The Obedience of Faith

Today, in the Gospel, we meet an extraordinary man, Simon Peter. Let us notice a few things about him.

First, Jesus got into Peter’s boat. The Catholic Church is called “the barque of Peter,” because this is the boat Jesus chose in order to teach the world. Peter is a fisherman, but he is a different kind of man. For when Jesus said to him, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch,” Peter did what the Lord told him, in the obedience of faith: “but at your word I will let down the nets.” Today let us take home this word of Peter: “Master, we have toiled all night long and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the nets.” In our own lives, like Peter, we must be driven by faith.

There is another beautiful word of Peter, when he sees the miraculous catch: “Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” Normally, men amazed at such a catch look closely at the fish, because more fish means more money. Peter, instead, lets himself be touched in the depths of his heart, and he is converted. Today, in this Mass, perhaps, when we meet the Lord, we too can say: “I am a sinner, Lord, depart from me.” We can say it to Jesus in our hearts, in our own words. This word brings us many blessings.

The same Peter says to the crowd, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles: “Repent, and you too will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Today is the memorial of Saint Gregory the Great. Every Pope is a humble successor of Peter, the fisherman to whom the Lord entrusted the helm of his boat.

Let us pray for the grace of a deeper conversion every day, drawing near to Jesus, who is full of holiness, full of grace.

Amen.

These reflections were shared during the homily on the occasion of the Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, celebrated on 3 September 2026.