Fishing as Spiritual Renewal

Since the academic year is about over, and my teaching responsibilities have subsided, I finally found some time to engage in one of my favorite activities: fishing.

A short walk away, there is a small river that runs behind the abbey where I live. At one spot on the river there is a concrete construction that tends to trap carp.   And that is where I attempt to catch them.

One would think that carp, trapped in a concrete pit, would graciously eat whatever comes their way. But, alas, it is not so. Hence, most of my time spent fishing is spent watching the fish swim by, listening to the rush of the water, and simply being in nature. It is, however, a good time and place to pray and simply be in silence.

Fishing Traditions

Perhaps the most famous fisherman of all is Saint Peter.  He was also known for his scant luck when fishing (unless, of course, the Lord happened to be nearby). For this reason, there are several fishing traditions or references that follow the successors of Saint Peter.

Recently, during the Mass of inauguration for Pope Leo XIV’s Petrine ministry, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle placed a ring on the new Pope’s finger. This ring is known as “The Ring of the Fisherman” or “The Fisherman’s Ring.” An even more fancy name is the “Piscatory Ring” from the Latin anulus piscatoris). This is precisely because Peter “is known as the fisherman Apostle.” However, what Andrew, James, and John, who were also fishermen, should be called, is not real clear!

Today the ring has important symbolic significance.  In the past, however, it also served as the Pope’s signet ring to authentically seal documents.

More traditions

More recently, the Vatican renewed a tradition that relates to fishermen and the Pope. Two days before the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the workers of the Garden Service of the Vatican will hang the “Nassa del Pescatore” (the Fisherman’s trap) from two columns at Saint Peter’s.

The internal structure of the trap is made of metal but it is hung by ropes made of myrtle and bay leaves. (The myrtle comes from the Vatican’s own gardens.) The preparation and hanging of the trap takes a team of ten workers. This trap will hang until the vigil of the Solemnity, but in those few days, it will spread the smell of myrtle and bay leaves.

Virtues of the Fisherman

While the traditions are interesting, the popes have also found the Gospel fishermen to be models worthy of emulation.  This is precisely because the profession can teach virtues.

In 2024, speaking to fishermen from various parts of Italy, Pope Francis gave the following reflection.

“I address you first, dear brothers and sisters of the maritime world, just a few days after World Fisheries Day. Your activity is very ancient; it is linked to the beginnings of the Church, entrusted by Christ to Peter, who was a fisherman in Galilee (cf. Lk 5:1-11). Nevertheless, it is experiencing many difficulties today. I would therefore like to suggest some reflections on the value of what you do and the mission that this value entails.

“In the Gospel, fishermen embody important attitudes. For example, perseverance in toil: the disciples are described as “distressed in rowing” (Mk 6:48), due to the headwind, or still weary from failure when they return to land empty-handed, saying: “We have worked hard all night and have caught nothing” (Lk 5:5). And that is exactly how it is: your work is hard, requiring sacrifice and tenacity, faced with both the usual challenges and urgent new problems, such as the difficult generational change, the costs that continue to grow, stifling bureaucracy, and unfair competition from large multinationals. However, this does not discourage you; on the contrary, it fuels another of your characteristics: unity. One does not go out to sea alone. To cast your nets, you have to work together, as a crew, or better still as a community in which, despite the diversity of roles, the success of each person’s work depends on the contribution of all. In this way, fishing becomes a school of life, to the point that Jesus uses it as a symbol to indicate the vocation of the apostles: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). Dear women and men, you of the sea, may your Patron, Saint Francis of Paola, help you from Heaven.”

Fishing as a School of Life

The late pontiff raises excellent points. First, fishing teaches perseverance. Some fishing trips produce zero results.  So the fisherman goes out again the next day.  But even if  a day on the river has gone poorly it does not mean that the entire activity was a waste.

It is also a sacrificial task, since it takes time and patience. Likewise, although individuals may prefer to go out fishing alone, it is much nicer when there is company. The Pope also recommends the intercessions of Saint Francis of Paola, declared the patron of mariners in 1947.

Saint Francis of Paola

To be honest, although I had nothing against Saint Francis of Paola, I also had no special devotion to him. But this patron saint is quite inspiring.

Francis is known as “The Miracle Worker,” or even “God’s Miracle Worker Supreme.” He was born around 1416 in Paola, Italy. His parents had prayed to St. Francis of Assisi for a child and so, in gratitude to their heavenly intercessor, they named their baby after him.

After a pilgrimage with his parents, Francis became a hermit. He eventually founded an order known as the Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi. The order later became the Minim Friars.

During his life Francis served as an advisor to multiple kings.  He finally passed to his heavenly reward on Good Friday, 1507, at the age of 91.[1]

Saint Francis and the Sea

All these facts are well and good, but why should Saint Francis of Paola be the patron of mariners? In “Butler’s Lives of the Saints” we are told, simply that “in 1943 he was declared ‘Patron of Italian Seafarers’ by Pope Pius XII because so many of his miracles had been worked at sea or in favour of those at sea, and sailors had testified to the effectiveness of his intercession.”[2]

The miracle that is probably most famous is that of Saint Francis walking on the water. The story is from Giuseppe Miscimarra’s “The Life of St. Francis of Paola.” In “The Liszt Companion,” author Ben Arnold retells the story on page 12.

“The story relates the miracle of St. Francis of Paolo walking across the water after the boatmen refused to take him across. The boatman had responded, “If he is a Saint … let him walk on the waters, and work miracles.” St. Francis spread his cloak on the water and, with his companions, sailed upon this self-made vessel “to the amazement of those of Arena, who watched from the shore, as it rapidly hastened through the waters, crying out after him in terror and tears, and beating their hands as did the sailors on the barque, and their unfriendly master, who implored pardon of him for the refusal of his request, and begged him to come into his ship.”

This event was so remarkable that it inspired both painters and musicians alike.  Peter Paul Rubens painted “The Miracle of Saint Francis of Paola” and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo likewise painted “The Vision of Saint Francis of Paola.” Franz Liszt composed “Saint Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves.”

Conclusion

All of this is simply to say that fishing has its patron and it can be an opportunity to grow in virtue. The same is probably true of many other summer activities. The point is to find God in the midst of them, and to relax and recharge so as to be able to do God’s will when we return to our daily routines.

 

[1] See Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Saints, 117.
[2] Butler’s Lives of the Saints – New Full Edition (The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, MN 1999), 12.