Here are some questions to ponder: What is the only real failure in life? What is the only real sadness in life? What is the only real tragedy in life? Think about that.
So many things that we fret about, worry about, or fear, are temporary, fleeting, and not of eternal value. They are passing.
The one real tragedy in life is not to be a saint.
Our good, divine, and loving Jesus launches his public ministry by calling us to repentance, to conversion, to be holy, to be saints. If we miss that, we miss the central, magnificent clarion call of the Gospel.
The event presented in today’s Gospel is the scene immediately following Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. Sensing the danger of having the people make Him leader of a revolt, Jesus promptly instructs his apostles to leave the place by boat and, after dispersing the crowd, goes alone to the mountain to pray.
Jesus then walks on the stormy waters toward the boat and calms the frightened disciples as He approaches the boat. He allows Peter to do a trial walk on water. Peter, brash and impetuous, fixes his eyes on Christ, leaps from the boat, and walks on the water. While he keeps his gaze on the Lord, he is fine. When he lets fear distract him from Christ, he begins to sink. Even then, when he cries out “Save me, Lord,” Jesus is right there to lift the drowning Peter and place him in the boat. As soon as Jesus brings Peter into the boat, the storm ceases. The apostles recognize the presence of God in their midst, and they all worship Jesus.
Let us approach Jesus with strong faith in his ability and willing availability to calm the storms in our lives and in the life of the Church. Church history shows us how Jesus saved His Church from
Let us ask Jesus to protect us when we face storms of strong temptations, storms of doubts about our religious beliefs, and storms of fear, anxiety, and worry about divisions in our families and in our communities.
Experiencing Jesus’ presence in our lives, let us confess our faith in Him and call out for His help and protection. Let us ask Him to help us to be saints, not by following all the rules, but by taking every opportunity to deepen our friendship with him through prayer, the sacraments, and the Eucharist, and through loving our neighbors.
Nothing is more important than the call to become holy, to become saints.
Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
