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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 10 months

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13th August >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Homilies / Reflections on Matthew 14:22-33 for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A: ‘Courage! It is I!’.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 14:22-33 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.’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 14:22–33 Command me to come to you on the water.

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost, ” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

Homilies (6)

(i) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I like the opening lines of an old Breton fisherman’s prayer, ‘Your sea, O God, is so great, my boat so small’. President John F. Kennedy loved those lines. They were inscribed on a plaque he had on his desk in the White House. Those lines express our smallness before the vastness of God’s creation. As a fisherman’s prayer, they speak of his vulnerability before the powerful and unpredictable sea. We are all aware of the unpredictability of life itself and our own vulnerability before forces that we cannot control. The Covid pandemic brought that home to us. A friend of mine who had been confined to bed for many years with a serious disease before she died had a poster on her wall which read, ‘Life is fragile; handle with prayer’. She knew from experience life’s unpredictability and her own smallness and powerless before it. She was also a woman of extraordinary faith and prayer.

I was reminded of the opening words of that Breton fisherman’s prayer by the scene in today’s gospel reading. There we find the disciples in a small, frail, boat, struggling with a heavy sea and a strong headwind. The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by hills. Strong winds can come down the valleys and stir up the sea. In all sorts of ways we can all find ourselves struggling with a heavy sea and a strong headwind. We sense our frailty and vulnerability; the odds against us seem stronger than our resources. In today’s second reading, Paul seems to be speaking out of that kind of overwhelming situation. He says, ‘my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish is endless’. What was threatening to engulf him was the realization that his own Jewish people, whom he cherished, were rejecting Jesus as their long awaited Messiah. He felt helpless before their refusal to believe and he almost sank under the weight of it all. Those we love and cherish don’t always take a path we believe would be life-giving for them. Our sense of helplessness before such a situation can cause us great anguish and sorrow. It can threaten to drag us down.

As the disciples in today’s gospel reading struggled with the raging elements, they may have wondered, ‘Where is Jesus?’ He was the one who had made them get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The answer to their question was ‘Jesus was praying’. Having sent his disciples across the sea in a boat, he went up into the hills to pray. He was alone in prayer, and, yet, his prayer did not remove him from his disciples. While praying, he became aware of his disciples’ struggle in their small boat with the great sea, and he came to them in their struggle. In our own struggles with what life can throw up, we can find ourselves asking, ‘Where is the Lord?’ At such times the Lord is never far from us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of Jesus as one ‘who is at the right hand of God interceding for us’. It is reassuring to think that the risen Lord is always praying for us. He is prayerfully present to us in our struggles, as he was prayerfully present to the disciples as their boat was tossed about. When the disciples first had a sense of the Lord’s presence to them in the storm, they thought he was a ghost, and they were terrified. Yet, there is nothing ghostly about the Lord’s presence to us. It is not the kind of presence that generates fear. His presence to us at those moments when we sense our frailty is always a supportive, loving, presence, and, as Saint John says in one of his letters, ‘perfect love casts out fear’. The Lord says to us at such moment, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!’ Yet, like Peter in the gospel reading, we can doubt the Lord’s presence and we can become so preoccupied by the storm that we sense that we are going under. At such times, all we can do is to pray the prayer of Peter, ‘Lord! Save me!’ We have all prayed a version of that prayer at some time. It is a prayer out of the depths. One of the psalms in the Old Testament begins, ‘Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice!’ The gospel reading suggests that this is a prayer the Lord will always answer. As he did for Peter, the Lord will put out his hand and hold us.

A question that today’s gospel reading prompts us to ask is, ‘What keeps me afloat when life is a struggle?’ We could answer that question in different ways – our family, good friends. As people of faith we would add, ‘knowing that the Lord walks with me on the stormy waters, which he alone can calm’. The Lord comes to us when we battle against the headwinds of life, but today’s first reading suggests that he also comes to us in the calm, in what the reading calls, ‘the sound of a gentle breeze’. The Lord whispers to us in silence. If we can learn to hear him whispering in the silence, we will become more attuned to his powerful voice in the noisy storm.

