First Reading
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a
1. Some of us have to find a “great wind,” “earthquake,” or “fire” in our lives before we look for God. But do you ever take time to listen for the “tiny whispering sound”? If you created a quiet time in your life each day could you do this?
2. Discuss all the traces of God in your life, or the ways God can/does speak to you. When is it easiest to hear? When in your life is it the hardest? At the end of the day do you ask yourself when you saw these traces?
Second Reading
Romans 9:1-5
1. Paul is in “great sorrow and constant anguish” because some of his own people have not accepted the fact that the Messiah has come. Is this because he wishes the best for them and would even sacrifice himself to help them? What do you do when your loved ones reject some beliefs that are important to you?
2. How can Paul say, “I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh”? Is it really moral to give away not just your life but your eternal salvation for the sake of others? Or is Paul exaggerating for the sake of emphasis?
Gospel
Matthew 14:22-23
1. How is living with a pandemic + environmental crisis + racial problem similar to the raging sea on which Peter was trying to walk toward Jesus? What do you think would have helped Peter to keep walking? Ignore the wind? Keep his eyes on Jesus? What might give you help now?
2. According to Pope Francis, how is the Church today like the boat full of disciples in the storm?
[Here] is an effective image of the Church: a boat which must brave the storms and sometimes seems on the point of capsizing. What saves her is not the skill and courage of her crew members, but faith which allows her to walk, even in the dark, amid hardships. Faith gives us the certainty of Jesus’ presence always beside us, of his hand which grasps us to pull us back from danger. We are all on this boat, and we feel secure here despite our limitations and our weaknesses.
Pope Francis on the Angelus, para 4
Sunday, August 10, 2014
