The Good and the Bad Fish

Today at Mass, the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13, the chapter of the parables, is drawn to a close with the “Parable of the Net.”  The message of this parable is a shorter parallel to that of the “Parable of the Tares” found previously in this Chapter 13.  Both begin with similar phrases: “The kingdom of heaven is like …” and “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to …” - two phrases that I think would be good to ponder if you have ever wondered what the kingdom of heaven is like and what will happen on Judgement Day.

In these parables, the Lord admits that there are good and bad “fish” and good and bad “seeds” where His creation is concerned and that the bad “fish” and the bad “seeds” are the work of the evil one.  In both instances, the good and the bad will be separated “at the close of the age,” and the “righteous will shine like the sun in the presence of their Father” while the evildoers will be thrown into “the furnace of fire.”  

In the modern culture, the work of the evil one seems very apparent to me.  We have God’s Ten Commandments and Christ’s Catholic Church to guide us on our way.  But it seems to me that both of these are being ignored to a very large extent.  Very serious evils have crept into our society and have been accepted as the modern norm by so many people.  I’m thinking specifically of sins against the sixth commandment and sins against the Church’s moral guidelines relating to marriage and sexuality.  Gay marriage is the modern norm and is therefore okay.  Cohabitation before marriage is the modern norm and is therefore okay.  Infidelity within marriage is the modern norm and is therefore okay.  The use of artificial birth control is the modern norm and is therefore okay.  Aborting unborn babies is the modern norm and is therefore okay.  Decisions made by the Supreme Court justices are how things are today and these decisions are therefore okay.

It pains me to see the influence that the evil one is having on our modern culture.  The separation of the sheep and the goats, the separation of the good fish from the bad fish, and the separation of the wheat from the weeds will occur (via the angels) on Judgment Day and only those that have chosen the narrow gate will be saved.  Please get out your Bible (or go buy a Bible), read the following verses and draw your own conclusions:  Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50.

Notice the open beaks in the picture below.  The call of sandhill cranes is loud, as I found out when I took the picture.  So is the call of the Catholic Church in these modern times.  If people would only hear it ...

My prayer for today:  Lord, I ask that you please open the eyes and ears of your people on earth.  Help them to recognize the evil that surrounds them and help them to live their lives according to your plan of salvation so that on Judgement Day, they may be among the righteous who enter the kingdom of heaven and shine like the sun in the presence of their Father.  Amen.