The Fisherman, Introduction
Author: Ian Harris
Quite often, I would consider myself a chump. I often know what is right and I am often very capable of doing what is right. Yet time and time again I find myself falling into the same habits, the same patterns, and the same sins I try so desperately to avoid. I don’t think I carry this feeling alone. I think many of us know this feeling and we are too familiar with the unsatisfaction it brings.
To go from chumphood to sainthood doesn’t mean we have to perform miraculous healings, speak in tongues, learn all the ins and outs of Catholic doctrine, or even convert every person we meet. No, to make this transition we need to stop doubting how deep His mercy can go and how far His love will chase us. What we need to do is let God love us right here, and right now. But how? Where do we turn for guidance? Lucky for us, there are a great number of saints who learned to let God’s love overpower their weakness. I think there is one saint in particular that can give us a lot of insights in this area. Over the next several weeks I want to spend some time breaking open the Gospels and trying to learn from the highs and lows of St. Peter. This man who started as nothing, but a common fisherman is an excellent example of how we can learn to stop trying to solve everything on own our and start leaning on God’s love and mercy.
How it’ll work.
We’ll work through Peter’s journey from fisherman to Pope by reading and praying with a few verses each week. I’m going to post my reflection, pose questions, and possibly link other relevant readings on this blog. This is meant to be a guide to a personal bible study, but you are more than welcome to go through it with others. My intention is to keep us all in a rhythm of consistent prayer throughout the end of this semester as well as the summer.
Why Peter?
Most of the saint stories we hear about involve an amazing conversion followed by a life of complete holiness. These stories are wonderful, by no means am I trying to take anything away from these holy men and women, but it is hard to get a full picture with just their “Top 10”. With St. Peter, we get to see his highlights but also his biggest biffs. Just like us, Peter falls straight on his face time after time. He’s a great example of holiness still looking human.
Why once a week?
Practically speaking, it is easier on me to write once a week. However, that is not my only reasoning for spacing out our readings. I know how hard it can be to get into some passages in the Bible. It can seem dry and confusing and just plain hard. By giving ourselves a week in between each reading we get a whole week to revisit the same few lines. This is going to help us get the very most out of each lesson St. Peter is showing us.
I’ll post the first readings next week so we can take advantage of all these graces being poured out this Easter season. Take the next few days to find some friends to try this with! The ladies at "Bold Moves for Real Life" had me on their podcast a few days ago if you want some more information on all this! I've attached a link to it on Spotify, but you can find it on all other podcast platforms.
Bold Moves For Real Life Episode 16 on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3tDgwSGNPF2wrFyCos9tbB?si=URZMuc5ZRZa7_Bmea2DMXw
Know of my prayers for you all and please keep me in your prayers!
Saint Peter, Pray for us!