From The Bishop

In the Gospel of the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 21, 2015) Jesus states, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?â€� Jesus connects fear with a lack of faith. There are many situations and “stormsâ€� in our lives that can cause us to be afraid. Fear seems to be a natural reaction to things that threaten us and are out of our control. Faith becomes the remedy to fear because we put our trust in the Lord. Worry is often the fruit of fear and peace is the fruit of faith. I was once given a beautiful image that has helped me to appreciate this fact and it involves the sea. Imagine you are in a boat, (like the apostles in the Gospel) and a storm is raging and the boat is being tossed in the waves. Directly under the boat at the bottom of the sea is a submarine. Here the water is calm and the sub is not moving even though the storm is raging about. It is the same with our faith life. We can have peace in the midst of a storm if we go to Christ who dwells within us. This is why Jesus could be asleep in the boat in the midst of the storm â€" he was at peace. He was one with the Father, a man of faith. If we never pray, if we never “go deepâ€� and spend time in reflection and meditation, our faith will not grow. We will never come to fully know and love our Lord Jesus Christ. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?â€� In times of trouble let us always go to the Lord.