St. Joseph Church Homilies

Most of us don’t think of ourselves as having servants like Mr. Carson the butler and the other servants on Downtown abbey. Even though we don’t hire these people directly there are lots of people who serve are needs. Cleaners, food servers, fast food employees, truck drivers, not to mention the workers who harvest our fruit and vegetables. It is interesting that the people who serve us are also the people who are usually paid the lowest wages. We were all very thankful to these people when the pandemic started. Even at great risk to their own health, these people made sure we had food on our tables. Now that things have gotten back to somewhat normal, these same people who got us through the difficult times, have not seen their social status or incomes changed even though a lot of corporations have seen a thirty to forty percent increase in their income and share values. In our Gospel today Jesus thought a fair amount about servants and how he was called to be one.

Jesus made a point of walking the road with just his apostles so that he could have an intimate conversation with them. This is the second week in a row we have heard Jesus telling the disciples what is about to happen to him but this time adds, that he will be betrayed. This may have been both a warning and an appeal to Judas. Jesus also mentions again, in three days after his death, he will rise again. Naturally the disciples didn’t understand what he was telling them. What was he talking about? Rising from the dead? No one comes back to life. Everything Jesus was telling them was just too much for them to comprehend so they were silent. It is like when we hear bad news from our doctor. Sometimes the bad news is all we want to hear, we have heard enough, so we don’t ask any questions. The human mind sometimes rejects what it doesn’t want to see or hear. In a way it is somewhat like the term “Cafeteria Catholics”, where people choose what they want to believe and disregard what they don’t understand. 

Now they arrive at their destination. This scene really shows that the disciples had no idea about what Jesus had been teaching them. He had just finished telling them about what was awaiting him when he arrived in Jerusalem. Their concerns and argument had nothing to do with what Jesus had just told them. Their greatest concern, (P) who was the greatest amongst them. (P) Yet, when Jesus asks, “What have you been arguing about?” They are silent. This was a silence of shame and a great lesson for all of us. What if we asked ourselves about everything we do, “Would I do this if I knew Jesus was watching me?”(P) What about everything I say,” Would I say those things if I knew Jesus was listening? (P) The thing is, as Christians there is no “if”. Our faith is based on the belief he is watching and listening to us all the time as he is always in our presence.

Jesus uses this as a teaching moment. He tells them in order achieve greatness in His Kingdom, they must become last and not first and be servants not masters. Jesus was not against people being ambitious and wanting to better themselves. What he was saying to us, was that we must also use that same ambition to serve others and not just ourselves. When we think of being first or last, we automatically think of some sort of competition. Jesus is telling us in serving others there is no first or last as there is no competition only love for one another. When we only think of terms of first and last, we are not fulfilling God’s second greatest commandment to love our neighbour. Recently I read, “Every economic problem could be solved if men and women lived for what they could do for others and not for what they could get for themselves. (P) Every political problem would be solved if the ambition of men and women was only to serve the state and not to enhance their own prestige.

Just a glance at the news these days reveals a lot of anger. I mean, when people throw stones at the Prime Minister, they’re angry. But it only take a brief reflection on the events of the last few months to see why. We might think of the revelation of the horrors of the residential school system. With sadness we witness what’s going on in Afghanistan. We consider the floods and fires and even hurricanes that people in our nation have endured. We notice rising food prices and even the election that very few want and it all makes us uncomfortable. The discomfort can make us angry. After all, we live in Canada, life here is supposed to be comfortable and when it’s not we wonder what could be going wrong, where do we point the finger and assign blame.

It’s easy to believe that when things are going well we must be doing something right and when things aren’t going so well we must be doing something wrong. This isn’t how life works though. Sometimes, life is just difficult and the only meaning we can really draw from that is that life here is just difficult sometimes. Sometimes, life is easy and the only meaning we can really draw from that is that life here is easy sometimes.

A huge problem with interpreting easy living as a sign that we’re living correctly and difficult living as a sign that we aren’t living correctly is that it reduces life to a problem that has to be solved and in solving this problem, pain or discomfort is completely unacceptable and the risks needed to form meaningful relationships, build up good health, enter a satisfying career, start up a new business or master a hobby just aren’t worth it.

When life is a problem that must be solved, the temptation is to avoid risking possible painful moments, heartbreak, and letdowns. When life is a problem that must be solved, the future becomes something not to be embraced but to be feared. When life is a problem to be solved, comfort often appears as the only solution to discomfort; but, comfort can’t give meaning to life and that makes a whole other problem.

