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Gospel Reflections Lessons in a Storm Tueday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lessons in a Storm

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 8:23-27
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

Opening Prayer: I know you are here with me right now, Lord. I know you are thinking of me and eager to give me the graces I need to live this day to the full. I know you are looking at me with a gaze of personal and determined love. You created me, Lord, and you redeemed me, and you accompany me each moment through your Holy Spirit. Please open my mind and my heart so that I can receive the light and strength of your grace through this time I spend with you in prayer.
Encountering Christ:

1. The Opportunities Storms Give Us: Why does Jesus permit storms in our lives? He didn’t have to let that storm come up as he and his Apostles were making their way across the sea. He shows clearly later on that he has power over the forces of nature at work in the storm. Why didn’t he exercise that power ahead of time, so that the storm wouldn’t even come up in the first place? At least one reason for permitting storms is that they give us opportunities to get to know Jesus better. At the end of this passage, after the crisis is over, St. Matthew tells us: “The men were amazed and said, ‘What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?’” Up to this point, Christ’s followers had witnessed amazing things: marvelous healings, dramatic exorcisms, and powerful preaching. This experience, however, shows them another side of Christ’s lordship: his power over the forces of nature. Their understanding, their knowledge of Jesus, still had room to grow. Maybe Jesus permitted this storm precisely so that through the experience, and through what he would show them in that experience, they would come to know him better. Maybe that’s why Jesus permits storms in our lives too. Somehow, being in a boat with Jesus as the storm rages on gives us a chance to know him more fully, and thus to love him more deeply.


2. The Mystery of Faith: When his disciples wake him to share their panic with him, Jesus responds with a strange question: “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” The disciples must have looked at him as if he were crazy. Or maybe they looked at each other questioningly, wondering if their Lord had lost his marbles. A good number of Christ’s followers were fishermen, familiar with boats and storms. And those expert navigators were fearing for their very lives in the midst of this storm: “Lord, save us!” they cried out, “We are perishing!” From a normal, human standpoint their situation was clearly and obviously dire. But Jesus doesn’t chastise them for failing to make an accurate human evaluation of the situation. He challenges them on a different level, the level of faith. All his teaching, all his miracles—they have had the single purpose of stirring up in his followers faith. We must encounter Jesus and believe in him, trust in him. Only then can his grace penetrate and transform us. This is because God is a real person, and so our relationship with him must be based on something besides mathematical computations. We must throw in our lot with him, believing and trusting, as we must do with any friend if we want the friendship to grow and flourish. Jesus has given us all many direct and indirect experiences of his goodness and his trustworthiness. How deeply have they nourished our faith? Our reaction during life’s storms can tell us.


3. In the Same Boat: Jesus and his disciples were in the same boat. Jesus isn’t a Savior who redeems us from a distance. Jesus wants to be close to us. The whole Christian mystery broadcasts that amazing truth. In the Incarnation God himself becomes a human being and walks with us here in this fallen world. On the Cross, God himself absorbs into his own body and soul all the many types of suffering that we can’t seem to avoid in our journey through life. He travels the dusty roads of Galilee with his disciples. He speaks with Nicodemus around the fire at night. He touches lepers and weeps with those who mourn. In Jesus God shows us that he truly is with us. He is in our boat. Jesus is “Emmanuel”—God with us. The problem, from our perspective, is that we so easily forget this. The storms of life throw us into a panic. The noise of life drowns out the voice of truth. The distractions of life obstruct our view of the bigger picture as God has revealed it. When will I decide to live according to the truths that I believe? When will I decide to accept the truth of God’s unlimited, unconditional, unmitigated love for me and interest in my life? Will it be today?

Conversing with Christ: Thank you for coming into my boat, Lord. Thank you for caring enough about me to walk with me and protect and enlighten me. Today I just want to savor this gift of your presence. I am never alone. Even the storms that batter me are part of your plan for my life. Nothing can separate you from me, because you are all in for me. Please teach me, Lord, to live with a greater and greater awareness of your presence. Grant me the grace never to forget that even when the storms rage, you are with me in my boat, and with a mere word you can rebuke the winds and calm the sea. You are my Lord and my brother, and I never want to leave your side.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will put some kind of faith-reminder (crucifix, image, rosary, post-it with a verse) in a place where I tend to feel more acutely the stresses and anxieties of life (desk, car, kitchen). Whenever I see it I will make a little act of faith, telling Jesus that I do believe in him and asking him to increase my faith. 
For Further Reflection: Navigating the Stormy Seas: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat on Jesus Calming the Storm – Coming in the Fall of 2020. (https://rcspirituality.org/retreat_guide/).
The post Lessons in a Storm appeared first on RC Spirituality.

