Saturday of the 10th week In Ordinary Time
Richard Rohr, OFM
Radical Grace
St. Anthony Messenger Press

Fishing for People is Hard Work
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew casting a new in the lake; they were fishermen. He said to them "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:18-19)

Brothers and sisters you have no idea how hard, discouraging, and frustrating it is to be a "fisher of men."  Sometimes I feel that I'd much sooner be an ordinary fisherman.  Because then I'd at least have fish to show for my work. I could hold them up and say, see, I caught three fish. But for a fisher of humanity, it's sort of vague.  You don't know when they're growing, when you have them, when they believe, when they've let go of their life. And so I know why Paul said we apostles are at the end of the parade, the scum of the earth, the off-scouring of the universe (1 Cor 4:9-13)

We're laughed at by the practical ones of this world. They ask, What do you have to show for your work?  We're fishing around. We're out enticing hearts and calling them into love.  Ours is a catch hard to measure, and the product is never completed by the five o'clock whistle.

Reflection
This reminds me of the metric in health care.
It has become so important to be able to measure the outcome of your efforts
In order to determine whether you are doing the best thing in order to get the best results.
I really do believe in metric for many things
But, like Fr. Rohr,  find it hard to measure spiritual effectiveness.
It seems like stories are the best way.
Here are some evaluations that we received after one of our Transformational Leadership Programs. crsr

I could not have imagined that I would come to a seminar and leave taking so much with me, and feeling better about the person that I am now, than when I came here. Thank You. I enjoyed the program, it affects my life and the people I deal with.

Thank you for bringing me back to myself. I have been taking care of my children and my sick parents and I have neglected my spiritual and emotional needs.

Wow ! Totally enjoyed this experience! Thanks for the meditation lesson. I'm proud to be part of Resurrection.