DAILY- HOMILY

August 4, 2015 TUESDAY, 18TH Week in Ordinary Time

St. John Mary Vianney, Priest

Memorial, White   

Nm 12:1 – 13 / Mt 14:22 - 36

[St. John Mary Vianney (1786 – 1859), born in Lyons, France, spent his many years as Parish Priest of Ars, France. Pius XI proclaimed him Patron of Parish Priests.]

Reading: Nm 12: 1 – 13

     Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married and they said, "Has Yahweh only spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?" And Yahweh heard.

     Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth. Yet suddenly Yahweh said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting." The three of them came out.

     Yahweh came down in the pillar of cloud and, standing at the door of the Tent, called Aaron and Miriam. They both went out and he said, "Listen carefully to what I say,

If there is a prophet among you, I reveal myself to him in a vision and I speak to him in a dream. It is not so for my servant, Moses, my trusted steward in all my household. To him I speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles, and he sees the presence of Yahweh. Why then did you not fear to speak against my servant, against Moses?" Yahweh became angry with them and he departed.

     The cloud moved away from above the Tent and Miriam was there white as snow with leprosy. Aaron turned towards Miriam and he saw that she was leprous. And he said to Moses, "My lord, I beg you, do not charge us with this sin that we have foolishly committed. Let her not be like the stillborn whose flesh is half-eaten when it comes from its mother's womb."

     Then Moses cried to Yahweh, "Heal her, O God, I beg of you." 

Gospel: Mt 14:22 –36

     Immediately Jesus obliged his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowd away.  . .  .  he went up the mountain by himself to pray. At nightfall, he was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it.

     At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the lake. When they saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear.  But at once Jesus said to them, "Courage! Do not be afraid. It is me." Peter answered, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you walking on the water."  

     Jesus said to him, "Come." And Peter got out of the boat, walking on the water to go to Jesus. But, in face of the strong the wind, he was afraid and began to sink. So he cried out, "Lord, save me!"  Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and took hold of him,  "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 

     As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus saying, "Truly you are the Son of God!"

     They came ashore at Gennesareth. The local people recognized Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought all the sick to him, begging him to let them touch just the fringe of his cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

Reflection:

     Faith is a free gift from God and is beyond our logical understanding and human control. And this is why pray for the gift of faith even as small as a mustard seed. This takes grace from above and we must continually strive to beg for this grace. We cannot expect our faith to grow through our human efforts and constraints.

     As much as faith is a gift from God, fear is a human trait. It is in our daily experiences that we have fears to face. It is perhaps this reason why we bend our knees to seek for God's assuring presence in our world. .

     In today's Gospel reading, we hear Jesus asking us to have complete trust in him, as he chastises Peter as he began to sink while walking on the water, "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt14: 31) 

     Indeed why did Peter doubt when our Lord was so close by?

     Now is the time for us to believe and the trust that our Lord is always close by our side.

     Let us pray for faith in Christ to help us live on confidently amidst many uncertainties in our lives. And when we feel overwhelmed, at that very instant, he will take us and pull us to safety. Lord, please help us to always have faith.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following: 

  +================================================+

   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

   |  distributed free and for personal use only.  

  +================================================+