Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 21, 2015
Gospel Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as
evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were
with him. A violent squall (1) came up and waves
were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in
the stern (2), asleep on a cushion. They woke
him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing (3)?” He woke up, rebuked
(4) the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and
there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not
yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who
then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
(http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062115.cfm)
The difficult words
(1) A squall is a fast-moving
storm with strong winds.
(2) The stern is the back of a
boat.
(3) To perish means to die.
(4) To rebuke is to correct someone,
or to tell them to stop what they are doing.
Pray with Mary
There are two main
prayers that we use to honor the Virgin Mary. One, the Hail Mary, begins with
the angel Gabriel's words at to Mary when he comes to tell her that she will be
the Mother of God. The prayer continues with Elizabeth's words when she
welcomes her cousin Mary to her home.
The other prayer is called the Magnificat. It contains the words spoken
by Mary at Elizabeth’s home when she joyfully declares her faith in God. (Try
finding these prayers in Luke’s Gospel, chapter I.)
Christian Hope
Hope is a quality, a
Christian virtue (like faith and charity). Hope inspires us to be good and to
believe that we will be perfectly happy after death in heaven with God. We can
be happy in this life, but there is always some sadness, too. We believe that
in heaven we will be completely and eternally happy, because sin, death, and
sorrow will no longer exist. Hope allows Christians to be joyful and confident
in their hearts, even in times of sadness, because they know that one day,
everything will be perfect. When we have the virtue of hope, we treat others
kindly so that the earth may become more like heaven.
Reflection
Let's not be afraid!
Certain
events can make life sad. Adults call this “going through hard times.” This is
what is happening to the disciples in Sunday’s Gospel! They are afraid of
sinking during a storm, even when Jesus is sitting with them in the boat. Jesus
points out how little faith they have. He calms the sea to remind them that he
can control everything and that with him, they have nothing to fear! In our own
lives, Jesus doesn’t make our problems disappear, but he does help us to
overcome them. He guides our boat when things are going badly, even if we don’t
always notice it. The most important thing is to trust in him, in spite of our
troubles. We can look to Mary, his mother, as an example of how to trust in
Jesus. She followed her Son with faith, even to the cross. She accepted life’s
difficulties and now she is watching over us. We can turn to her when we are
sad and tell her: “Mary, I trust in your Son and I am not afraid!”
Discussion
questions
1. Where are Jesus and the disciples going to?
2. What happened when they were in the boats?
3. What did Jesus do at that time?
4. How did the disciples feel? What were the disciples worried about?
5. What did Jesus do for them?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion, you can
say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. You sent
Jesus to rescue us from slavery to fear; and to make us your children. May this
communion in his body and blood strengthen my trust in your presence and
protection.
Puzzle