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(ii) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We all need to take time out from our day to day routine. We need to find ways to relax from time to time. Different people relax in different ways. One of the ways I relax is by walking, either on my own or with someone. Walking has its own rhythm, and it can take you out of other rhythms that can be experienced as stressful. I am not a very adventurous walker. Steep climbs through difficult terrain are not my idea of a relaxing walk. I prefer reasonably level ground that is firm under foot, whether that be in a city, in a pleasing landscape or along by the sea. Others prefer more of a challenge when they go walking. They head for the hills, and the higher and steeper the better.

In today’s gospel reading, Peter goes one better than most in terms of being adventurous. He steps out of his boat and begins to walk towards Jesus across the water. Walking on water is not something any of us would attempt. We need solid ground under us, even if it is steep solid ground. Yet, at a more symbolic level, Peter’s walking on water can be an image of our lives from time to time. There are times in our lives when we can feel that the ground on which we stand is not all that solid. We often use expressions related to walking or standing to express this. We sometimes say, for example, ‘I’m not sure of my ground’ or ‘I don’t know where I stand’, when we are perplexed or confused about something. You hear people saying that it was like ‘walking on egg shells’ to describe a difficult conversation or meeting that they had with someone. Others speak about feeling as if the rug was pulled from under them to describe some deeply hurtful experience. Most of the time, we try to avoid these kind of experiences that leave us feeling vulnerable. We often feel the urge to seek out solid ground and stay there at all costs.

Yet, there are times when we may need to step off our solid ground onto something that appears less secure. In the gospel reading, in response to Peter’s invitation, Jesus called Peter to step out of the boat and to come towards him across the water. Surely it would have been safer for Peter to stay in the boat, even if the sea was rough and the wind was strong. Why would Peter want to step out of the relative safety of his boat and to walk towards Jesus, and why would Jesus encourage him to do so, calling on him to ‘come’? Was this not a little foolhardy? Perhaps the evangelist is reminding us through this story that following Jesus, walking after him or towards him, will sometimes mean stepping out of our boat, the place where we feel relatively secure, and launching out into the deep, as it were. Paul is a very good example of that. He was very secure in his Jewish religion, In today’s second reading, he speaks of his brothers of Israel in very emotional tones. Yet, in response to the Lord’s call, he left the security of the Jewish tradition, where he was completely at home, and he headed out into something that must have seemed much less secure. Paul stepped out of the boat, like Peter, in response to the Lord’s call.

Today’s gospel reading invites us to reflect on the ways that the Lord may be calling us to take some new step in our relationship with him. When it comes to our faith, to our relationship with the Lord, it can be tempting to stay put, to keep to what we know, to hold on to what is familiar to us. Yet, the Lord is always calling us to ‘come’; he is constantly inviting us to grow in our relationship with him, to offer ourselves to him in new ways, to step out of our familiar boat and to test the water, so to speak. The Lord’s call to ‘come’ will take different forms for different people. It may be an invitation to grow in our understanding of our faith through reading, reflection and study, or to use our gifts in a new way within the parish community. It might take the form of a call to become more prayerful, more attuned to the gentle breeze of the Lord’s voice, referred to in today’s first reading, or a call to take some step to become reconciled with someone from whom we have been estranged for a long time.

When we respond to that call of the Lord, when we step out into a new domain, our experience can be a little like that of Peter in the gospel reading. We might sense that we are now out of our depth; we can begin to feel that we are sinking. We wonder why we ever left the boat in the first place, why we did not just stay put. Today’s gospel reading, however, assures us that whenever we respond to the Lord’s invitation to ‘come’, he will be there to support us when the journey becomes difficult. Even when we show ourselves to be people of little faith along the way and begin to doubt him, the Lord does not loose faith in us. He will hear us when we cry out to him, ‘Lord save me’, and he will reach out to hold us firm and prevent us from sinking. The one who calls us to journey towards him does not then leave us to our own devices when we respond to his call. He journeys with us, and if we keep turning towards him, we too, like Peter and the disciples, will find ourselves exclaiming, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God’.

