The Catholic Defender: Luke 5:4 "Duc in Altum"

Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's (Peter), he (Jesus) asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

"Duc in Altum" means to "Put out into the deep" (Luke 5:4)! Notice Jesus spoke from St. Peter's boat, it is called the "Bark of Peter".

Jesus spoke to the crowds, He encouraged the people enlightening and en-kindling the imagination of the people. Jesus excited the people with the good news.

Once Jesus spoke to the crowds, He takes St. Peter out into the deep where we come along for the ride, we ride along to cast out our nets to go deep sea fishing.

As Catholics, we do not simply go surf fishing where some are chained down by false doctrine, by those who push their personal interpretations and call that Sola Scriptura.

With this command from the Lord, Jesus is inviting us to go deeper into the mysteries of our faith. The Faith of the Apostles coming from the Church that Christ founded.

This is also the "Mission Statement" of Deepertruth, "to know our faith, love our faith, and to spread our faith".

In the Catholic Faith, we have the opportunity to cast out our nets and discover we can go "deep sea fishing" that takes us beyond skimming the surface.

For many people, it takes a while to generate an interest to search for the "meat and potatoes" that can fill our hunger.

Jesus invites us to drink from the well that will never run dry. When was the last time you decided to pick up a bible and read it?

To examine the text, to pray over the message, to prepare for Mass? I believe that the more you put into your faith, the more you will get out of it and you will allow yourself the opportunity to grow.

Faith does come by hearing the word of God, but to keep this great faith, we must forever grow in our hunger and yearning to know God more.

Consider the small chapter of Psalms 1, listen to these words:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

We are called to bear good fruit in our lives. And we are not to grumble when new servants get the same pay for working the vineyard. We are to celebrate their conversion.

We are called to love from a springboard of truth and from the foundation planted along living water, planted near streams of running water. We are called to study God's law day and night, it should always be placed in the honor of our hearts where it can grow.

Out of the mouth, the heart speaks. How precious it is to hear a child say something they learned from their parents reading the bible or talking about the faith. From praying family devotions!

Standing on the "Bark of Peter" with Jesus and Peter, we need to be inspired by the Truth which is Jesus, this should then inspire action by faithful people in building the faith in our families, our communities, and our nation. Freedom should be the greatest export to other nations.

In today's world there are many voices out competing for our attention.

Let us hold fast to the Gospel that helps us navigate through this challenging world.