Blessed Junipero Serra

Mt 8: 23-27

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

Open Your Eyes of Faith

“Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Again the disciples fail to see the power of Jesus as the Son of God. This is the ongoing struggle for the disciples to grasp the true identity of Jesus.

Just as the disciples failed to recognize him, so we fail to recognize Jesus in the face of our brothers and sisters. If only we could look through eyes of faith instead of eyes of fear! Fear freezes us, keeps us isolated and incapable of using our gifts, while faith strengthens us, frees us to trust in God, and live as our best selves.

The disciples only saw a powerful storm with fear, yet right before their eyes was the Son of God gently resting carefree. It is hard to see with faith when we are constantly reminded of the storms around us on the news each day.

Yet Jesus seems to be inviting us, just as the disciples, to use our eyes of faith which reveal the calm beneath the storm.  How then will we look with eyes of faith and find Jesus within us each day? Are we close enough to him to say “Hey, wake up! I need you right now?”

—Matthew Lieser, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

Prayer

Living God, stand by me. Hold me up. Be my strength when I am tired, my inspiration when I am bored, my life when I am listless.

Living God, I cannot always meet the standard expected of me, cannot always be the personality I am known for.Abba when I fail, Abba when I stumble.

—Edwina Gately