She
had this very large map of Michigan and all the great lakes that she unrolled
onto the family room floor, started studying it and making markings with a dry
erase marker, noting things she wanted to point out to her students. In my
interest to see the map and learn more myself, I sat on the floor with her and
started examining the map. She was pointing out a graph in the corner of the map
that shows the depths and shape of each lake. I examined the graph and then
compared it to the markings on the lakes on the map. I noticed the outlines
marking the various depths of different parts of the lakes and the small
numbers printed on these lines. The graph from the corner said that the deepest
point of Lake Michigan was 925 feet deep, yet I could only find a marking with
the highest number being 140. I was curious… was this marking something other
than depth? Did I misunderstand the chart? What was I missing?
Another
indicator on another part of the map said that soundings (which is the depth
indicator) are listed in fathoms. So, the next quest was to find out what a
fathom was! Upon looking up the meaning of the word, we discovered that it
means the measurement of about 6 feet in depth (or 1.8288 meters). Therefore, a
depth of 140 fathoms equals about 840 feet. Now we were getting somewhere with
understanding this map! We kept reading to discover the meaning and origin of
the word… This description is copied & pasted from Wikipedia:
“A
fathom (abbreviation: ftm) = 6 feet or 1.8288 metres, is a unit of length in
the old imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring
the depth of water.
There
are two yards (6 feet) in an imperial fathom. Originally based on the distance
between a man's outstretched arms, the size of a fathom has varied slightly
depending on whether it was defined as a thousandth of an (Admiralty) nautical
mile or as a multiple of the imperial yard. Formerly, the term was used for any
of several units of length varying around 5–5 1⁄2 feet (1.5–1.7 m).
The
name derives from the Old English word fæðm, corresponding to the old Frisian
word "fadem" meaning embracing arms or a pair of outstretched arms.”
My
mom was reading this information aloud to me from the webpage. As soon as she
got to the end of the first sentence, saying that the term ‘fathom’ was used
especially for measuring the depth of water, I stopped and said, “Hey, that
must be where we get the word ‘unfathomable’ from!”
I
immediately was drawn back to my many never-ending memories of reading the
Diary of St. Faustina and how much the word ‘unfathomable’ is used to describe
God’s mercy. If we were to define the word ‘unfathomable’ in nautical terms, I
imagine it would read like: the depth of
which cannot be measured. God’s mercy and love being so deep and so wide
(reference also to the last part of the definition above: “meaning embracing
arms or a pair of outstretched arms” – Jesus’s outstretched arms in His
sacrifice on Calvary for us, to show us his ‘unfathomable’ love and mercy) that
it cannot be measured. It cannot be
fathomed! Fathoming is the act of measuring the depth of something in
measurement of fathoms; thus fathomed is the act of having completed this task.
This again from Wikipedia, helpful for understanding the hydrographic context
of the meaning of the word ‘fathomed’:
“To measure
the depth of shallow waters, boatmen used a sounding line containing fathom
points, some marked and others in between, called deeps, unmarked but estimated by the user. Water near the coast and
not too deep to be fathomed by a hand sounding line was referred to as in soundings or on soundings. The area offshore beyond the 100 fathom line, too
deep to be fathomed by a hand sounding line, was referred to as offsoundings or out of soundings. A deep-sea lead, the heaviest of sounding leads,
was used in water exceeding 100 fathoms in depth.”
I
had always understood the meaning of ‘unfathomable’ to mean something along the
lines of incomprehensible as in, cannot
be understood, cannot be comprehended. It is true that God’s mercy and love is
incomprehensible – we will never be able to fully understand it – however, this
is not the only meaning of the word ‘unfathomable’.
I know that I must have looked up the distinction and definition before, but
understanding the meaning of the word ‘fathom’, its origin and the way it is
still used today in measuring depth, brings a whole new understanding to the
meaning of the word unfathomable – especially
in reference to the love and mercy of God. It cannot be fathomed! It cannot be
measured! It is without bounds, without end…
What
is striking to me is its two-fold meaning as a measurement of depth, but also
meaning outstretched arms, or embracing arms - in other words, the breadth - and
I can’t help but picture the cross, and His outstretched, embracing arms spread
wide.
“May Christ dwell in your hearts through
faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of your life. Thus you will
be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and
height and depth of Christ’s love.” ~Ephesians 3:17-18
Well,
I certainly am not able to ‘grasp fully’ the depth and breadth of My Savior’s
love, but I think I am grasping it a little better today, thanks be to the
glory of His creation and how literally everything
proclaims the majesty and power of Our God.
“Truly, Jesus, I become frightened
when I look at my own misery, but at the same time I am reassured by Your
unfathomable mercy, which exceeds my misery by the measure of all eternity.”
Diary of St. Fuastina, paragraph 66
“Let God push your boat out into the deep waters, toward the unfathomable
depths of the interior life.” Diary, 55
References:
The Diary of St. Faustina (Divine Mercy in My Soul)
The Holy Bible
