Dear Friends,

Today, we reflect on the powerful message conveyed to us in the Gospel of Mark, where we find the account of Jesus calming the storm. In this passage, we witness not only the authority of Jesus over the natural elements but also the profound lesson He imparts to His disciples, a lesson that resonates with us today. The need to have faith.

Imagine the scene: Jesus and His disciples are on a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly, a fierce storm arises, the wind howls, the waves crash against the boat, and panic sets in among the disciples. In their fear, they wake Jesus, crying out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” How often do we find ourselves in the midst of life’s storms, feeling overwhelmed and afraid? We may face challenges, uncertainties, and trials that threaten to engulf us. In those moments, it’s natural to cry out to God, just as the disciples did. We question whether He sees our struggles, whether He cares about our suffering. We’ve all been there and Jesus was right there with us.

Barbara and I have dealt with many life’s storms together, I know you have as well. While I was in diaconate formation and feeling good about our life, we were hit with the big “C”, cancer. My beautiful wife who has never hurt a fly was diagnosed with breast cancer. My world was turned upside down. I was so upset and full of fear and I questioned God at the time, and realized I didn’t have the faith my wife did. She saw I was broken and I couldn’t do anything to help her. She looked at me and said “Well, this is another chapter of my story I can tell of my journey with Christ.”

Wow! I was taken aback. Here I was asking “why?”, and all I needed to trust and have faith in Him and everything would be fine according to His will: “Peace! Be Still!”. She was convicted in her faith in Jesus from the beginning, and through a lot of prayer, trust, surgeries and treatment, she is cancer free, Praise God! In this life storm I learned a huge lesson on how faith plays a major role in our lives as we follow Christ.

Like the disciples, we often allow fear to overshadow our faith. We forget that the One who calmed the storm in Galilee is the same One who walks with us through the storms of life today. In every trial and tribulation, Jesus invites us to trust in Him, to have faith that He is in control, even when everything around us seems out of control. Reflecting on the poem Footprints, it brings me peace knowing I am never alone. I hope you find comfort in these words as well.

Let us take heart from this Gospel and remember that no storm is too great for Jesus to handle. Let us turn to Him in faith, knowing that He hears our cries and is always ready to give peace into our lives. May we find solace in His presence and strength in His unfailing love, confident that with Jesus, we can weather any storm that comes our way.

May God bless you and keep you, now and always. Amen.

– Deacon Ray

Saints of God, the Lord be with you!

My friend Antonio is one of the most patient people I know. Not only does he put up with me, but when we video chat once a week and I see how he interacts with his two-year-old son Augustus, he’s downright saintly. And if this isn’t enough, he is a gardener who starts his garden from seeds growing in pots in early spring.

When I meditate on the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (17: 22-24) “I will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot…” and then read from the Gospel according to Mark (4: 26-34) the parable of the mustard seed, “the smallest of all the seeds on the earth” I am reminded of God’s patience, and His proclivity to choose small things through which to work.

I suppose God could have chosen a mighty and strong people to be his own, but he chose the Jews. I suppose God could have chosen a rich queen from a large metropolis to become His mother, instead He chose a poor teenage girl, from a town of no importance. I suppose the Word of God could have come into the world fully grown and strong, but He became a small and vulnerable human baby. God has His reasons for choosing the small and weak. Perhaps it’s so His grace will become ever more evident. Who knows?

Most of us, in the eyes of the world are nobodies, destined to be nobodies. But in God’s eyes we are all somebodies. God has begun a good work in us, and God will see that good worked finished. All we need to do is cooperate with Him.

That mustard seed has grown into “the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” A beautiful image of what the Church at large should be (the bush denies no bird a home), and a beautiful image of what Sacred Heart parish is: a place of peace and rest to all in downtown Tampa.

Today, let us continue to grow, in patience toward one another and ourselves and in hospitality to our neighbors. In this way we will continue to cooperate with God and His good work already begun in us will bear fruit.

-Fr. Steve