Homily | September 3, 2026 | A Salt Mine Pilgrimage Into Hidden Faith (Episode 257)

So there's something fitting about the readings that we have for today as we visit this beautiful, impressive salt mine.

We've descended beneath the surface of the earth.

We've entered a world that cannot be seen from the surface.

A world that's been carved out patiently through centuries of labor.

Hidden in the darkness are chambers, passageways, chapels, and even works of beauty fashioned all from salt.

I think one of the most impressive things, or at least that has impressed me, is how every corner, every so many feet, you have a devotion to Mary, a crucifix, a beautiful chapel.

These men knew that they were working very hard jobs and they depended upon God to keep them safe.

But you would never know that there were this impressive salt mine, but just looking outside on the grounds.

We turn to the gospel, Jesus asks Peter to leave the surface.

He tells him, put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch.

And Peter has every reason to hesitate.

He is a fisherman.

He probably looks at Jesus and says, You're a carpenter.

What do you know about fishing?

But yet Peter answers with one of the most beautiful sentences.

He says, Master, we have worked hard all night and caught nothing.

But at your command I will lower the nets.

At your command, Peter does not obey because he understands.

Peter obeys because he trusts the one who is speaking to him.

That's the quiet invitation of a pilgrimage.

To leave what's familiar, to leave the surface of our lives, and to allow God to take us deeper.

We visit sacred places, we walk through history, we encounter stories of suffering, courage, of holiness.

But the real pilgrimage is taking place, hopefully, within us and within our hearts.

The Lord is always asking us to go deeper.

Go deeper than your appearance, deeper than your first impressions, deeper than the easy answers that we like to give, deeper than the disappointments that have convinced us that nothing will change.

Perhaps some of us are carrying an empty net.

We've prayed for something and have seen no answer.

We've worked hard at relationship and still feel distant.

We've tried to overcome a weakness and find ourselves facing it again.

We know something of Peter's weariness.

We're very good at saying we've worked all night and have caught nothing.

But it's interesting that Jesus does not scold Peter for being tired.

He simply asks him, but I want you to trust me one more time.

St.

Paul tells us why this can be so difficult.

We're tempted to rely entirely upon our own efforts, our own agency, our own wisdom, our own calculations, our own understanding of what's possible.

But Saint Paul reminds us that the wisdom of this world is foolish in the eyes of God.

But you see, faith does not mean abandoning reason.

It means recognizing God can see depths that we cannot see.

Beneath what appears empty, grace may already be at work.

Beneath what seems ordinary, God may be forming something beautiful.

Beneath the season of disappointment, he may be preparing abundance we cannot yet imagine.

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Gregory the Great.

Gregory did not seek greatness as the world understands it.

He had known public office, learning, and influence, but his deepest desire was for a quiet life of prayer.

When he was called to become Pope, he accepted responsibility, the responsibility he had not wanted because he believed that the Lord was asking that of him.

But like Peter, Gregory could say, at your command, Lord.

His greatness was not found in status, but in service.

He called himself the servant of the servants of God.

He understood that in the church the weight upward is always downward through humility, through prayer and service.

That may be the word the Lord gives us on this day.

Do not be afraid of the depths.

Do not be afraid to lower your nets again and again.

Do not be afraid if the Lord asks you something that interrupts your plans.

Today, as we descend into the earth and see what generations of human hands have created in these hidden caverns, let us also remember that God is also working in the hidden places of our hearts.

Much of his finest work happens when no one sees, there's no applause, when there's no one noticing, where even we cannot yet understand what God is trying to do.

Peter lowered the nets and discovered that the places he thought was empty was actually filled with grace.

Today we acknowledge at this Mass Carmina Carmen, who passed away last night in her sleep, very peacefully.

We pray for her family, for her children who are here with us, for adult children.

They are great witnesses to us that love is greater, that trust is greater.

We commend her to the soul of our Lord, a soul that she knew very well, a soul, uh a Jesus that she loved very much.

So may we have the humility of St.

Gregory and the trust of Saint Peter to always say, Lord, I do not see yet your plans, but at your command I will go deeper.

Amen.