Oddly enough, another huge problem with interpreting easy living as a sign that we’re living correctly and difficult living as a sign that we aren’t living correctly appears when life is easy. After-all, we all know of people who never turn to God, who never pray or worship or ask for God’s wisdom when making a bigger decision and yet have easy lives. We all know of people who have lives so easy that it’s easy to hide an addiction or some other harmful habit. You see, when life is easy, there’s little motivation to take on challenges; why change what seems to be working? Why aim for anything greater when what exists now is enough? Why aim to be a saint when life here could be mistaken for heaven?

In the Gospel, Peter rebuked Jesus when the saviour foretold difficult days ahead. How can a future of suffering and death really be a sign that God is winning over sin and establishing a Kingdom? Peter can’t accept the cross as part of God’s plan because he can’t accept that difficult living could actually be part of God’s plan or a sign of the Good News.

The experience of easy or difficult living isn’t really the criteria that should be used to determine if life is being lived according to God’s plan. No, instead the criteria hangs with our response to easy or difficult living. When Christians encounter difficult moments in life, we face them head on; we face them with courage knowing that God is with us and we remember his promise for eternal life in his Kingdom of love and joy.

Yesterday we had a big celebration for the year of Saint Joseph. In this saint, we witness a man who faced great difficulties and challenges. We can imagine the ridicule he faced when it became known that Mary was pregnant before they had been marr...

After a long period of lockdowns, I’m so glad our parish can once again minister to those of our community residing in nursing and retirement residences. It’s a ministry that still has lots of growing to do, but at least Mass can be celebrated with those individuals. Now, during a Mass celebrated in one of those communities it’s not uncommon for some participants to nod off and fall asleep. Not all who come to worship are Catholic and some struggle with memory, so many have difficulty following along. When the ‘Lord’s Prayer starts up though, most everyone wakes up and can join in regardless of faith or ability.

But years ago, at one nursing home I ministered to, there was this elderly woman who never woke up for the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. She never missed Mass and knew all the prayers but was completely deaf so it was tough for her to follow along. This disability made it exceedingly difficult for her to understand or share in any kind of meaningful conversation. In no small way, her ailment disconnected her from what was going on around her; this poor woman was closed off from others and even from praying with her community.

I can certainly imagine the deaf and mute man from today’s Gospel being closed off in similar ways. Communicating with his closest friends, expressing a basic need, speaking up for himself or even making a simple request must have been incredibly difficult. Most people of the time and place couldn’t read or write and systems of sign language didn’t develop till much later. Like the deaf woman from the nursing home, this man could have been present with a community in prayer, but full participation in shared prayer, joining his voice to that of others was out of the question.

I can also imagine the deaf and mute man being closed off from God somewhat too. While I’m sure many gestures allowed the man to communicate simple ideas to others, how could anyone have told him about God’s love? How could a mute man ask about God? Being closed off by his disability, he would have been left on his own to wonder about where he came from or what the meaning of his life or purpose of his ailment was. He needed to have his ears and mouth opened, no question. But he also needed to be opened to faith, to the love of God present and active in the world especially through Jesus, to belonging to a community of believers and even to sharing life and faith with others around him.

As it turns out, the deaf and mute man wasn’t the only one who needed to be opened. “…the region of the Decapolis.”[1], where the miracle took place, was predominately occupied by people who practiced pagan religions that closed many off from the true God. They may have been friendly with their Jewish neighbours and familiar with the Jewish faith, but their own beliefs upheld some divide between them and God; it closed them off.

The prayer of Jesus, to “…be opened.”[2], wasn’t offered just for the deaf and mute man. Certainly, the man was alleviated of the disabilities which had limited him for so long, but those who watched the miracle were changed too. In an instant, witnesses to the miracle were open to the possibility of the presence of Our Saviour at work in the world. They went about telling others about Jesus; in fact, we’re told that they “…zealously… …proclaimed it.”[3] and couldn’t be stopped.

I suspect that those who brought the deaf and mute man to Jesus never thought they needed to be opened or needed a saviour at all; they probably just wished for their friend to be healed. But, on witnessing the miracle and hearing the prayer of Jesus,

There was a young boy called John, who fell deeply in love with Kate.Kate  had never gone out without wearing make-up. Then, throughout the period of their dating John had never spent a night together with her. So, on their wedding night after the reception,  John discovered to his great surprise that Kate was an old woman. Things are not always what they appear to be.

We see this idea in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus was born a Jew. He criticised not his own religion, but the religious leaders of his people. Jesus points out that the tendency of the Phrases to give  importance to external gestures and rites than to what really matters.

