Aug 5 – Memorial for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
First raised at the order of Pope Liberius in the mid-fourth century, the Liberian Basilica was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III shortly after the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary’s title as Mother of God in 431. Re-dedicated at that time to the Mother of God, St. Mary Major is the largest church in the world honouring God through Mary.
St. Mary Major is one of the four Roman basilicas known as patriarchal cathedrals in memory of the first centres of the Church. This basilica represents the See of Antioch, where Mary is supposed to have spent most of her life.
– http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1098.
Num 12:1-13
Mt 14:22-36
“Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”
Today’s scripture is one of my favourite scenes describing the wondrous works of Jesus, for many reasons. First, Jesus walking on water is an awe-inspiring miracle, one that only our Lord can achieve. But more than that, the lessons that the disciples learned, and that we can learn from this passage, are amazingly deep.
Shall we look into this together and discover what the Lord wants to teach us? Let’s put ourselves into the scene described. First of all, most of us gloss over the fact that Jesus went off on his own to pray after a long and tiring day. He tended to the crowd for all their needs, teaching, healing and feeding thousands, so surely He must have been exhausted. But Jesus did not neglect prayer time, to commune with the Heavenly Father, even though He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. If Jesus feels the need to pray, what more us and OUR need to pray?
When Jesus finished praying, it was the ‘fourth watch of the night’, which in Roman times, is the hour just before dawn; a significant spiritual reminder to always remain vigilant. Imagine that it is dark and stormy, the sea is rough, tossing the disciples about. Their nerves are probably frayed already, when they see a figure coming towards them, walking on water. The natural human response is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the terrors of the night. Terrified, they exclaimed, “It’s a ghost”. To calm their fears, Jesus called out to them and said “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!”
Let’s pause here a moment and take in what Jesus said and how it applies to us. ‘Courage’, ‘Do not be afraid’, ‘it is I’. In life, there are many things that can cause fear. Depending on your situation, it can be fear of losing your health, fear of your children getting hurt, fear of financial difficulties, fear of loneliness, fear of not being adequate or good enough, fear of being unloved, fear of a multitude of things — you get the idea. The thing is, most of the things that we are afraid of, are unknown, uncertain and perhaps untrue. Yet, we are stunned by these fears, immobilized and unable to move beyond the self-imposed boundaries. Jesus, however, tells us to have courage and not to be afraid. Whatever we perceive in the shadows of our minds, are exactly that, shadows. We need not be frightened if we seek the light in the darkness that seemingly surrounds us. We need not be afraid and can take courage in facing the shadows when we recognize that Jesus is with us, and among us. He has dominion over all things, even if we don’t.
Now, let’s bring ourselves back into the scene. This is the best part. Peter, the adventurous and brave soul, who cannot see Jesus clearly yet, said to our Lord, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.” Jesus simply said, “Come”. Peter was able to take a few steps out of the boat and onto the water. Peter took a leap of faith and trusted the Lord. He kept his eyes and focus on the Lord; this enabled him to walk into the unknown without fear. However, when he was distracted by the strong wind and lost his focus on Christ, he started to flounder. He cried out to the Lord, “Save me”. The Lord reached out His hand and held Peter. Jesus then said to Peter, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?”
There is so much to unpack in this short exchange. When we first encounter Jesus, we are curious to find out more and bravely walk towards Him into the ‘unknown’. When we follow Jesus while focusing on Him, we are able to do the impossible. It doesn’t have to be walking on water, but it could be as difficult as forgiving someone who is unforgivable in your eyes. We only get into trouble when we lose sight of what is important and get distracted by all the noise around us. Yes, sometimes the situations we are in can cause us distress and cause us great anxiety. When we let these fears get in the way of us following Christ, then we will indeed lose our way, flounder in the deep and start sinking. It is only when we have faith in our Lord, in His love and do not doubt, and try our best to focus on the Lord and His Word, then can we conquer the storms around us. But take heart, even when we get toppled by the ‘strong winds’ of life, the Lord is always there to lend a helping hand to get us back onto the boat safely. He will never abandon us. We should trust Him with our lives, for our Lord is loving and merciful.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: My saving Lord, please help me to keep my eyes on You only, follow You closely and have faith in Your love completely.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us, and giving us Jesus as a guiding light in the storms of life.
OXYGEN 
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