Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. – St. John Paul II I first stumbled on this quotation by St. John Paul II early in the summer. It’s a striking quote, and the words seem to follow you around without losing their edge. I suspect this has something to do with our immersion in a society that – whatever else it does or claims – tends to capitalize on fear, reward consumer-driven complacency, and avoid the question of Truth with squeamish mistrust… all of which the monastic rhythms of prayer and work, ora et labora, quietly and undemonstratively counter. In a way, the monks’ faithful example offers us an act of hope and a grounding of calm from which to attend to St. John Paul II’s exhortation. And now, at the start of a new academic year at the Abbey, it feels natural to take up these words in earnest and consider what they might mean for each of us. Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. There’s a reason St. John Paul II begins with Christ’s bracing exhortation, given more often than any other scriptural directive: Do not be afraid. No matter how you approach it, the deep is frightening. It’s the place in our lives – wherever this might be for each of us – where we have to confront our human weakness. It’s the mission that’s beyond us, the need that’s more than we can fill, the question for which we have no answer. We are all called to holiness – to the terrifying, vibrant love that empties us of illusion and pride, transforming our lives if...