Peter: The Hardest Worker
When I first arrived at St. Clement Shrine in Boston, during the weekdays I would work on upgrading the church. On the weekends, I was on-call for the five Longwood Hospitals. After three years, I thought, “I need a life; all I do is work.” So, I took up fly fishing. I was terrible at it until I met Jack. He invited me to fish with him. He put me in his favorite spot, gave me one of his flies, and told me where to cast. I caught four Striper bass that day in Boston Harbor. He told me that I was the new “Top Rod” as a way of welcoming me into the fly fishing world. I replied, “It was your location, your fly, and your advice. You made me successful.”
I say this because Christ made Peter successful. The Lord told Peter where and when to fish and what to use (a net).
By the way, why did Christ like Peter so much? It is because Peter was the hardest worker of any of the Apostles. Just look at the time when Peter caught a boatload of fish. He fished all night. He did not quit at two or three in the morning when he caught nothing. He endured to the end; then, he went back fishing the next day at the Lord’s request. And when Jesus walked on the water, Peter was the only one who got out of the boat to meet Christ on the water. When Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?” Peter was the only one who raised his hand and answered the questions, and correctly I may add. When Peter heard that Jesus’ tomb was empty, he ran to the tomb even though others just dismissed the report. And when Jesus was on the shore, Peter was the only one who jumped out of the boat and swam to the beach when he found out it was the Lord. Peter is by far the hardest worker, and, as the hardest worker, he needed the most help. That is where the Lord comes in.
Here is the faith lesson. We may have a bad day, regrets, missteps, and failures. But never say,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person. Do what Peter did. Work hard and need the Lord at every step of the way.
Fr. Peter Grover, OMV, is director of St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine in Boston. He teaches classical languages and biblical studies at St. John Seminary, the Theological Institute of Boston, and Pope St. John XXIII Seminary. He has a weekly YouTube series called Treasures of the Bible. He is an avid fly-fisherman, enjoys wreaking havoc in the kitchen, and recently, against his better judgment, began to run marathons.
