Daily Liturgy
Sunday 20 June
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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With Jesus in the Storm
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Do Not Be Afraid
Greeting (see Second Reading)
The love of Christ overwhelms us.
He died for all,
so that those who live
should no longer live for themselves
but for him who died
and was raised up for us.
May the Risen Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
With Jesus in the Storm
“Where are you, Lord, when we suffer?” “Why do you sleep, Lord, when your Church is in pain?” “Why is there so much evil in the world?” These are often our cries when we feel threatened by the waves of misfortune and suffering and evil. And the Lord’s answer to us is a question: “Why are you so afraid? I am with you! Have faith in me, trust me.” In this Eucharist we express our trust that with the Lord we can overcome all evil and trials.
Do Not Be Afraid
Many people are afraid today. Our times are very insecure in so many respects, with wars, violence, economic and moral crises. Things seem to move too fast for many. And the Church, in its leaders and members, is often upset and afraid too. God seems so far away, like a God who sleeps, a God who seems indifferent to our fears and anxieties. Where is our faith? Let us turn to him who journeys with us and wake him up, Jesus, our Lord and brother here among us.
Penitential Act
Let us ask the Lord here among us
to forgive us our lack of trust in him
and to command the waves of fear in us
to keep quiet and to leave us in peace.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you command them to be quiet
when the waves of fear toss us about:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you rescue your Church from distress
when your people put their trust in you:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, we rejoice in the calm
which you give us when we believe in you:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us our lack of faith, Lord,
and help us to put ourselves into your hands.
Lead us forward in trust
to the peace of everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
In the storms of life let us pray
for endless trust in the Lord
(pause)
God of power and might,
when we cry out to you in the tempests of life,
reassure us that you care and that you are with us,
even when you seem absent.
Let our faith remain calm and peaceful
and deepen it in every trial.
Keep us believing that the waves obey you
and that at your command
the powers of evil cannot harm us.
Stay with us through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading: God Speaks from the Heart of the Tempest
To Job crying out to God in his suffering, God’s answers: Look to my power and trust me, even if you do not understand.
Reading 1: Job 38:1, 8-11
Then the LORD* answered Job out of the storm and said:
Who shut within doors the sea,
when it burst forth from the womb,
When I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
When I set limits for it
and fastened the bar of its door,
And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther,
and here shall your proud waves stop?
Second Reading: Now All Is New
The love of Christ moves us forward, for in him we have become all new and we give up our old ways.
Reading 2: 2 Cor 5:14-17
For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Alleluia: Lk 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia
A great prophet has arisen in our midst.
God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia
Gospel: Who Can This Be?
Fear shocks the weak faith of the disciples when they experience danger. We too are asked: Why are you afraid? Why is your faith so weak?
Gospel: Mk 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”* The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and the sea obey?”
Intercessions
God is our light and our security. Let us express our trust in him and pray for all people who journey through life. Let us say:
R/ God, in you we trust.
– For the Church of Jesus Christ, that its faith and love may not waver in the difficulties and storms of our time, let us pray:
R/ God, in you we trust.
– For those who doubt their faith and are afraid of facing the future, that God may give them courage, and that we may refresh their hope, let us pray:
R/ God, in you we trust.
– For sailors and fisherfolk, that the sea may be peaceful and generous to them; for all who travel, that they may safely reach their destination, let us pray:
R/ God, in you we trust.
– For the community of nations, that they may live in peace an harmony, let us pray:
R/ God, in you we trust.
– For our Christian communities, that we may all grow in trusting faith in Jesus our Lord and that his love may move us to live for one another, let us pray:
R/ God, in you we trust.
Lord our God, why should we still be afraid when we know your Son Jesus is with us? Give us his peace and let it last for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Father,
in these signs of bread and wine
we place ourselves into your hands
together with Jesus, your Son.
Make us ready with him
to accept everything for you
and to seek your will in all we do.
For we know you love us
and we love you
in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Jesus placed himself in the hands of the Father in life and death.
With him we thank the Father for answering our trust in him.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
With Jesus our Lord,
let us now pray his prayer of trust
to God our Father: R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
above all from the evil of sin.
Enliven our faith
and let it bring us your peace.
Protect us from all anxiety,
and give us the courage and hope
to build up your new world,
as we prepare for the coming
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
At the Breaking of Bread
Jesus took bread, broke it
and through it shared himself with his friends.
In the same way we now break the bread of life
to unite us all in Jesus
and to learn from him
to share ourselves with one another.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord
who stays with us
in the joys and trials of life.
He asks us: “Why are you afraid?”
