out into the deep.” To go above and beyond. To offer themselves entirely.
The scene brings the reader to the Sea of Galilee, where the fishermen, the soon-to-be apostles, are washing out their nets. They’re tired, uninspired and so done with fishing for the day. They’ve invested their talents, time, and the tools of the trade, and they have little or nothing to show for it.
Jesus, who was teaching the crowd from the shore, helps himself into Peter’s boat and asks to be taken a little ways out, so that more people would have a front row seat. Peter, perhaps a tad curious and too tired to argue, obliges. Maybe it’s midmorning or early afternoon, when Jesus finishes his talk. Not the best time of the day to go fishing, but he turns to Peter and his crew and tells them to go out a little bit further. To forgo their regular routine. To trust even more. To do that “one more little thing.” Let down your nets, he says. Peter, having heard every word that Jesus spoke to the crowd, is exhausted, but obeys.
The net splashes into the water and in a flash is so filled with fish, that it starts to fray. The greatness of the catch is juxtaposed with the breaking of the nets. The abundant grace of God versus human frailty and the limitations of manmade goods.
As Catholic women, sometimes we can reach a breaking point. We’re swimming against the tide, trying to keep our heads above water as we live counter culturally in a modernistic, relativistic world. Our lives, like the nets, are full and on the verge of bursting. Pope John Paul II applauds woman’s “strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows” and “limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work.” (Redemptoris Mater) It’s woman’s nature to nurture, to pour herself out, so it’s vital to take time to be refueled, revived, and refocused.
Spiritual self-care is essential: silence, solitude, pouring out our personal prayer, visiting the Blessed Sacrament; gathering with other women in small group studies or via social media, or meeting women in online podcasts. These are just a few of the places where we can find “words of support and encouragement.” (Redemptoris Mater) So, before you get the feeling of bursting at the seams, before your gnarled nets are ready to shred, make the reach and grab a life line. Having holy habits, (aka spiritual self-care) will keep you from going under.
