Aleteia logoAleteia logoAleteia
Wednesday 29 November |
Saint of the Day: Our Lady of Beauraing
Aleteia logo
Spirituality
separateurCreated with Sketch.

Can we walk on the water of life’s stormy sea?

This article is reserved for Aleteia Premium members
shutterstock_374212009.jpeg

Shutterstock

Fr. Luigi Maria Epicoco - published on 08/02/22

There are two very striking elements in today's Gospel.

Two things are striking about today’s Gospel. The first is Jesus’ prayer: “Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, 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.” We should be struck by the time Jesus sets aside for prayer. It’s a significant, personal, prolonged period of time, and we all know his greatest secret is hidden precisely in this time.

The most obvious effect seems to be the continuation of the story. Jesus catches up with the disciples, but he does so by walking on water. It’s a powerful image that shows that prayer keeps Jesus from getting overwhelmed by events. He can master them and traverse them, without letting them literally drown him.

Yet the disciples are frightened by it all: “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear.” Here, Peter then makes himself—as always—the spokesman for all: “‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come!’ 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 him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

Peter, and each of us, could also walk like Jesus on the waters of life’s events, but to do this we must trust, we must believe that Jesus can obtain this grace for us. We remain standing in the midst of storms only if we pray, because prayer is the secret source of all faith and all ability to trust. Without it, we drown, without many ways out.

The following is reserved for Aleteia Premium members

Already a member?

Free! - Without any commitment
You can cancel anytime

Discover all of these benefits:

Aucun engagement : vous pouvez résilier à tout moment

1.

Unlimited access to all new Premium content from Aleteia

2.

Unlimited access to new Premium content from our partners: Our Sunday Visitor and the Dominican friars.

3.

Exclusive access to our prestigious international press review

4.

Limited advertising

5.

Exclusive access to publish comments

6.

Access to our network of hundreds of monasteries that will pray for your intentions

Support media that promotes Christian values
Support media that promotes Christian values
Tags:
Spiritual Life
Support Aleteia!

Enjoying your time on Aleteia?

Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you.

Thanks to their partnership in our mission, we reach more than 20 million unique users per month!

Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting and transformative Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more.

Support Aleteia with a gift today!

jour1_V2.gif
Daily prayer
And today we celebrate...




Entrust your prayer intentions to our network of monasteries


Top 10
See More
Newsletter
Get Aleteia delivered to your inbox. Subscribe here.