In the Jewish mind, the law is not just something to obey, the Law was a way of showing one’s respect for God,  expression of one’s love for God and being aware of God. Just as the prayer before meals reminds us that, all we have comes from God. Over time, the washing of hands turned into mere rituals without link to God.So,the people lost connection with God and their acts were done  for self glorification and not for the glory of God. Thus, they will following the Law, rather than the Spirit of the Law.  

 Giving more importance to external cleanliness than to purity of heart, is seen today on a worldwide scale. There is very much preoccupation about exterior and physical contamination from the atmosphere ,Water, climate change, but almost silent about interior and moral decay.A of physical contamination and care of hygiene is a sign of progress and civilisation which must not be given up at any price.However,Jesus told us that it was not enough for us to wash our hands, our vessels and the rest. Jesus launches a program of ‘’ecology’ ’of the inside needs cleaning even more than the outside. If we want to heal our hearts, we need to rid slandr,envey,gossip,criticizing from our hearts.

2 . Jesus said nothing that enters the body from outside can defile ,it what comes out from within that defiles. God looks at the heart and not appearance.  Image and appearance are important values in our culture today. There is an emphasis on looking good and people can go to great lengths to look good, that is not bad. We also have to be good  as well, honest and real.

Our faith should go hand in hand with our sincerity of heart and honesty. Our life in the Church should correspond with our works ,whether in the army,workshop,court,schools.What matters to God is the heart,how we feel,think and what we desire.We are to bring our feelings, thoughts and desires into line with how God feels, thinks and desires.

Finally, brothers and sisters, let us be aware of our daily motivation. This will help us make us make progress in our walk with God. We should be aware of God during the day as we encounter our co-workers,friends,children and spouses. We made a decision to be here today.Let us make another decision that this week, we do our good deeds in praise of God. Let us try to be Christ like in our daily lives.Do good and avoid evil, that is the whole essence of the Law.

A friend of mine once told me of a cruel trick his older brother would often play when his parents bought a snack for each of them. While my friend would gobble down his snack right away, his older brother would save his till later so he could eat it slowly in front of his younger brother who would then want more. This would sometimes cause a conflict which my friend, having already eaten his fair share, would lose.

There have been some who suggest that the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish wasn’t really a miracle at all but a demonstration of the great things that can happen when people share what they have secretly been hoarding. They perhaps assume there must have been some mothers among the crowd who followed Jesus; after-all, our usually ready-for-anything mothers, often have some food on them, it seems. We don’t believe this suggestion at all though. God had already sent many prophets to tell the people to share with those in need. No, something much greater happened that day: a truly unique miracle worthy of being recorded for all time.

Of course, there was one person who did shared that day: a young boy, apparently the only one of the crowd thinking far enough ahead, who had only a few loaves and some fish. The disciples began to worry. There was no way so little could appease the collective hunger of so many. Jesus, however, saw the opportunity the challenge of the hungry crowd presented. He didn’t view the lack of food as a problem to be eliminated or feel the need to send the hungry crowd away. Instead, Jesus saw opportunity for something more, an opportunity to deepen his relationship with his followers.

Had the boy seen the hungry crowd as a rival, he might have kept his food for himself to ensure his own full belly; he might have hidden his bit of food until he could eat it secretly, safe from others who might wish to take it from him. Maybe the boy simply wished to help out as much as he could and maybe he knew that Jesus, in some miraculous way, could take his small offering and make something great from it. Instead of fearing the hunger of the crowd, the young boy, like Jesus, saw an opportunity.

One of the social teachings of our church is the “Universal Destination of Goods” The idea is that while people certainly have the right to own things, they also have the responsibility to recognize how God has made the good things of creation for the good of all. It’s a teaching that encourages those who are more fortunate to assist those who are not so fortunate. It challenges Christians to work against excessive inequality, to correct systems that allow for some to starve while others live in excess.

I believe the teaching of the “Universal Destination of Goods” can be applied to more than just physical things. While it’s certainly possible for any one of us to own or possess more things than the rest, I believe it’s also possible for an individual to possess an abundance of all kinds of gifts. Just as those who own more things have a responsibility to use them for the good of all, those fortunate enough to have been given other gifts have a similar responsibility.

Under a spirit of rivalry, those who have work hard to hold on to what they have, maybe because what they have seems so small in comparison to the needs of the world; it just never seems to be enough. Those who see others as opportunity, however, take up the challenge to use the gifts they have received not only for their good but for the good of all. Even if they have very little to offer, they’re prompted to take action and do what they can, trusting that their small offering will somehow make a real difference.

