Dear Parishioners,

In today’s Gospel, we hear of the story of Jesus sleeping in a ship during a storm. The disciples were very afraid of the storm and thought they would die. So, they woke up Jesus who immediately calmed the storm and rebuked them for their lack of faith. I can draw three lessons from this story.

First, Jesus is showing His divinity by calming the storms. The Psalms say that God can control the storms and the waves. So, when Jesus does this, He is showing He is God. That’s why they ask, “Who is this?” They were amazed at this miracle. Likewise, we should be amazed at God for the times He sees us through the problems we have in our own life, especially the ones we thought were impossible to overcome.

Second, just as the disciples had no reason to fear the storm because we have Christ, we should not fear whatever might be happening. It can be tough to believe that God is in control during moments of crisis and even in moments of temptation. But in order to not be controlled by our fear and passions, we always need to be aware of the presence of Christ and ought to practice being mindful of His presence. This is what we are doing when we are praying.

Third, Christ is an example of keeping calm in the midst of the storms of life. We can often excuse ourselves from praying and even coming to Mass when times are rough. We easily excuse ourselves saying that we will be better when times are better. But the times will never be perfect. There will always be some pressing matter or something better to do. We only have the present time to love God and be with Him. May we grow to appreciate those moments and re-evaluate what is important and what is actually dangerous to our souls. Christ is our center and the one who saves us.

God Bless!

Fr. Carter