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Similarly, in today’s gospel, Jesus insists that his disciples go off in the boat, and he dismisses the crowds, so that he can climb the mountain alone, in peace and quiet, to be in communion with his Father. Even Jesus, our Lord, needed a break from the usual noise and busy-ness of his hectic life so that he could pray. We also have a great need to turn off the noise (which surrounds us nearly twenty-four hours a day) so that we can hear God--because God is always speaking to us. But who’s listening? Peter heard the Lord’s call to join him in walking on the water, and he began to do so--until he was distracted by the strong wind. Then he began to sink. We, too, are disciples who want to follow our Lord courageously. But we live in a "stormy" world. The news media constantly force us to notice the great and powerful events, natural and man-made disasters, terrible apocalyptic evils. And we, like Isaiah, ask what God is trying to tell us. Like Isaiah, we need to retreat from the world’s distractions to spend time with God. In our own quiet thoughts and prayers, in the Mass (available every day of the week), and in the teachings of the Church he founded, our Lord is speaking to us so that we can bring His messages of peace, forgiveness, and love to a world desperately in need of the Good News. Fr. Mark Taheny |
