Priests are consecrated men set apart to be shepherds of God our Father’s flock. And so who are we to question or speak ill against them? So long as what they say and teach is not against faith and morals then we must always be obedient. Yes even if we think we have a better way of doing things or felt inspired to do it and our priest does not agree we must remain obedient. There will be times we do not feel nourished spiritually or feel we are being deprived of the sacraments especially in this trying times and our parish priest had made a judgement call, still we must be obedient. All we should do is pray for them and help them if we are called to. For they will have to answer to the Lord their God just as we do for what we have done and what we have failed to do.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 The Lord our God can and does make our paths straight, but He often does it through what seems like a lot of crooked lines. Truly, God writes straight with crooked lines.
Let us remain steadfast and focussed on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and with His grace we too shall ‘walk on water!’ For He is our rock and our strength. And even if we should stumble and fall, we can cry out to Him for help and He will make haste to help us. This is our God! Alleluia!
Lord Jesus with contrition of heart, I cry out to You. Save me Lord from all my sins and shortcomings. Be with me Lord now and always. Amen
First reading
Numbers 12:1-13 ·
‘How have you dared to speak against my servant Moses?’
Miriam, and Aaron too, spoke against Moses in connexion with the Cushite woman he had taken. (For he had married a Cushite woman.) They said, ‘Has the Lord spoken to Moses only? Has he not spoken to us too?’
The Lord heard this. Now Moses was the most humble of men, the humblest man on earth. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.’ They went, all three of them, and the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam and they both came forward. The Lord said, ‘Listen now to my words: If any man among you is a prophet I make myself known to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: he is at home in my house; I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles, and he sees the form of the Lord. How then have you dared to speak against my servant Moses?’
The anger of the Lord blazed out against them. He departed, and as soon as the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam a leper, white as snow! Aaron turned to look at her; she had become a leper.
Aaron said to Moses: ‘Help me, my lord! Do not punish us for a sin committed in folly of which we are guilty. I entreat you, do not let her be like a monster, coming from its mother’s womb with flesh half corrupted.’
Moses cried to the Lord, ‘O God,’ he said ‘please heal her, I beg you!’
Gospel
Matthew 14:22-36
Jesus walks on the water
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
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