Our Lady of Sorrows
    info@oladyofsorrows.org
    956-686-0251
    • Home
    • News
      • Weekly Bulletin
    • Homilies
      • Msgr. Gustavo Barrera
      • Dcn. Ray Thomas
      • Dcn. Johnny Gonzalez
      • Dcn. Crawford Higgins
    • About Us
      • Office Directory
      • Worship & Liturgy Schedule
      • Our Pastor
      • Photo Gallery
    • Donate
    • Sacraments
      • Baptism
      • Matrimony
      • CCD
      • RCIA
    • Ministries & Organizations
      • Adoration
      • Altar & Rosary Society
      • Altar Servers
      • Asamblea de Oracion de Matrimonios (AOM)
      • Catholic Daughters of the Americas
      • Homebound Ministry
      • JCDA
      • Choir
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Legion of Mary
      • Readers of the Word (Lectors)
      • Serra Club
      • Star of Hope
    • Faith & Spirituality Groups
      • Bereavement Support
      • Centering Prayer Group
    • Become a Parishioner
    • Funeral Information
    • Quinceañera Information
    • OLS YouTube Channel
    • School
    • Diocese of Brownsville
    • Contact Us

    19 SUNDAY, CYCLE A

    8/9/2020

     
    Mathew 14:22-33
    As usual, the disciples were in trouble. Jesus came, walking on water, towards the boat.  The fourth watch was the last part of the night between three and six in the morning, the end of the night. Naturally, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost. 
     
    Ghost stories were just as popular as they are now.  They were afraid.  Almost everywhere we read, the disciples were afraid, or they doubted, or they ran away.  They were a rather disorderly group of “least likely to succeed” men.  Reading the Gospel story is like looking in the mirror.  The disciples look a lot like us; we look a lot like them.   Our boat has certainly been tossed about by the waves.  We are still in the middle of the storm.  Not every day that we have to shelter at home, ware face masks everywhere we go, experience so many people dying.  The pandemic has rocked our boat!  The whole world has been affected by the darkness of the night.  There are folks who have not left their homes since March.  They are terrified of what might happen.  Consider who comes walking towards us.  “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”  Only one person got out of the boat—St. Peter.  And look what happened to him.  He almost drowned!  However, he didn’t drown.  Jesus pulled him out of the water.  St. Peter got all wet—like a baptism effect—like a purification.  “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”  Better to have tried and failed, then never to have tried at all.  In a sense, St. Peter failed.  When Jesus pulled him out of the water He said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Jesus was probably smiling when he said those words to the one who dared to get out of the boat—the one who got all wet.  Eleven of the disciples never tried.  Leaving the safety of the boat represents taking a risk in order to get closer to Jesus. 
     
    St. Peter did not have time to analyze all that was happening.  He just knew that to reach Jesus was his goal, even if it meant stepping into the unknown.  We like our routines.  There is comfort in ritual.  That’s why we sit in the same pew; shop at the same stores; dine at the same restaurants.  Getting out of our comfort zone is uncomfortable.  We are creatures of habit.  None of us are accustomed to walking on water.  Neither was St. Peter.  At the beginning St. Peter seemed like a pro—as if he knew what he was doing, until—“…he saw how strong the wind was; he became frightened and began to sink.”  The wind did not get stronger, Peter got weaker—he became frightened.
     
    Fear can be one of the most dangerous emotions.  Fear can kill us—almost killed St. Peter.  We live in challenging times.  Our greatest challenge is not to be afraid.  Be prudent, take necessary precautions, (as we have been instructed) but not out of fear.  Just because we read in the newspaper or hear on the television or see on a mobile device—does not make something true.  Facts can be exaggerated.  Sensationalism can be exciting, but for some people, might be frightening.  All things happen for a reason.  Our responsibility is to discern.  Given the fact that countless have died and continue to get sick, we should discern to pay attention—to take care.  We might also discern that we are in a storm, but Jesus is in the storm—walking towards us.  He never abandons humanity.  The Lord invites us to trust in Him, not in our own strength, but in Him.  Jesus reassures us that like all storms, this too shall pass.  The wind will eventually die down—calm will return.  Question is, how will we be different?  What will change in our life?  The disciples were never the same after the night out and what they experienced.  There were predictions that by now all would be back to normal.  We are not there yet.  Patience.  Just like a desert experience—a purification we must endure.  Rather than look at a solution in the future—we are called to live the moment.
     
    God is talking to us.  “Come—walk to me—do not be afraid.”  “I am with you always.”   
     


    Comments are closed.
      Picture
      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera,
      ​celebrated his first Holy Mass as pastor on September 15, 2007, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. With his enthusiasm and spiritual guidance, OLS continues to serve our Catholic family in a way that challenges us to grow as an evangelizing community.

      Archives

      February 2023
      January 2023
      December 2022
      November 2022
      October 2022
      September 2022
      August 2022
      July 2022
      June 2022
      May 2022
      April 2022
      March 2022
      February 2022
      January 2022
      November 2020
      October 2020
      September 2020
      August 2020
      July 2020
      June 2020
      May 2020
      April 2020
      March 2020
      February 2020
      January 2020
      December 2019
      November 2019
      October 2019
      September 2019
      July 2019
      June 2019
      May 2019
      April 2019
      March 2019
      February 2019
      January 2019
      December 2018
      November 2018
      October 2018
      September 2018
      August 2018
      July 2018
      June 2018
      May 2018
      April 2018
      March 2018
      February 2018
      January 2018
      December 2017
      November 2017
      October 2017
      September 2017
      August 2017
      June 2017
      May 2017
      April 2017
      March 2017
      February 2017
      January 2017
      December 2016
      November 2016
      October 2016
      September 2016
      August 2016
      July 2016
      June 2016
      May 2016
      April 2016
      March 2016
      February 2016
      January 2016
      December 2015
      November 2015
      October 2015
      September 2015
      August 2015
      July 2015
      June 2015
      May 2015
      April 2015
      March 2015

      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera, Pastor.

      Categories

      All

      RSS Feed

    About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Office Directory
    • Stewardship
    • Pastor
    • Our History
    Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • First Reconciliation
    • First Communion
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage
    • Anointing of the Sick
    Parish Life
    1. Become a Parishioner
    2. Bulletin & Newsletters
    3. Planning Center Log-in​
    Worship and Liturgy
    • Daily Readings
    • Liturgy of Hours
    • Mass & Reconciliation
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    Faith Formation
    • CCD
    • RCIA​
    Links & Resources
    • CDOB
    • USCCB
    • Vatican: Holy See
    • American Catholic
    More
    • Homilies
    • Online Giving
    • OLS School
    • OLS on YouTube
    Our Lady of Sorrows Parish
    1108 W Hackberry Ave.
    McAllen, Texas 78501-4370
    Telephone
    : (956) 686-0251
    Picture
    Picture

    Website Development by The Parish Solutions Company
    Our Lady of Sorrow Image Copyright Cromo NB permission to use by CNB Basevi.
    Back to top