Articles

Sunday August 9

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

WHEN OUR FAITH IS SHAKEN

Greeting (See Responsorial Psalm)

I will listen to the voice of the Lord,
for it speaks of peace.
His help is near for those who fear him.
May the Lord with his help be always with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction

Is the Lord to be found also in the chaos of our doubts, our confusion, our hesitant faith? Can he still be found in the disorder of our time? He is there, in the storms and difficulties of the little world of our own heart and in the wide, divided and threatening world, but it is hard to recognize him there. If we really encounter the Lord in faith, friendship and deep love, then the Lord makes everything become quiet, even when the storm wind keeps blowing, for the Lord makes his presence felt. Keep trusting, keep believing, for the Lord is here with us.

Penitential Act

When we sink into sin, we cry out:
Lord, save me, for I am perishing.
Let us ask the Lord to extend his saving hand.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you ask us:
People of little faith, why do you doubt?
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, when we are full of fear,
you tell us: courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, we ask you: if it is you, tell us
to come to you across the water
and to follow you all the way:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
calm the storms caused in us by sin;
give us your peace and lead us
to the joys of everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray God
for a firm faith that cannot be shaken
(pause)
God our Father,
we believe in you, in your love and your care.
But you know how our faith is often tried
by doubts, uncertainties and fears.
Make our faith strong enough to believe
that your Son Jesus is with us
to revive our faith and to give us the courage
to live with the risks of doubts and ambiguities,
and to confirm in their faith
our brothers and sisters in need.
Keep us hoping, and let Jesus
take us by the hand and lead us
to you, our God and Father for ever. R/ Amen.

First Reading: After the Storm Came a Gentle Breeze

The fiery prophet Elijah is discouraged when all his efforts do not lead to lasting results. He marches to the desert, to the mountain of God. There God comes to him, not in fire and storm but as a gentle breeze and gives him fresh courage.

Reading 1: 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-13A

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Responsorial Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD — for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Second Reading: May My People Accept Christ

Paul is very sad that the Jews, the people of the promise, have not accepted Christ. When the promised Savior came, they did not recognize him.

Reading 2: ROM 9:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are Israelites;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Alleluia CF. PS 130:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I wait for the Lord;
my soul waits for his word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Tell Me to Come to You across the Water

Peter stands for the Church and also for each of us. If in the storms of our times we rely only on ourselves, we are in danger. If we trust in Jesus Christ, we are safe.

Gospel: MT 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a 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 Peter,
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."

Commentary
Walking on Water
A group of ministers of religion while making a retreat were asked to do an Ignatian type contemplation of the scene in today's Gospel: where Jesus came, walking on water, to the frightened disciples in the boat. They were asked to imagine that they were the disciples in the boat and then fantasize what happened. One of them reported what happened in this way: "When I recognized the Lord coming towards us walking on the water, I got an irresistible desire to be able to walk on the water also so I cried out, 'Jesus, bid me come to you.' He answered, 'Sure, Tony, come along.' I stepped out on the water and found that I could walk on it. I was so delighted that I proudly and sneeringly looked back over my shoulder at the other disciples who were fearfully sitting in the boat. As I did so the water went from under me and I began to sink. I tried to swim, but I could not. So I cried out in panic 'Help, Lord, help.' Jesus caught me by the hair and put me sitting on the side of the boat. Then he said, 'Get this straight, Tony, I'm Jesus, I'm the guy who walks on water; if you try to walk on the water you will sink. Is that clear?'" As the group discussed the meaning of the fantasy Tony came to realize that as a minister of God he believed that he, Tony, should be doing great things, working miracles, curing people, walking on water, whereas what God wanted him to be was just to be ordinary. Then it was up to the Lord to do what he wished with Tony's ordinary efforts. Letting go of our desire to be great is one of the first requirements in following the Lord. The twice daily practice of letting go of all thoughts and desires in meditation is a great training towards this detachment.
It trains us, too, for the letting go in faith, the walking on water that is our daily lot as individuals, in our various roles and as members of the Church. It is very clear that the boat in the story is a symbol of the Church which was undergoing stormy times and experiencing especially the fragility of its leadership during the times when Matthew was writing his Gospel. The story was told to tell people not to give up hope. If they have faith in Jesus they can walk on water. They can do this even if the leadership is frail and defective as Peter was. We too can walk on water even if we ourselves are frail and weak as Peter was. The message is that we are to let go of trust in ourselves and put our trust in Jesus.
Take Paul, for example. He is a salesman for a Pharmaceutical company and is away from home. He meets a very attractive woman and he finds himself unburdening the strain that he is having right now with his wife. His wife would never know if he is unfaithful! Will Paul have the strength to walk across the water of fidelity at the call of Christ who tells him that adultery is wrong?
Tommy is in a position of authority. His boss comes asking for a favor for a friend. To comply would be to trample on justice, but would also be to open the road to promotion. Will he have the faith to walk on the waters of justice or will he sail along with the current of corruption?
On a Sunday Maggie is caught between going to hear the Word of God in Church or lazing around and taking it from the Sunday Chronicle or a Television Channel instead. When we see the human weakness and venality of bishops, priests and lay leaders who like Peter may have sunk into foul waters, we may find it hard to believe that Christ is still sustaining the ship, the Church, which they are guiding.
The option to walk on the waters with Christ is one that we have to make every day of our lives. It is a letting go in faith, a submission to a belief that there is a bigger plan and a good God beyond our superficial observations. In Christian meditation we do exactly this. In say the mantra we let go in faith to the God who made the universe and who dwells in the cave of our hearts. We do not try to tell him what to do. We just be in his presence and in that presence he will guide us what to do even if it demands what from a human point of view would be as foolish as walking on water.
THE BISHOP AND THE MANTRA. There was a bishop once who heard that the monks living of a distant island in his diocese used to pray without words; they just repeated a mantra or prayer word for long periods each day. The bishop was shocked and took the first available sailboat to visit the island so that he could teach them how to pray. He called the monks together and harangued them on their errors. He told them that they were wasting their time in saying their mantras. They should be talking to God when they went to prayer because that was what prayer was for. He gave them a scroll with the Office that they should recite and the other prayers that they should say throughout the day. The monks accepted his correction humbly and agreed to do exactly as he told them. The bishop left the island very happy that his mission was accomplished so successfully. However, during the night the wind died down and the boat was becalmed. As the sun came up next morning the sailors began to scream with fear as they thought they were seeing a ghost. They saw a line of monks walking on the water towards the boat. The monks came beside the boat and asked for the bishop. Then they said "My lord, we are sorry to disturb you but we want to follow your instructions on how to pray. However, last night the scroll you gave us was blown away by the wind. We are so sorry. Could you give us another one?"
The bishop raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Just go home and pray as you have always prayed."

