From the Friars: Duc in Altum

We are in the midst of a Jubilee Year and 25 years ago the Church celebrated the Great Jubilee of the New Millennium. A favorite phrase of Pope St. John Paul II was “put out into the deep” or “duc in altum” in Latin. This is from the Gospel for today’s Mass where Our Lord instructs Simon to lower his nets once again despite fishing all night without success. In his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, St. John Paul uses this phrase several times as a kind of summary of our focus as we set out on the “vast ocean” of the third millennium.

Carmelite in his spirituality, it is no surprise that the great pope’s millennial focus is contemplating the face of Christ. Our intimate and deep union with Jesus in Prayer is step one, and only then can we fulfill our missionary mandate. In 2002 John Paul issued Rosarium Virginis Mariae, The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, again exhorting us to set out into the deep to proclaim the Gospel. He calls this letter a kind of Marian complement to Novo Millennio Ineunte. The school of Mary is the best and surest path to union with her Son.

The Gospel today is striking me again with the great privilege and responsibility we have here at Holy Rosary Shrine. The transition from parish to shrine highlights the new emphasis on mission vs. maintenance. All in the Shrine community should see themselves as missionaries, specifically Rosary Missionaries. It is an extremely powerful weapon. Google “Rosary Miracles” and you will find some amazing examples of the efficacy of this prayer. My favorite is how the women of Brazil peacefully prevented an imminent communist takeover of the country in 1964 through the power of the Rosary.

But again, the first step is our personal holiness and deep prayer life. The daily Rosary should be standard for every Catholic and every Catholic family. When we are one with Jesus through Our Blessed Mother, then His power can work through us beyond all our expectations.

Let us put out into the deep once again, casting our Rosary net with great trust that the Love of God will yield a great catch of souls.

Peace.
–Fr. Peter