We generally do not take very kindly to people who get into our business. When we think that we know what we are doing, even when we are not being very successful at it, we don’t want someone else telling us what to do and giving us unsolicited advice.  Mostly we want people to mind their own business and to leave us in peace.  Often when we have failed at something there are countless people who want to tell us how we could do something better.  Some of this “advice” can get pretty ugly and demeaning.

    Failure can be a demeaning and dehumanizing experience.  It is difficult to face our failures in life.  We never plan for failure.  When we set out on a task we often think that we have a pretty good chance for success.  When failure happens it catches us off guard and it erodes our self-confidence and our self-understanding.  How could things have gone so wrong?  What could we have done to prevent our failure?  What could we do better next time?  How we face our failures says a lot about our character and our ability to cope with life’s set-backs.  Often failure can anger us and we can turn our anger at others and make them share in our suffering.  Many times our anger is turned in on ourselves and we blame ourselves for the problem and tear ourselves down from within.  We can develop a very negative self image and we can punish ourselves for our failure.

    In today’s gospel, Peter and the other fishermen are facing their failure.  They have been fishing all night and have caught nothing.  They are not feeling very good about themselves at the moment.  The last thing they want is someone telling them what to do.  Jesus makes the suggestion that they try casting their nets out on the other side of the boat.  They reluctantly follow his instructions and they make a great catch of fish.  Even though Jesus is not a fisherman and probably didn’t know much about fish, Peter is willing to trust in our Lord’s advice.  When we follow the Lord’s instructions and place our trust in him, then good things are likely to happen to us.  In the times of our weakness and failures, God can provide for us the grace that we need to succeed in our endeavors.  It doesn’t do us much good to wallow in our self-pity and negativity and engage in self-defeating behaviors, we need to trust in God’s grace to supply us in our need.  St. Paul confesses today in our second reading, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.”  God’s grace and presence has seen him through difficult times of suffering and failure.

    When we can make a simple statement of faith and trust in our merciful Lord, we open ourselves to a whole new way of life.   How often does Jesus let people that he has healed know that it was their faith in Jesus that made the difference in their being healed?  Jesus has asked that we place our faith in him and in his Father and truly believe in the love that they have for us.  A simple prayer such as, “Jesus I trust in you,” can bring healing and new hope into a situation that seems desperate.  When we place our faith and trust in Jesus and do what his Blessed Mother told us to do:  “Do whatever he tells you to do” through a simple obedience of faith in our Lord, then we can truly begin to “put out into the deep” of the spiritual life and discipleship and bear greater fruit than we ever thought possible.