And/Or

(iii) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We can use a great variety of expressions to refer to people who take on more than they are able for. We speak of someone biting off more than they can chew, or of someone going out on a limb. Any of us can find ourselves in that situation. We stretch ourselves too far and come bang up against our limitations, and then we have to make some readjustments. However, in many ways it is better to stretch too far and discover our limitations than not to have stretched ourselves sufficiently and, so, never to have really discovered the extent of our abilities. It can be better to have striven for something without gaining it than never to have striven for it at all, because it is often in the striving, more than in the attaining, that we learn and receive most.

In stepping out of the boat to walk towards Jesus, Peter, in a sense, overreached himself. In the midst of a storm, Jesus had come towards Peter and the other disciples across the lake of Galilee. Now Peter wanted to come towards Jesus across that same lake. Surely what Jesus did, he Peter could also do. However, he had no sooner set out on that precarious journey than he faltered. Feeling the force of the wind, fear took hold of him, and he began to sink. We perhaps fine it easy to identify with Peter in this scene. The image of Peter sinking beneath the waves can perhaps speak to us in a variety of ways. We have all known our own versions of that sinking feeling. We start out on some journey, some enterprise, with great enthusiasm, and before long we reach the point where problems threaten to overwhelm us. When Peter reached that point, his immediate response was to pray. ‘Lord, save me!’ is the prayer of a desperate person. It is the prayer of all of us from time to time. Peter instinctively realized that he needed help from outside himself if his sinking was to be reversed, and he knew that such help could and would come from the Lord. In our own desperate situations, we can find ourselves resorting to prayer, the kind of prayer that Peter prayed, ‘Lord, save me!’. Even if we do not have the habit of regular prayer, we will reach for that prayer of Peter when we sense that we are falling beneath the waves. We can be assured that we will experience the same response from Jesus that Peter received, ‘Jesus put out his hand at once and held him’. The prayer of the desperate person does not go unanswered. When we cannot hold ourselves, the Lord will hold us if we reach out towards him.

At the beginning of the gospel reading, we are given a picture of Jesus going up into the hills by himself to pray. While Jesus was praying among the hills, his disciples were struggling out on the lake. It was out of his prayer that Jesus came towards his struggling disciples. Jesus’ prayer did not remove him from his disciples; it made him more aware of their plight. Jesus was praying for his struggling disciples, and his prayer for them made him present to them. The risen Lord is praying for all of us. St Paul in his letter to the Romans speaks of Jesus as one who ‘is at the right hand of the Father, who, indeed, intercedes for us’. The Lord is always praying for us, and, out of that prayer for us he is always present to us, especially when we find ourselves struggling with a strong headwind, like the disciples in the boat. The Lord’s praying for us is always prior to our prayer to him. Before we cry out in prayer, ‘Lord, save me’, the Lord has been prayerfully present to us. Our prayer then is not a desperate effort to catch the attention of someone whose attention is elsewhere. Rather, it is an opening of ourselves to the Lord’s prayerful and attentive presence to us.

The Lord who is present to us in the storms of life is, of course, equally present to us in the calm of life. In the first reading, Elijah experienced the Lord’s coming, not in the great wind or in the earthquake or in the fire, but, rather, in the sound of a gentle breeze. In a very hot climate, a gentle breeze can be wonderfully invigorating, just as strong wind at sea can be terrifying. The Lord is with us in those gentle, quiet times when we feel very much alive and at peace, just as much as in those disturbed times when we feel we are sinking. Our prayer will be different in those quiet and peaceful times. It will be like the prayer of the disciples in the gospel reading, after the storm had passed. We are told that they bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God’. The earlier desperate prayer of petition had given way to the quiet prayer of wonder and awe in God’s presence. That kind of prayer too can be part of all of our lives. It is the prayer of recognition, a form of prayer that very often needs no words at all.

