The Parable of the Net

No fixed feast day in the calendar

The Parable of the Net: the back of the card, with its short story, lesson and a QR code that opens it in the Catholic Information app. The full text is below.

Flip the card and scan the QR code on the back to open it in the app

A net catches every kind of fish, then good is sorted from bad: in the end God will separate good and evil

What is this parable?

This is the last of the seven parables about the Kingdom of heaven in chapter 13 of Saint Matthew’s Gospel. Many of Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, so hauling in nets and sorting fish was something they knew very well.

The story

Jesus says: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” (Mt 13:47). A net pulled through the water does not choose: big fish, small fish, tasty fish and fish nobody can eat are all caught in it.

When the net is full, the fishermen haul it onto the shore, then sit down and sort the fish one by one. The good ones go into the baskets, and the bad ones are thrown away (cf. Mt 13:48). Jesus explains: at the end of the age, the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous, and the wicked will suffer (cf. Mt 13:49-50).

What does Jesus want to teach you?

For now, in the Church and in the world, good people and people who are not yet good live side by side, like the fish in the net. The Lord does not tell us to do the sorting ourselves, or to criticize or shut anyone out. The final judgment is God’s work, on the last day. Your job is to learn to tell good from bad, to choose what is good, and to live in a way that is worthy of him.

This parable reminds you to take your life seriously: the choices you make today matter forever. But you do not need to be afraid, because God wants everyone to be saved, and he is always ready to forgive anyone who sincerely comes back to him.

A lesson for you

Choose what is good every day, even in little things.
Do not judge your friends; pray for one another so that you all become better.
When you do something wrong, hurry to ask God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Thank God for placing you in his “net”, the Church, and invite your friends to come to him too.

Identifying marks

A net full of fish spread out on a rock: the Kingdom of heaven is open to everyone; the Word of God is preached to all, like a net that “collects fish of every kind” (Mt 13:47).
A basket full of good silver fish: those who live by the Word of God, welcomed by God into his Kingdom.
An old fisherman setting a dark, spiny fish to one side: at the end of the age, good and evil will be separated (cf. Mt 13:49); that final judgment is God’s work; you still need to learn to tell good from bad so you can choose what is good.
Two men sorting the fish carefully, without hurrying: God’s judgment is fair and careful; no one is mixed up or forgotten.

The text on this page is the card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.