A fisher of men
“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.‘ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.“
Matthew 4: 18-20
The 13th June is the feast day of one of our most illustrious saints, a man from Lisbon, Portugal: Saint Anthony of Padua.
And just yesterday he once again helped me to find something I had lost – the headband that was ripped off my head by a stormy gust of wind, which I noticed only a little later. When I found it again in a rather unexpected place, having asked Saint Anthony for help, it was completely dry and not one bit dirty – despite the rain and the city streets. So I was very happy and thankful.
Many people call upon Saint Anthony for help whenever they have lost a thing or cannot find it any more. This is also how Saint Anthony and me got to know each other in the summer two years ago: Our first encounter was me asking him for help to find my lost wallet again during a Marian pilgrimage. Saint Anthony of Padua‘s patronage over all that has been lost include not only wallets, keys, or headbands – but also lost people or even lost spiritual goods.
“‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.‘
Luke 15: 4-10
‘Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.‘”
During a second pilgrimage some months later, in October 2019, I visited the church of Saint Anthony‘s birth place in Lisbon, an extraordinary beautiful church.
I took this picture in October 2019.
In the place where this wonderful church was later built, Saint Anthony was born in the year 1195. As a young man he joined the new Franciscan order. His birth name actually was Fernando Martins, and he took the name Anthony in honor of the desert father Saint Anthony of Eygpt when he joined the friars. And just like a real Franciscan should, he took Jesus‘ command for evangelizing the whole world very seriously:
“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.‘“
Mark 16: 15
The whole creation… including fishes…
According to a story from The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Anthony of Padua, a “fisher of men“, once preached the gospel to the fishes of the sea at Rimini, Italy, after the heretics of the town had refused to listen to God‘s call:
“Listen to the word of God, O ye fishes of the sea and of the river, seeing that the faithless heretics refuse to do so.” (Saint Anthony of Padua)
The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi, chapter 40
“At these words the fish began to open their mouths, and bow their heads, endeavoring as much as was in their power to express their reverence and show forth their praise.”
“Blessed be the eternal God; for the fishes of the sea honor him more than men without faith, and animals without reason listen to his word with greater attention than sinful heretics.” (Saint Anthony of Padua)
The townspeople saw the miracle and opened their hearts and ears to Saint Anthony‘s preaching, finally responding with repentance and faith. At the sight of that second miracle, surely, the skies and its birds, and the seas and the fishes therein, and the heavenly host of angels rejoiced altogether.
Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us!
Post scriptum: The symbolism of fish, and why it is a Jewish custom to eat fish on the Sabbath day
In the Jewish and Catholic tradition the fish can serve as a metaphor for men and as a symbol for fertility, abundance, life, protection, and healing. In the Jewish tradition, the people of Israel are sometimes seen under the sign of the fish. Especially Sephardic Jews, descendants of the Jews of Spain and Portugal, understand the symbol of the fish as a sign of protection.
In the days of the ancient Church the fish symbol was used to represent both the Messiah and his followers.
“We, little fishes, after the image of our Ichthys, Jesus Christ, are born in the water.“
Tertullian, 2nd / 3rd century
The story of the book of Tobit features a fish whose power as an offering of incense to dispel demons can be understood as a foreshadowing of Christ‘s sacrificial death driving out the prince of this world:
“Then the angel (the archangel Saint Raphael) said to him (young Tobias), ‘Cut open the fish and take the heart and liver and gall and put them away safely.‘ So the young man did as the angel told him; and they roasted and ate the fish.
Tobit 6: 4-8
And they both continued on their way until they came near to Ecbatana. Then the young man said to the angel, ‘Brother Azarias, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?‘ He replied, ‘As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again. And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes, and he will be cured.‘“
“When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobias in to her. As he went he remembered the words of Raphael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke. And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.“
Tobit 8: 1-3
Did you notice how it is the heart and the liver of the fish that are offered up to drive the demon away? These hints can remind us of the Most Sacred Heart of Christ opened on the cross by a soldier’s lance, and of His Most Holy Blood redeeming us – because is not the liver one of the organs in humans with the highest amount of stored blood? I love this translation of Tob 8: 3 as given in the New American Bible version:
“The odor of the fish repulsed the demon…“
Tobit 8: 3
Just so, the odor of Christ‘s Holy Passion and the Sacred Blood he shed for us repulses every demon.
Jesus assures us that our Father in heaven will always give us bread and fish, not stones and snakes, whenever we ask Him:
“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.“
Matthew 7: 7-10
The first time we encounter fish in Sacred Scripture is in the very first chapter of the very first book: On the fifth day, the birds and fishes were created, on the sixth day man, and on the seventh day God rested from all his work:
“And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens.‘ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.‘ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (…)
Genesis 1: 20 – 2: 3
Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.‘ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.‘ (…) And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.“
Because of this “triple blessing“ from God connected with the three final days of the creation week, connected with fish, mankind, and the seventh day, in which both the fishes and mankind are commanded to and blessed for abundant fertility, it is a Jewish custom that man eats fish on the day of Shabbat. As challah bread and wine are mandatory for the Sabbath celebration, it makes then for the triple combination of bread, wine, and fish of highly symbolic food associated with the Sabbath day. The head of a fish is also a traditional dish for Rosh haShana – for the “head of the year“, the first day of the new Hebrew year.
What does it mean, then, that our heavenly Father always gives us bread and fish instead of stones and snakes? He gives us life and wholesome nourishment, never death and poison, and He grants us Shabbat shalom – Sabbath peace and rest – in the Messiah. Due to the Gospel stories about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, bread and fish was a Eucharistic symbol in the ancient Church, as depicted for example on the following picture found in the Catacombs of Rome. The life, wholesome nourishment, and all-surpassing peace we receive is found foremost in the Eucharist.
We hear echoes of the creation account in the prophet Ezekiel‘s marvelous and highly emblematic vision of the Messianic Age when all creation is renewed – made fresh by the River of Life flowing from the altar:
“Then he brought me back to the door of the House. Behold, water was flowing out from under the threshold of the House eastward – for the front of the House faced east. The water was flowing down from under the right side of the House, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around outside by the way of the outer gate, the way of the gate looking east. Behold, water was trickling out from the right side. When the man went out eastward with a line in his hand, he measured a 1,000 cubits. Then he led me into the water – water to the ankles. Again he measured a 1,000, and led me into the water – water to the knees. Again he measured a 1,000, and he led me into the water – water up to the waist. Again he measured a 1,000, and now it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen, water to swim in – a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, ‘Have you seen this, son of man?‘
Ezekiel 47: 1-12, Tree of Life translation
Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. When I had returned, behold, there were very many trees on one side and on the other, along the bank of the river. Then he said to me, ‘These waters go out toward the eastern region. They go down to the Arabah and enter the sea. When they arrive at the sea, the waters of the sea will flow and will become fresh. It will be that every living creature that swarms will live wherever the rivers go. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because this water goes there and makes the salt water fresh. So everything will be healed and live wherever the river goes. Fishermen will stand by it; from En-gedi to En-eglaim, it will be a place for spreading of nets. Their fish will be of many different kinds – like the fish of the Great Sea, a huge quantity. Its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be set aside for salt. On the river, on its bank, on this side and that side, will grow every kind of tree for food. Its leaf will not wither; its fruit will not fail; it will bear new fruit every month, because its water flows out from the Sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food and its leaf will be for healing.”
The living water from the Sanctuary is so powerful that it brings life in unbelievable variety and abundance – even to the Dead Sea.