OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF DEDICATION OF THE BASILICAS OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
- Maria Knox
- Nov 18, 2021
- 3 min read
A Gospel according to Mt 14:22-33
After the crowd had eaten their fill,
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
Peter said to him in reply,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
He said, "Come."
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
"Truly, you are the Son of God."
REFLECTION
"He went up on the mountain by himself to pray."
Have you noticed that of lately there have been too many strange things happening? Too many accidents. Too many people mistreating service personnel without true justification. Too much crime. Too many "bad vibes".
We spend too much time hyper-connected. Information overwhelms us, and makes us be on edge all the time. Have we lost our interior peace?
Living in a western society is extremely hard to carve time to spend with Jesus. St. Francis de Sales once said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.”
It makes sense. The more we carry, the more we need the strength to carry it. And just as we carve time for other activities, like meals to sustain our bodies, we must carve time to pray, specially mental prayer, to sustain our souls.
Our Patron, St. Alphonsus tells us:
Without mental prayer there is no light; we walk in the dark; and walking in the dark, we do not see the danger which we are in, we do not make use of the means we ought, nor pray to God to help us, and so we are lost. Without prayer we have neither light nor strength to advance in the ways of God; because without prayer we do not ask God to give us his grace, and without so praying we shall certainly fall. It was for this reason that Cardinal Bellarmine declared it to be morally impossible for a Christian who does not meditate to persevere in the grace of God. Whereas he who makes his meditation every day can scarcely fall into sin; and if unhappily he should fall on some occasion, by continuing his prayer he will return immediately to God. It was said by a servant of God, that “mental prayer and mortal sin cannot exist together.” Resolve, then, to make every day, either in the morning or in the evening,—but it is best in the morning,—half an hour’s meditation. 
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