First Reading
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a
1. Some of us have to have 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. What would be a good way to handle “great sorrow and constant anguish”? Scream at the people causing it? Show them love? Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance for them and you?
Gospel
Matthew 14:22-23
1. How are the environmental crisis, plus the Ukraine war, plus racial problems, similar to the raging sea Peter was trying to walk on toward Jesus? What do you think would have helped Peter to keep walking? Ignore the wind? Keep his eyes on Jesus? What might help you now?
2. Instead of seeing Peter’s desperate cry for help as shameful, why does Pope Francis say it is a beautiful prayer for everyone?
This Gospel narrative is an invitation to abandon ourselves trustingly to God in every moment of our life, especially in the moment of trial and turmoil. When we have strong feelings of doubt and fear and we seem to be sinking, in life’s difficult moments where everything becomes dark, we must not be ashamed to cry out like Peter: “Lord, save me” (MT 30); to knock on God’s heart, on Jesus’s heart. “Lord, save me.”
It is a beautiful prayer! We can repeat it many times. “Lord, save me.” And Jesus’s gesture, who immediately reaches out His hand and grasps that of his friend, should be contemplated at length: this is Jesus. Jesus does this. Jesus is the Father’s hand who never abandons us, the strong and faithful hand of the Father, who always and only wants what is good for us. … Jesus wanted to teach this to Peter and the disciples, and also to us today. In dark moments, in sad moments he is well aware that our faith is weak—all of us are people of little faith, all of us, myself included, everyone and that our faith is weak our journey can be troubled, hindered by adverse forces. But he is the Risen One! Let’s not forget this: he is the Lord who passed through death in order to lead us to safety.
Pope Francis, Angelus, 19 Sun A
August 9, 2020
