Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Massimo Palombella
Today’s Gospel (Mt 14:22-33) narrates the interesting story of the disciples in the boat agitated by the waves and Jesus walking towards them on the water. The word “fear” is recurrent in this narration. The disciples, seeing Jesus walking on the water, cry out in fear and Jesus himself speaks to them saying ‘take courage, do not be afraid’. Peter, while walking on the water going towards Jesus, becomes afraid and begins to sink.
Fear is a constant feature in our lives to the point that the very architecture of our existence is inevitably shaped by our fears which, in a silent and imperceptible way, direct and condition so many of our choices.
Fear of what others think, of failure, of loneliness, of tying myself down, of never measuring up… These are realities that each one of us, in different ways related to our personal history, finds himself / herself, and cannot, if we are honest, deny.
If our relationship with the Lord is authentic, we are slowly led to encounter our fears and transform them into the best of our resources. If we learn not to escape in the face of our fears, we can slowly understand that the Lord has indeed met us and loved us through our fears, through what we easily avoid because it destabilises our lives, or perhaps disturbs a certain idea of balance that we have illusorily constructed for ourselves.
Within our fears dwells our strength, our true identity, and the Lord awaits us right there, in the heart of our intimacy to meet us without defences and to love us as we truly need.
The Offertory Antiphon for today’s celebration is taken from Psalm 30 (Ps 30:15, 16) with the following text:
“In te speravi, Domine; dixi:
Tu es Deus meus, in manibus tuis tempora mea.”
(In you I hoped, Lord;
I said: “You are my God, in your hands are my days”).
The attached music, in Gregorian Chant, is taken from the Graduale Triplex published in Solesmes in 1979. Interpretation: The Vienna Pro Musica Choir.
A blessed Sunday and heartfelt greetings.
