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I've failed
Failure can feel like a verdict on who you are. In the Gospels it is often where something begins. Jesus met Peter after a night of empty nets — and again after the worst failure of his life.
And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net.
Luke 5:5 · Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
If you are in crisis, or thinking of harming yourself, please contact emergency services (112 in Europe) or someone you trust now. You are not alone.
Awaiting theological review
What Jesus teaches
- Direct
Summary of Luke 5:32
He said he came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. - Direct
Summary of Matthew 11:28–30
He invites the worn out: “Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.”
What Jesus did
- Direct
A night of empty nets
Luke 5:1–11- What Jesus experienced
- Experienced fishermen who had worked all night and caught nothing.
- What Jesus did
- He told Simon to try again in deep water — and when Simon felt unworthy, he answered with a calling.
- What Jesus said
“Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.”
Luke 5:4 · Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
- Direct
The look after the denial
Luke 22:54–62- What Jesus experienced
- Peter, who had promised to die for him, denying three times that he even knew him.
- What Jesus did
- The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered his words, went out and wept bitterly.
- Direct
Breakfast and a new beginning
John 21:15–19- What Jesus experienced
- The same Peter, after the Resurrection, carrying his failure.
- What Jesus did
- He asked him three times whether he loved him, and three times entrusted him with his flock.
- What Jesus said
“Feed my sheep.”
John 21:17 · Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
What Scripture doesn’t tell us
Failing at something does not make you a failure. If a setback has left you feeling hopeless, or thinking that others would be better off without you, please talk to someone today.
Someone who walked this road
- PeterScripture
Empty nets, a denial and a breakfast by the lake: the apostle Jesus chose to lead the Church is the one whose failures the Gospels tell most fully.
Explore connections → - Saint Camillus de LellisHistorical context
A soldier and a gambler who lost what he had; after his conversion he gave his life to the sick and founded the Camillians.
Explore connections →
Pray
Lord Jesus, you met Peter after a night of empty nets and after his denial. You know where I have failed. I give you what I could not do. Show me where to cast the net again, and give me the humility to begin. Amen.
Written for Lumen as a simple personal prayer — not a liturgical text.
One thing to do today
Write down the failure that keeps replaying in your head. Under it write one thing it taught you and one small next step. Then put the page away: like Peter, you are allowed to cast the net again.
- What did you try, and what did it teach you?
- Where might Jesus be asking you to cast the net again?