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CRS July Briefing

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Briefing July 2020

Our Monthly Prayer That We May All Be One Lord Jesus, as you were about to lay down your life for us, you prayed to the Father. And so we pray ... PRAY WITH US   Share this prayer on social media:

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Lead the Way to Help Children Thrive Our faith tells us nothing is impossible with God—including ending global poverty, hunger, displacement and injustice. Our faith tells us that everyone—man, woman and child—deserves the opportunity to not just survive, but thrive. Our faith tells us that when we take action and work together in God’s name, we’re able to create real and lasting results. What is your faith telling you? Will you take action and lead the way to a more just and peaceful world? ACT TODAY

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Tomgram: Rebecca Gordon, The Sudden Descent of the United States
Posted by Rebecca Gordon at 8:00am, June 30, 2020.
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Ever more often, as I face the latest news from this increasingly woebegone American world of ours, I imagine bringing my long-dead parents back to view it. After all, they knew bad times and good. They lived through the Great Depression as young adults, World War II (my father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps), and the 1950s and 1960s. Those were the decades of my youth when, thanks to both Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and the boom the war had triggered, economic inequality in this country narrowed drastically from the “roaring twenties.”

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Gospel Reflectons Faithful Forever Solemnity of Sainst Peter and Paul

Faithful Forever

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Opening Prayer: As I come before you today, Lord, I thank you for all the gifts you have given me. I thank you especially for the gift of my faith, for bringing me into your very family, the Church, and strengthening me day after day, year after year with all the graces of the sacraments. Thank you for being with me right now. I turn to you to give you praise and to receive whatever grace you see fit to give me today. 
Encountering Christ:

1. Peter the Rock: This isn’t the only time Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter. In the Gospel of John, the very first time Jesus meets Simon he says to him, “‘You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter)” (John 1:42). Such a solemn changing of someone’s name is always deeply significant whenever it happens in the Bible. It happened with Abraham and Sarah; it happened with Jacob; it happens here with Peter. Jesus changes his name to reflect his mission in salvation history. Jesus gave Peter a special role of leadership in his band of Apostles. His presence and his ministry would be the guarantee of the Church’s authenticity after Jesus ascended back to heaven. And that guarantee would continue throughout the centuries through what has come to be known as “the Petrine ministry,” that is, the papacy. Peter concluded his life serving as the bishop of Rome, the city where he was martyred around the year 64 A.D. Since then, the bishop of Rome (the pope) has been the figure through which the Holy Spirit has continued exercising Peter’s own ministry of unity and universality in Christ’s Catholic Church. The papacy is the continuation throughout history of Peter’s special leadership role in the Church. And the promise Jesus makes that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church, that the Church will faithfully guard and spread the Gospel until Jesus comes again, is linked to this Petrine ministry: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” This is Our Lord’s plan for his followers. Because he has been faithful to it, Christians like you and me have always had trustworthy access to Christ’s truth and grace through the Gospel and the sacraments—and we always will. Thanks be to God!


2. The Church: Throughout history, many worldly forces have tried to destroy Christ’s Church. In fact, efforts to destroy the Catholic Church are a constant factor in human history since the time of Christ. First there was the Roman Empire. Then there were a series of Muslim empires. Then in more modern times Napoleon himself had the pope kidnapped in order to try to absorb the Catholic Church into his empire. The Nazis and Communists both targeted the Catholic Church in the twentieth century. And in addition to these attacks from the outside, the forces of evil have ceaselessly sought to undermine the Church from within— through heresies, divisions, and corruption. And yet, more than twenty centuries after Jesus made this promise that his Church would stand strong forever and never fail in its mission to roll back the forces of darkness, that much maligned and suffering Church is still the primary moral and spiritual compass of the world. God is faithful. We can count on him. Truly.


3. Apostles of Rome: Today the Church not only contemplates the figure of St. Peter and God’s truly amazing fidelity as shown through his promise to protect the Church through the Petrine ministry. We also contemplate the figure of St. Paul, who was also martyred in Rome around the year 64 A.D. Together, Peter and Paul are considered the Apostles of Rome. St. Paul’s ministry complemented St. Peter’s. Peter’s ministry was the solid rock which gave unity and universality to the Gospel wherever it was preached. Paul’s ministry set out to preach that Gospel to the far corners of the world. As he describes it in today’s second reading: “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” St. Paul himself showed reverence for the Petrine ministry when he went to consult with St. Peter and the other Apostles in Jerusalem about his own mission in the Church. He describes how, “I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–but privately to those of repute–so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain… and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas [Peter] and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised” (Galatians 2:2, 9). St. Paul shows here his respect for the hierarchical structure of the Church as it was established by Jesus. But he also shows us the human side of the Church. He never rebelled against the divine authority present in the Petrine ministry, but he did courageously challenge Peter the man to live more coherently with the doctrine that he was teaching: “And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong… And the rest of the Jews [also] acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy…” Jesus guarantees that he will always give life and safety to his Church through the Petrine ministry, in spite of the fact that those who exercise that ministry (the popes) will always be imperfect human beings.
 

  
Conversing with Christ: I praise you, Lord, for your infinite power, which somehow finds a way to preserve your Church and even keep it growing in spite of the flaws of your followers and the wrathful attacks of your enemies. I praise you for giving me older brothers and sisters in the faith like Saints Peter and Paul and all the saints. If your grace transformed their lives, I know that same grace can keep transforming my life. Dear Jesus, I never want to abandon you or abandon your Church. Keep me faithful, Lord, through darkness and through light, just as you did for Peter and Paul.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray in a special way for the Holy Father and the Church, maybe by lighting a candle near one of the sacred images in my parish church.
For Further Reflection: Built to Last: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat on St. Peter and the Papacy. 
Written by Fr. John Bartunek, LC.
The post Faithful Forever appeared first on RC Spirituality.

