Fishing And Catching

Dicit eis Simon Petrus vado piscari, dicunt ei venimus et nos tecum et exierunt et ascenderunt in navem et illa nocte nihil prendiderunt mane. Autem iam facto stetit Iesus in litore non tamen cognoverunt discipuli quia Iesus est. Dicit ergo eis Iesus, pueri numquid pulmentarium habetis? Responderunt ei non. Dixit eis mittite in dexteram navigii rete et invenietis. Miserunt ergo et iam non valebant illud trahere a multitudine piscium. Secundum spirtualem intelligentiam: piscatores nocte piscantes nihil prendiderunt; mane facto, apparuit lesus, et retia impleverunt, et cubitis ducentis distantes a terra, retia traxerunt. Piscatores sunt praedicatores; Ieremiae decimo sexto: Ecce, ego mittam piscatores multos, et piscabuntur eos; et Matthaei quarto: Venite post me; faciam, vos fieri piscatores hominum. Tempus noctis est tempus Legis propter umbram litterae flgurarum Legis; ad Hebraeos decimo: Umbram habens Lex futurorum bonorum, non ipsam imaginem rerum. Qui nocte, id est tempore Legis, piscantur, nihil accipiunt, quia , sicut dicitur ad Hebraeos septimo, Lex neminem ad perfectum duxit. Mane facto, id est tempore gratiae, apparet Christus; secundae ad Corinthios tertio: Usque hodie velamen est super cor eorum. Nos autem revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eandem imaginem transformamur a claritate in claritatem, tanquam a Domini spiritu. Tunc retia implentur, quia post adventum Christi in carnem veritas manifestatur, et pisces in rete Ecclesiae comprehenduntur; propter quod Dominus dicebat supra duodecimo: Si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad me ipsum. Hos pisces, scilicet fideles, praedicatores trahunt, quia per bona exempla ad vitam perducunt; de quo modo trahendi dicitur in Canticorum primo: Trahe me post te, in odoreni curremus unguentorum tuorum. Et hoc distantes ducentis cubitis, in quo scilicet innuitur duplex perfectio, quae debetesse in praedicatore , scilicet. vitae et doctrinae; de quibus Matthaei quinto: Qui fecerit et docuerit sic homines, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XXI Source: Here, p1201-1202

Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going to fish,' and they said to him, 'We shall come with you,' and they went off and climbed into the boat and in the night they caught nothing. Now in the morning Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Therefore He said to them, 'Children, do you have any fish?' And they answered Him that they did not, and He said to them, 'Cast the net out to the right side and you will find some.' And they cast it and now they could not draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 1 According to the spiritual understanding the fishers who are fishing in the night caught nothing, but in the morning Jesus appeared and they filled the net, and two hundred cubits from the shore they dragged it in. 2 The fishers are the preachers, Jeremiah in chapter sixteen: 'Behold, I send for many fishermen and they shall fish for them.' 3 And in Matthew chapter four, 'Follow me, and I shall make you fishers of men.' 4 The time of night is the time of the Law because of the shadow of the letter of the figures of the Law. In the tenth chapter of Hebrews: 'The Law has the shadow of future goods, not the image of things.' 5 He who fishes in the night, that is, in the time of the Law, receives nothing, because as it says in the seventh chapter of Hebrews: 'The Law has not led anyone to perfection.' 6 'In the morning,' that is, in the time of grace, Christ appears. In the second letter to the Corinthians, chapter three, 'Even until today a veil is over their hearts. But we with uncovered face gaze on the glory of the Lord, in the same image being transformed from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord.' 7 Then the net was filled, because after the coming of Christ the truth was made manifest and in the net of the Church the fish are gathered up, because of which the Lord said in the twelfth chapter here: 'When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall gather all to myself.' 8 Those who are the fish, obviously the faithful, the preachers draw in, because through good example they lead to life, concerning which way of drawing in it is said in the first chapter of the Song of Songs: 'Draw me after you, in the odour of your scents we shall run.' 9 And in the distance of two hundred cubits the twofold perfection is noted, which should be possessed by the one who preaches, that is, in his life and in his teaching, concerning which Matthew says in the fifth chapter: 'He who does and teaches men to do so, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.' 10 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 21 1 Jn 21.3-6 2 Jn 21.8 3 Jerem 16.16 4 Mt 4.19 5 Heb 10.1 6 Heb 7.19 7 2 Cor 3.15,18 8 Jn 12.32 9 Song 1.4 10 Mt 5.19