Holy Discomfort And Mercy

-

Feria

Today's Readings:
[ Am 3:1-8, 4:11-12; Ps 5; Mt 8:23-27 ]

There is a holy discomfort in today’s readings. Amos does not let Israel hide behind religious identity or covenant privilege. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities”. To be known by God is not to be excused from holiness, but invited more deeply into it. Love does not look away from what destroys us.

Amos speaks with the urgency of one who has heard the lion roar. The prophet does not speak because he enjoys correction, but because the word of the Lord has seized him. “The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” In Franciscan terms, this is not domination but obedience: the humble surrender of one who has listened long enough to be changed by what they hear.

The disciples in the boat face another kind of storm. The wind and waves are real. Their fear is real. Yet Jesus is also there, asleep in the boat, present even before they understand what his presence means. When they cry, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” he does not abandon them to their panic. He rises, rebukes the storm, and asks why they are afraid.

Perhaps these readings meet us where we often live: somewhere between avoidance and fear. We avoid the voice that calls us to repentance, and we fear the storm that exposes our weakness. But God’s mercy is present in both. The prophetic word shakes us awake. The calming Christ teaches us trust.

Francis saw creation as charged with the presence of God: Brother Wind, Sister Water, even the fragile human heart. But he did not confuse wonder with sentimentality. The God who loves all creation also calls creation back into harmony. Peace begins when we stop pretending we are fine and begin again with the Lord who is already in the boat.

“Prepare to meet your God,” Amos says. For the fearful heart, that may sound like threat. But in Christ, it becomes invitation: come honestly, come humbly, come now. The One who commands the sea also holds us in mercy. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Choosing Sight and Light

-
Image
Today's Readings: [ 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 ] The readings today invite us to reflect on how God sees and how we see . In the First Book of Samuel, the prophet Samuel assumes that Israel’s next king must surely be the strongest and most impressive of Jesse’s sons. But God corrects him with a lesson that echoes throughout Scripture: “The Lord does not see as mortals see.” Human beings are naturally drawn to outward appearance, status, and strength. God looks instead at the heart. And so the shepherd boy David—the youngest, the overlooked one—is chosen. Psalm 23 reminds us that the Lord is still the shepherd who guides His people. Even when we walk through dark valleys, when the way forward seems uncertain, we are not abandoned. The shepherd sees the path ahead even when we do not. In the Gospel, Jesus heals a man born blind. Yet the miracle reveals more than restored physical sight. The man who had been blind comes to see clearly who Jesus is, ...
Read more

St Patrick's Day - Green Beer Or Radical Love?

-
Image
Today's readings: [  2 Cor 12:14-16, 19; Ps 131; Mt 5:43-48 ] St. Patrick’s Day often brings images of green fields, shamrocks, and joyful celebration (green beer, anyone?). Yet beneath the cultural festivities lies the story of a man who lived the Gospel in a radical way: humility, trust in God, and love even for enemies. Today’s readings trace a quiet but powerful thread through those same virtues. In Psalm 131 , the psalmist says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” It is a picture of profound humility—of a heart that does not strive for greatness but rests in God. Franciscan spirituality holds this posture at its core. St. Francis believed that true wisdom begins when we stop grasping for status or control and instead become small before God, trusting Him as a child trusts a loving parent. Paul echoes that same spirit in 2 Corinthians , insisting that he does not seek the possessions of the people he serves but the people themselves. L...
Read more

Bread That Endures

-
Image
Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 386 - Commemoration Today's readings: [ Wis 7:7, 11-14; Ps 119:33-40; Jn 6:26-35 ] There is a quiet theme running through today's readings: the difference between what satisfies for a moment and what truly gives life. In Wisdom, Solomon does not ask for power, wealth, or long life, but for understanding. And in receiving wisdom, he finds that all other goods fall into place—not as idols to cling to, but as gifts rightly ordered. This is echoed in the psalmist’s plea: “Teach me… give me understanding… turn my eyes from what is worthless.” There is a deep hunger here, not just for knowledge, but for a way of seeing the world as God sees it. Then in the Gospel, Christ names the tension plainly. The crowd seeks Him because they ate their fill. Their hunger was real—but shallow. Jesus invites them deeper: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.” And then He reveals the heart of it all:...
Read more