The young boy from the Gospel must have had the gift of hope, a deep hope, that his small offering would help alleviate the hunger o...

In the Gospel last weekend, we heard how Jesus sent the disciples to share the Good News with the surrounding communities. While the disciples had not yet witnessed the greatest sign of the love of our Lord, his death and resurrection, they still had true Good News to share. To support their message, Jesus empowered the disciples with signs of healing that foretold of the freedom and love God wished to give to his people.

After seeing and hearing the signs and message of Good News, crowds of people followed the disciples as they return to Jesus. The people wanted something more, not more of the disciples and their signs but, to get close to the source of the Good News, Jesus himself.

Jesus recognized that the disciples needed a break after all their hard work, so he invited them to go away with him perhaps for a kind of retreat. But then he sees the following crowds and changes his mind. No, the time for rest would have to come later.

Jesus observed that the people, “…were like sheep without a shepherd…”[1]. Our Saviour saw lives filled with fears and anxieties; lives consumed by doubts, hopelessness and sin: truly at the mercy of the whims of the world while deserving something much greater: lives filled with faith, hope, love and joy.

I believe the same observation could be made about people today too, that today we are like sheep in need of a shepherd. Whenever new life is considered a burden and not a blessing, whenever suffering arouses only despair, whenever someone begins identifying themselves or another according to shortcomings, disabilities or sins, failing to see all as beloved children of God, there is a true sign that we are, indeed, in need of a shepherd. Maybe that’s why some have come to this place today. Maybe, like those crowds who followed the disciples back to Jesus, we too have heard Good News and seen signs that prompt us to seek out Jesus, the source of that Good News.

Perhaps one reason we are in such need of good shepherds is because they’re seemingly hard to come by. The first reading this weekend begins with the prophet Jeremiah proclaiming, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep…”[2]. Jeremiah was speaking out against many of the priests and leaders of his time who were, very much, failing to gather the people and lead them closer to God; it’s a condition continues today. we’ve all been let down or even harmed by individuals who were supposed to lead us: priests, teachers and coaches, parents and relatives, friends and politicians, just to name a few. Whenever those who are supposed to guide, care for and lead instead cause harm, the result is always disastrous and sometimes tempts us to do away with shepherds altogether, to opt instead to be shepherds for ourselves.

Although it may be more difficult, I believe that a better solution is to be like the crowds who followed the disciples: always on the search for what makes truly good shepherds. Always wanting the best for others means knowing what makes a good shepherd. After all, while there may be moments where we are like sheep, there are also many moments when we are called to be shepherds for others.

Traditionally, especially in the culture where the scriptures were written, shepherding was considered one of the lowest of all jobs. No one wanted to look after the base needs of animals who offered little to nothing in return. Lots, however, wanted the honours that came along with being ‘in charge’. Plenty wished to be rulers or kings or emperors to lead people through the exertion of authority. Of course, politicians and ‘rulers’ of various kinds are needed to, hopefully, bring order,

One of the greatest fears a nation of people might have is to be conquered. After all, it never goes well for those dominated by a foreign power. Peoples of conquered nations have been displaced, exiled, enslaved and even killed. What’s worse is the loss of the unique cultures and customs that unite a people: a tragedy we’re just beginning to realize in our own nation.

When we hear of the struggles of indigenous people or of some group within our nation desiring to separate or when we see the seclusion of groups of people who share a similar background, religion or values, what we’re often really witnessing are reactions to fear of losing something truly important; it’s an effort to protect the unique culture or heritage a group of people share. In our church we can get a taste of how it feels when we find that someone has ‘taken’ our favourite pew or encroached upon some ministry or role we hold dear.

In the time of Jesus, defending against an invading force, enduring a long siege, was incredibly difficult and we can only imagine the fears a defending people might experience and the sacrifices they may be willing to make to protect themselves and their culture. If a nation successfully defended itself against an invading force, the king would send messengers throughout the nation to proclaim the good news, to tell the people they were safe and let them know that all their efforts, struggles and sacrifices were worth it. 

In the Gospel selected for this weekend, we heard about how Jesus sent out messengers of his own into different communities for a similar reason. Here, Jesus does what the kings of the time did. For Jesus recognizes the great many evils that threaten and understands the great many fears that his people have. On top of the Romans, the peace and security of the people was harassed by demons and disease, poverty, injustice and death.