Intercessions

Let us pray with great faith to our God who is ever-present to people. He speaks to us with a voice of peace. Let us say:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.

– Lord, you are not in lightning and thunder of anger and revenge. Hear the cries of your Church wherever it is persecuted and deprived of freedom, we pray:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.
– Lord, you are not in the tornado of those who inflict harm on their opponents; be merciful on their victims and on those who hurt them, we pray:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.
– Lord, you are not in the earthquake of those who sow fear and cause wars. Give peace and justice to their victims and also to those who hurt them, we pray:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.
– Lord, you are not in the fire of those who judge and condemn other people. Show your gentleness to those who are their victims and convert the hearts of those who hurt others, we pray:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.
– Lord, you are in the gentle breeze of people who try to serve you well and who bring joy to their families and communities. Stay close to them and give them courage, we pray:
R/ Lord, let us see your kindness.

Father, we hope in you, we trust in your word. Be near to us, let your Son be our companion in life now and for ever. R/ Amen.

Prayer unnoticed—it takes place normally during the Agnus Dei—and the Gifts

You wish to reassure us,
Lord our God,
how much you are with us
through him who is our food and drink,
your Son Jesus Christ.
May he give us the courage
to walk with him the stormy road of faith
and to take the risk of love.
May we thus set our fears aside
and make his reassuring word
the foundation of our life and work,
until we reach the haven of peace
in you, our God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

With one heart and one voice, let us express our trust in God, for he gave us his Son Jesus as our Savior and companion in life.

Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray with the Lord Jesus
his prayer of trust in our heavenly Father. R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us Lord, from sin and every evil
and grant us your peace in our day.
Keep us free from discouragement
and from all paralyzing fears.
Help us to discover behind obstacles
the saving hand of your Son,
that we may march forward with joyful hope
toward the full coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is Jesus, the Son of God,
who says to us today:
“Take courage, it is I;
come to me and walk with me
across dangers and obstacles.”
Happy are we to receive the Lord
and to have him renew our faith and strength. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, Father of all,
you invite us through Jesus, your Son,
to leave our timid security
and to come across the water with him
to commit ourselves to you and to others.
Even though we do not see his hand
reaching out to us and holding us,
give us enough trusting faith to be certain
that with him we shall overcome.
Build up your future among us,
until Jesus leads us across to you,
our God for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

This Eucharist has been, I hope,
a heartening experience of faith.
We have expressed our faith
that Jesus our Lord is with us,
that he never abandons us,
that he stays with us in the storms of life,
that he extends his helping hand to us
and that with him we can overcome all obstacles.
May this hope and trust always grow in us,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.