It is Only by Taking Christ at His Word that the Clergy Can Save Souls

David Martin | The Daily Knight

The opening of St. Luke’s Gospel that was read at Mass on September 3 (Novus Ordo rite), contains a timely message in that it concerns the ‘fishers’ on Peter’s Barque (priests) who are called to catch souls for Christ. Unfortunately, they are not following their calling today. The lesson of this reading is that priests can only bring souls to Christ if they take him at his word and honor his legacy of tradition. The first ten verses of St. Luke read:

“And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship. Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke. And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” (Luke 5: 1-10)

This reading carries a profound message for the priests of our time. First of all, we see that Christ’s design is to teach the world from Peter’s boat, that is, the Barque of Peter – the Catholic Church. Furthermore, he desires that the boat be set back from the land symbolizing how the Church must be set apart from the world in order to teach effectively. Note that Christ sits down when he enters the ship, which is a gesture of teaching authority.

The apostles had labored all night without taking anything, but when Peter took Christ at his word and launched out into the deep they enclosed a huge draught of fishes in their net. This indeed is a lesson for the clergy!

Tradition Works

Since Vatican II the bishops at large have labored all night in the dark without taking anything 1 because they have employed with their own humanist inventions. Everything today is humanism, modernism, and LGBT inclusion, which have scandalized the faithful, but if the clergy would simply take the Master at his word and let down their nets the traditional way they will bring up a bountiful draught for Christ.

In particular, the priests must return to offering the Latin Tridentine Mass. It is those priests who say the Latin Mass on a regular basis who are accomplishing the work of God to draw wayward souls out of the rising tide of heresy, whereby these souls now embrace Christian morals and Catholic family values. But those souls who blindly flow along with the modernist tide that the clergy have churned up for them are proceeding down the path of perdition. As early as June 1965, during the final session of Vatican II, the Blessed Mother at Garabandal said:

“Many cardinals, many bishops, and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them.” (June 18, 1965)

Hence, if the clergy want to bring up a bountiful catch for Christ they must scrap things like humanism, modernism, synodality, and DEI inclusion, and restore the Church to its former position of honor as it stood before Vatican II.

1. This is not to say that the work of conversion has completely stopped since we still have tradition-minded priests in the Church who are accomplishing this work of conversion, but the number of converts today are a mere few compared to those before Vatican II.