This was the state of the people to whom Jesus sent out his disciples with his Good News. It was a kind of training exercise for them. They had not yet witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, but even without that great event they truly had Good News to share. To those who wondered if God had given up on his promise to form one nation for his people, the disciples preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand. To those who wondered if God had abandoned his people the disciples proclaimed that God was truly among them. The disciples went forth at the command of Jesus to preach the Good News that the Messiah had indeed come into the world, demonstrated through marvelous and unmatched signs.

Preaching is never just words, however. So, as he sent them forth, Jesus gave the disciples authority over the unclean spirits, those evil powers that threatened to rule the people with fear and darkness. No one, no king, ruler, prophet or holy person, it seems, was able to control or eliminate the presence of those demons that seemed to rob freedom and make all else seem weak.

The messengers of Jesus were also empowered and commanded to heal the sick. Healing, the preservation of life where death threatens to take it away, is a true sign of the Kingdom which is to come. Miraculous healings are wonderful, signs that point to something greater: God’s Kingdom. Even after those healed by the Saviour eventually passed through death, the sign and excitement of the healing remained and continues to give hope by pointing to the presence of the source of life itself. So, the disciples were sent to point out the presence of God, the source life and love, through the signs of healing. They were instructed out to cast out demons, to free the people of those evil powers that threatened freedom and they were commissioned to preach a message of Good News.

In the second reading for this weekend,

                     THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU WRITE HIM OFF

In contrast to parting ,homecoming is more likely to be a very happy experience for all involved. Yet homecoming can also be complicated affair.

. In the Gospel today Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth having left there some time in the past. He has spent most of his best of life in Nazareth. During that time he was known as a teacher and a powerful healer. They asked understandable question where did he get all this? They couldn’t imagine that God could be working so powerfully through someone so like them. They know his mother, and his family. They weren’t different from other families in Nazareth. Thus they refused to open themselves up in the mystery hidden in the humanity of Jesus. They saw Jesus but did not see the wonderful way God was present to them.

The person and life of Jesus shows us that the familiar can be charged with the wonder of God’s presence. God comes to us through our ordinary human experiences. The Gospel reminds us that God can come to us through the familiar. We can sometimes take the familiar for granted. Yet the familiar can reveal the mystery of God’s grandeur. The Lord can be working through the person right beside us, a family memeber,close friend or ministers of the Church.

Even those familiar experiences that cause us pain and we wish had never happened can be a means through which the Lord comes to us. This is the discovery st Paul made in today’s second reading. He speaks of a thorn in his flesh. We don’t of what he means but he identified it as messenger of Satan and equates with insult, hardship persecutions, and what he calls weaknesses. He may be referring to people who opposed him and makes life very difficult for him. Even today people sometimes speak about someone as a thorn in their flesh. But in prayer Paul recognized that he saw as a totally negative experience was actually an opening through which God’s grace was powerfully at work in his life. God was working with him through the experience he wanted to rid of. Paul is reminding us that God can be working through all of the familiar, including those painful experiences that we find in real struggle.

The blessings of God flow in an unfamiliar place and most times in the packages we don’t like.  Is it that we want the miracle to happen when it has been happening for a whole times. We have been trapping over our miracles because they have become so common to us and have been there for so long and no longer amaze us. Let us stop tripping and stay amazed and appreciate the miracles that happen in our daily life. The miracles of life,family, ,friends,the sacraments ,esspecially the Eucharist, and the miracle that you are here today. Grace flows in common and yet in an unfamiliar and unexpected people and places.

The logic of God and logic of man are like two parallel lines. It has been the  ultimately  desire of man to hear directly from God .But even the Bible is the Word God in the word of men. ‘’it can be  difficult to see God working in our lives. He often speaks to us through those around us, through seemingly ordinary events and people in ways that are surprising and unexpected. Our expectation can prevent us from hearing God’s Word. The Lord’s work in the Church and our lives is the sign of His immense love, but it can present itself in ways that are challenging and unforeseen.Some here today may not think Jesus is all that the Bible says He is.You may look with doubt on the uniqueness of Christ ,his virgin birth, his miracles, his sacrificial death. You may think that the story of Jesus is an old, worn out tradition that has no relevance to your life.

I can only imagine how thrilled and happy Jesus must have been with each of the miraculous healings we heard about in today’s Gospel. In each encounter, Jesus witnesses a suffering person find relief, a sinner reunited with the Father and a proclamation of God’s love for all those who gaze on in amazement. However, along with all the happiness and joy discovered through each healing miracle, there must also have been a touch of sadness too; sadness that not more, that not all those who followed him, were healed of physical and spiritual afflictions.

