Daily Reflection Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest

I love St. Peter; he is my favorite Apostle probably because I see a lot of myself in him. He follows his heart and jumps right in. Strong in his faith and love of Jesus but sometimes lacking faith in himself. Today’s reading is a perfect example of that. Peter recognizes Jesus’ call and at once goes towards him. He follows his heart and goes headfirst into the storm. It is not until the reality of where he is hits him that he starts to sink. He does not lose faith in Jesus, he calls out “Lord, save me!” Peter sank because he lost faith in himself. 

Everything about this gospel is so fitting for everyday life. The boat represents life, and the storm is something in life we must deal with. The something that takes us out of our comfort zone. The places Jesus is calling us to that we may not want to go to. In our boats we are safe and comfortable. We have control and steer it to where we want it to go. But, where we what to go and where Jesus is calling us to can be in opposite directions. This is when we need to not only have faith in our Lord but also in ourselves. Jesus will never take us somewhere he is not waiting for us. He may be calling us to fix problems in our families, to forgive someone, to help the poor, to protect life or to just be kind human beings. Wherever we are he is there supporting us and giving us the strength to follow him. Jesus is the voice of truth. Jesus is always calling us to him, and we need to have the faith to get out of the boat we are in. 

Below are a few of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns. You can click here to listen to the song. 

Oh what I would do to have

The kind of faith it takes

To climb out of this boat I'm in

Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone

Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is

And He's holding out His hand

When Peter focused on Jesus everything was fine, it is when he took his eyes of Jesus he sank. We just need to focus on the voice of truth. Jesus will always be there to save us. All we need to do is call out Lord save me and give me the strength to get out of my boat. Do not be afraid!