Happy are we
that he is our food of courage. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
in this Eucharist, you have let your Son
speak to us words of encouragement
that put our fears to rest,
and given us his bread of strength.
Let us now brave with faith and hope
the storms of the trials of life.
For we know that Jesus is close to us,
even if we do not see his guiding hand.
Let him stay with us always and bring us to the safe harbor of your home,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
This Eucharist has been for us
a celebration of encouragement and trust.
God has assured us:
‘‘Even in the dark days of life
there is nothing to fear,
I am with you.
Face life and its problems,
I will lead you to a safe harbor.
Trust me.”
May almighty God give you this faith
and bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace of Christ.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
It often takes a storm to discover not only our heavenly Father but even our own earthly father.
John Newton was the son of an English sea captain. When John was ten, his mother died and he went to sea with his father.
The boy learned the sea backward and forward. At 17, however, he rebelled against his father, left the ship, and began living a wild life.
Eventually John took a job on a cargo ship that carried slaves from Africa to America. He was promoted rapidly and soon became captain of the ship.
Newton never worried about whether slave trade was right or wrong. He just did it. It was a way to make money. Then something happened to change all that.
One night a violent storm blew up at sea. The waves grew to the size of mountains. They picked up Newton’s ship and threw it around like a toy. Everyone on board was filled with panic.
Then Newton did something he hadn’t done since leaving his father’s ship. He prayed. Shouting at the top of his voice, he said, “God, if you will only save us, I promise to be your slave forever.’’ God heard his prayer and the ship survived.
When Newton reached land, he kept his promise and quit the slave trade. Later he studied for the ministry and was ordained pastor of a small church in Olney, England. There he won fame as a preacher and as a composer of hymns.
One of the most moving hymns Newton wrote is one that praises God for his conversion. The words read:
“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found—
Was blind, but now I see….
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come;
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.”
The story of John Newton bears a striking resemblance to today’s gospel.
Like Newton, the Apostles got caught in a violent storm. Like Newton, they too cried out to the Lord, “Save us!” Like Newton, they too were changed forever after their prayer was answered.
Today’s Gospel ends its account of the storm at sea, saying of the Apostles:
“They were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, ‘Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”
“Who is this man?” That was certainly the important question. And the answer, of course, lies in today’s first reading and in the responsorial psalm.
The first reading describes how God created the sea and told it what it may and may not do.
The responsorial psalm tells about sailors caught in a storm at sea. The psalmist says of them:
“In their trouble they called to the LORD, and he saved them…. He calmed the raging storm, and the waves became quiet” Psalm 107:6, 29.
In both of these Old Testament readings we see God exercising mastery over the winds and the waves. God commands them and they obey him.
This is exactly what we see Jesus doing in the Gospel reading. We see him exercising mastery over the winds and the waves. He commands them and they obey him.
Today’s readings, therefore, show God of the Old Testament and Jesus of the New Testament exercising the same kind of power.
They exercise the same kind of power because they are the same. Jesus says:
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…. I am in (he Father and the Father is in me.” John 14:9,11
“The Father and I are one.” John 10:30
The story of the storm at sea answers the question “Who is this man?” Jesus is the Son of God.
Let’s turn briefly to a second point. Let’s see how the storm at sea contains a beautiful, practical message for families on this Father’s Day.
When John Newton left his father’s ship, his father was heartsick. We can imagine his father standing on deck that night and praying to God in words like this:
“Lord, why did this have to happen? Why doesn’t John see that I love him? Why can’t he see that you love him? Lord, even though John has deserted both of us, protect him. Protect him for the two of us.”
This tragic scene, or one like it, has repeated itself again and again, in home after home. It’s not a new phenomenon in modem times. It’s as old as the story of the prodigal son in Luke’s Gospel.
But even if sons—or daughters—don’t leave home physically, they often leave home spiritually.
They part company with their parents when it comes to God or religion.
And this spiritual parting can be even more painful than leaving home physically.
When this happens, parents shouldn’t think of themselves or their child as failures. Rather, they should recall the story of the prodigal son and the story of John Newton.
In both stories, the son eventually returned home. And in both stories, he returned home a better son than he was when he left, and he returned home to a better father than the one he left.
The reason both—father and son—were better is because, at some point in their separation, both called out to God for help. And that’s when both became better.
It’s unfortunate, but it often takes a storm to discover not just our earthly father or son but also our heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus.
Let’s rejoice, therefore, and let’s give thanks today for two fathers: our earthly father and our heavenly Father.
Let’s also remember that when we Find one of these fathers, we usually find the other as well.
Let’s close by repeating the words of the hymn John Newton wrote to celebrate his father and his home:
“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found—
Was blind, but now I see….
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come;
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.’’