The disciples took note of the dense crowd that pressed in on Jesus, of how many brushed against or bumped into him as they journeyed through the sometimes narrow streets. So, when the woman who had suffered greatly for most of her life touched Jesus, no one really noticed and when Jesus pointed out that a miracle had happened in the midst of that crowd, many were quick to dismiss him.

In many ways, we might think of ourselves as part of the crowd who followed Jesus. Each of us may have our own reasons for coming to this place each week. We might imagine some in the crowd being simply curious; perhaps some wished to see more miracles; perhaps some hoped Jesus would do something for them, that he might help them win the Roman equivalent to the lottery or some other thing. The people pressed in on him and touched him just as we do when receiving Holy Communion.

It appears that the healing Jesus offers, regardless of if it is spiritual, physical or otherwise, doesn’t come simply by touching the cloak of Jesus or by accidently bumping into him; otherwise all those who followed Jesus would have been healed. No, there’s something else that’s needed.

Unlike the many who accidently bumped into or brushed up against Jesus, the woman we hear about in today’s Gospel had intention; her touch was no accident. Perhaps this is what set her touch apart: her deliberate efforts to touch Jesus and receive healing. She knew she needed healing and expressed her desire through a secretive but deliberate touch.

Truth-be-told, composing a homily this weekend was a challenge in light of another tragic finding at a former residential school in Saskatchewan. Before our eyes, truth is being revealed; and while these revelations may stir up all kinds of things within us, feelings we may wish away if we could, the tragedy of the residential school system certainly reveals a deep need for healing.

Oh, none of us may be in need of physical healing right now and none of us may have been involved that horrible school system in any way, but healing is still clearly needed. I believe we need healing simply because we are people with our own set of blessings, struggles, prejudices and shortcomings just like those who were involved in the residential school system or those who have elected violent dictators or those who sympathized with fascist regimes.

I don’t believe that all those involved in the clearly horrendous policies and practices of the past were truly bad people, but were much like us, people wanting to make the world better but failing horribly in doing so. Perhaps a hundred years from now future generations will look back at us and shake their heads. After all, in our time, we may not have a residential school system, but so long as poverty exists, as long as people are in need, displaced, dismissed, taken advantage of or feel unloved, healing is needed, we need the touch of Christ.

Of course, Jesus can heal any way he wishes. He could have healed the woman without her touching him as he could have healed the daughter of Jairus simply by willing it. But for whatever wise reason we can only guess at, God wishes us to approach him and invite him into those places where healing is neede...

                      JESUS CALMS EVERY STORM IN MY LIFE.

 The Lake of Galilee was notorious for its storm. The voyage across the Lake was always liable to encounter storm such a sudden storms as portrayed in the Gospel of today. In the evening at the end of day’s work  spent by Jesus in announcing the kingdom of God, the disciples and Jesus boarded their boat and began to cross over to the other side of the lake. Suddenly there was a storm and their boat was about to sink and they cried out to Jesus and he calmed the storm.

The storm in the sea of Galilee is a symbol of the forces of chaos and destruction at work in the World. But there is a divine power which can control and subdue any forces that is harmful to humanity. Jesus is the embodiment of divine power, and he manifested this through a simple command and the sea became quite and no harm was done to anyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                            The Boat of St peter is a symbol of the Church. The Church has from its early stage experienced a lots of storms both externally and internally and internal storms seem to have done more harm than the external. Externally the early Church suffered five great persecutions which claimed many lives and properties of her members. Internally the Church has experienced a lots of heressy,schism,and divisions based on her doctrine of faith. However, the experience is not different today, the same experience is displayed in our World today at  different levels, times and places. No one can deny the fact that the Church has been through stormy times. In America the Church appears to be a period of decline.The waves of secularism and materialism threaten to sink the Church.  But the Church seems to survive these pressures not because of her ministers but because Christ is the head of the body which is the Church. We have a Church that is built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone in which the whole building is bonded together.

Meanwhile, the readings of today offer us  stimulus to reflect on “who we are and whose we are”. In today’s first reading it was God’s response to Job after his struggle to understand why tragedy has come into his family. In our journey of life we too encounter different storms. A storm may arise because of family problem, a sickness, failure in an exam ,losing a job, children hooked in drugs, death and separation. When these happen sometimes we become scared,anxious,secptical and loose our faith. And what good can this attitude bring us?.C.H Spurgeon once said ‘’an anxiety doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.