GRM 58.3-5
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
58.3 Jesus asks His apostle: «Will you have a good haul?»
«The weather is right. The water is calm, it will be clear moonlight. The fish will come to the surface from the bottom and my net will drag them.»
«Are we going by ourselves?»
«Oh! Master! How could we manage by ourselves with this type of net.»
«I have never gone fishing and I expect to be taught by you.» Jesus goes down very slowly towards the lake and He stops near the boat, on the coarse, pebbly sands.
«See, Master: this is what we do. I go out beside the boat of James of Zebedee, and we go thus to the right point, both boats together. Then we lower the net. We hold one end. You said You wanted to hold it.»
«Yes, if you tell Me what I have to do.»
«Oh! You only have to watch it going down. It must be lowered slowly without making any knots. Very slowly, because we will be in a fishing area, and any harsh movement may drive the fish away. Without knots, otherwise the net would close up, whereas it must open like a bag, or if You prefer so, like a veil blown by the wind. Then, when the net is fully lowered, we will row gently, or we may set sail, according to circumstances, forming a semicircle on the lake. And when we understand by the vibration of the safety peg that the haul is good, we head for the shore. When we are almost on the shore — not before to avoid running the risk of losing all the fish; not after, to avoid damaging both the fish and net on the stones — we will haul in the net. At this point we must be very careful, because the boats must be so close as to allow one boat to catch the end of the net from the other one, but they must not collide, to avoid crushing the netful of fish.
58.4 Please, Master, be careful, it is our daily bread. Keep an eye on the net, that jolts may not overturn it. The fish fight for their freedom with strong strokes of their tails, and if there is a lot of them… You will understand… They are small things, but if ten, one hundred, a thousand get together, they become as strong as Leviathan.»
«The same happens with sins, Peter. After all, one fault is not irreparable. But if one is not careful in controlling oneself, and one adds fault to fault, at the end a little fault, perhaps a single omission, or a simple weakness, becomes bigger and bigger, it becomes a habit, it becomes a capital vice. At times one starts with a lustful glance and ends up by committing adultery. At times, while simply lacking charity when speaking to a relative, one ends up by doing violence to one’s neighbour. Never, never allow faults to increase in seriousness and in numbers, if you wish to avoid trouble! They become dangerous and overbearing like the infernal Snake himself, and they will drag you down into Gehenna.»
«What You say is right, Master… But we are so weak!»
«Care and prayer are necessary to become strong and obtain help, together with a strong will not to sin. And you must have full trust in the loving justice of the Father.»
«Do You think He will not be too severe with poor Simon?»
«He might have been severe with the old Simon. But with My Peter, with the new man, the man of His Christ… no, Peter, He will not. He loves you and will love you.»
«And what about me?»
«You, too, Andrew; and John, James, Philip and Nathanael as well. You are the first chosen by Me.»
58.5 «Will there be any more? There is Your cousin, and in Judaea…»
«Oh! There will be many more. My Kingdom is open to all mankind and I solemnly tell you that My haul, in the nights of centuries, will be more plentiful than your richest one… Because every century is one night in which not the pure light of Orion or of the sailing moon will be the guide and light of mankind, but the word of Christ and the Grace He will bestow; a night that will become the dawn of a day with no sunset and of a light in which all the faithful will live, and will be the dawn of a sunshine that will make all the chosen resplendent, beautiful, happy forever even like gods. Minor gods, children of God the Father and like Me… It is not possible for you to understand now. But I solemnly tell you that your Christian life will cause you to resemble your Master, and you will shine in Heaven with His signs. So, notwithstanding the envious malice of Satan and the weak will of men, My haul will be more plentiful than yours.»
«But shall we be Your only apostles?»
«Are you jealous, Peter? No, don’t be! Others will come and in My heart there will be love for everybody. Don’t be greedy, Peter. You do not yet know Who loves you. Have you ever counted the stars? Or the stones in the depth of the lake? No, you could not. And even less you would be able to count the loving throbs of which My heart is capable. Have you ever been able to count how many times this lake kisses the shore with its waves in the course of twelve moons? No, you would never be able to do so. And even less you would be able to count the loving waves that My heart pours out to kiss men. Be sure of My love, Peter.»
Peter takes Jesus’ hand and kisses it. He is deeply moved.
Andrew looks, but does not dare take Jesus’ hand. But Jesus caressing his hair with His hand says: «I love you very much, too. In the hour of your dawn, without having to lift your eyes, you will see your Jesus reflected in the vault of heaven, and He will be smiling at you to say to you: “I love you. Come”, and your passing away at dawn will be sweeter than entering a nuptial room…»
Detail
Andrew comes to the fore in 58.5, but is present throughout Jesus' teaching.