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We’re All on the Frontlines Now - The Catholic Thing

We’re All on the Frontlines Now - The Catholic Thing: Robert Royal: The BLM-Antifa “uprising” is following the Marxist playbook. To end it, we need to stop its infiltration into schools and media.

Chinese companies take record 50% of global equity raising in first half of 2020 - Reuters

Chinese companies take record 50% of global equity raising in first half of 2020 - Reuters: Firms in China brought in half of equity capital raised globally this year so far, setting a record that highlights the economy's earlier revival from the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the degree to which soured U.S. relations are turning Chinese firms homeward.

What Americans think about the looming Israeli annexation and Trump’s Middle East plan

What Americans think about the looming Israeli annexation and Trump’s Middle East plan: How do Americans feel about the Trump administration's so-called peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and about possible Israeli annexation of West Bank territories?

Our Ghost-Kitchen Future | The New Yorker

Our Ghost-Kitchen Future | The New Yorker: A business model that seemed marginal before the coronavirus pandemic now looks like the future of restaurants.

Faulty COVID-19 antibody tests now complicating efforts to know reach of virus – 60 Minutes - CBS News

Faulty COVID-19 antibody tests now complicating efforts to know reach of virus – 60 Minutes - CBS News: A 60 Minutes investigation has found that federal officials knew many COVID-19 antibody testing kits had flaws, but allowed them to enter the U.S. market.

Why scientists say wearing masks shouldn’t be controversial | Science News

Why scientists say wearing masks shouldn’t be controversial | Science News: New data suggest that cloth masks work to reduce coronavirus cases, though less well than medical masks.

U.S. coronavirus hotspots failed to build up public health tools - Axios

U.S. coronavirus hotspots failed to build up public health tools - Axios: States still aren't doing enough testing or contact tracing.

Trump’s freeze on new visas could threaten US dominance in AI

The president’s executive order to temporarily suspend H-1B visas exacerbates the US’s precarious position in the global competition for AI talent.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/26/1004520/trump-executive-order-h1b-visa-threatens-us-ai?truid=e6a9a97f971519b8818ba7420a6d576d&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=subs&utm_content=06-29-2020

The US now has more covid-19 tests than it knows what to do with

Many labs can run thousands more tests a day . Containing the virus and reopening the economy both depend on figuring out how to use that capacity.

by

June 27, 2020

Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/27/1004545/us-covid-19-coronavirus-test-capacity-unused-available-reopening/?truid=e6a9a97f971519b8818ba7420a6d576d&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=subs&utm_content=06-29-2020

The Triple Crisis Shaking the World by Joschka Fischer - Project Syndicate

The Triple Crisis Shaking the World by Joschka Fischer - Project Syndicate: More than just a public-health disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic is a history-defining event with far-reaching implications for the global distribution of wealth and power. With economies in free-fall and geopolitical tensions rising, there can be no return to normal: the past is passed, and only the future counts now.

How a review of the U.S. response to Covid-19 could get started

How a review of the U.S. response to Covid-19 could get started: Outside experts have called for a Sept. 11-style commission to evaluate the U.S. response to the pandemic. Here are some of the issues it could review.

On “White Fragility” - Reporting by Matt Taibbi

On “White Fragility” - Reporting by Matt Taibbi: A few thoughts on America’s smash-hit #1 guide to egghead racialism

Florida’s Covid Cases Up Fivefold in 2 Weeks: ‘The Numbers Are Scary’ - The New York Times

Florida’s Covid Cases Up Fivefold in 2 Weeks: ‘The Numbers Are Scary’ - The New York Times: A surge in coronavirus cases has prompted officials to prohibit alcohol sales in bars and close Miami beaches for the coming holiday. But will it be enough?

How the Pandemic Is Making It Tougher to Study Whales - The New York Times

How the Pandemic Is Making It Tougher to Study Whales - The New York Times: Monday: Whales are dying at alarming rates, but the pandemic is keeping researchers away. Also: Gov. Gavin Newsom closes bars in some counties.

US Bishops Join Coalition Asking Congress to Aid Low-Income Students

https://zenit.org/2020/06/29/us-bishops-join-coalition-asking-congress-to-aid-low-income-students/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Pope%20Speaks%20of%20Unity%20and%20Prophecy%20on%20Feast%20of%20Sts%20Peter%20and%20Paul%201593446485%20ZNP&utm_content=Pope%20Speaks%20of%20Unity%20and%20Prophecy%20on%20Feast%20of%20Sts%20Peter%20and%20Paul%201593446485%20ZNP+CID_d4d76516b6cb7cc98b46d223cf395d9b&utm_source=Editions&utm_term=US%20Bishops%20Join%20Coalition%20Asking%20Congress%20to%20Aid%20Low-Income%20Students