1st August 2011 Walking On Water

Scripture readings for Monday's Mass and feast day of St Alphonsus Ligouri and various reflections from Creighton Ministries are here.





"Faith", Father Ron Rolheiser says, "is more about surrender and trust than about knowing and certainty."   More wise words from Fr. Ron from here.
"No matter how sorrowful a person’s failures, he can nonetheless come to the Lord. 

Doing so may feel like walking without any solid ground under foot. 

But faith is a kind of walking on water, too, isn’t it? 

As long as we don't look down, as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in faith, even walking on nothing in order to come to Him is possible.

All the promises of God are fulfilled in Him." 

Eleonore Stump, Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University

In her book titled Walking On Water  Madeleine L'Engle contends that if Christians truly believe that Jesus was wholly human then people should be able to do all the things He did on earth. 

She contemplates that perhaps once upon a time people knew how to walk on water – that when Jesus called Peter to walk on water, he was able to, until he remembered that he had forgotten how.!!
L'Engle believes that part of the calling, then, as Christians, is to remember things that have been have forgotten: namely, to follow Christ's voice whenever and wherever He calls.

If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat !



This achingly beautiful song below is called
" Falling Slowly " by Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova.

It seems to fit well with the gospel story of Peter's self doubt and his internal struggle just to let go and trust in Jesus.









The Jesus Peter has given up everything in his life to follow but whom he hardly knows at all mysteriously shifts in and out of his life.

Peter has seen so much in such a short time and he lacks the words to describe the way Jesus has completely re- ordered his life.

Christ only has to say the words "Come to me" and his shaky faith soars and leaps with hope.

But then the storms of life rock him and all the old self doubts resurface and swamp him ;  the black moods of distrust and resentment threaten to annihilate him and he sinks.

But it is in that falling that he raises his voice and from the depths of despair he summons up his cry of hope for Jesus to save him. 

That's the crucial and only choice he has to make for Jesus to save him from drowning and take him home safely to the shore.


Lyrics

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had the choice
You've made it now

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had the choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

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