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(iv) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We have all known discouragement in the course of our lives. We attempt something and it doesn’t work out for us. The efforts we put into something seems to give very little return. We hear a lot of negative comments about ourselves or what we are engaged in. For all sorts of reasons we can find ourselves loosing heart. When that happens, it can be a struggle to summon up the energy to engage with the day to day tasks of life. Elijah the prophet finds himself in that kind of a space in today’s first reading. He had been meeting with a great deal of opposition in the course of his work of proclaiming God’s word, in particular from the wife of the king of Israel, Jezebel. His reaction was to take flight and to head out into the wilderness. Eventually he came to the holy mountain, Mount Horeb. There he had an experience of the Lord, not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in what today’s first reading calls a ‘gentle breeze’. It was in that moment of stillness that Elijah found the courage to head back into the work that the Lord had asked him to do. Very often the circumstances of our lives do not allow us to head off into the wilderness or towards some holy mountain. Yet, we can all find moments of stillness in our lives and where the Lord can speak to us. It is in such moments that we can bring our weakness to the Lord and experience his strength. We may find such moments of stillness in a church, or perhaps walking by ourselves along by the sea or in some park or other. These are moments when we can turn to the Lord in our hearts and say in the words of the response to today’s psalm, ‘Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help’.

If Elijah was discouraged in the first reading, Paul expresses great sadness in the second reading. He is sad because his own people, the people of Israel, have not welcomed the gospel. Paul understood himself to be the apostles to the Gentiles, but his hope was always that the people of Israel would hear the gospel and accept Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. However, by the time he wrote the letter to the Romans it was becoming clear to him that this was not likely to happen, at least to any great extent. He had a great sadness of heart about this, as he says in that reading. ‘my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless’. We can often find ourselves sad for similar reasons to Paul. We want something for others that we know will serve them well and yet they do not seem open to it. We make a gift to someone, perhaps the gift of our friendship, and it is not received. We realize that for all our good intentions towards the person, we are helpless before the mysterious exercise of their freedom. If we care about the person deeply that can leave us sad. Parents can be saddened by their apparent inability to pass on to their children the gift of faith which has meant so much to them in their lives. As such times we simply have to live with that sense of helplessness that Paul experienced before his own people. We have to leave matters in God’s hands and trust that God will work in the lives of those we seem incapable of reaching in spite of our best efforts. This was Paul’s own eventual response to his frustration with his own people. He simply surrendered himself to the mysterious workings of God. ‘O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God... how inscrutable his ways’.

If Elijah is struggling with discouragement and Paul with sadness, in the gospel reading the disciples, and, in particular, Peter, are struggling with doubt, as powerful forces threaten to destroy them. The gospel reading says that the disciples in the boat were ‘struggling with a heavy sea, for there was a headwind’. Then as Peter started walking towards Jesus, ‘as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he began to sink’. Jesus addresses him as a man of little faith, and asks why he doubted. At certain times we too can sense that we are battling with a headwind. Like Peter, we may even have a sense of ourselves as sinking beneath the waves. Like Peter, we might feel as if we are losing our faith. In the gospel reading, the Lord came towards his battling disciples in the boat, and he put out his hand and held Peter as he was sinking. The gospel is telling us that when our faith seems weak, because of the storms and waves that threaten us, the Lord is there to keep our faith alive. When we cry out like Peter, ‘Lord! Save me!’, we can be sure of a response. A more elaborate version of Peter’s prayer is traditionally associated with Saint Brendan, ‘Help me, O God, for my boat is so small and your sea is so great’. That is a prayer we can all make to the Lord in the assurance that it will be heard.

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(v) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I always think it is a great shame to see churches closed during the day. Our own church is open every day until 6.00 pm at the earliest. Not a great deal happens in the church from mid morning onwards. Yet, people are constantly coming into the church to pray. They kneel or sit in silence; they light at candle at one of the shrines. The church is a place of peace and quiet in the midst of the busyness of life. To step into the parish church during the day is to step into a space where the rhythm of life is different. The Lord is present to us in the Blessed Sacrament which is contained within the church’s tabernacle. The silence of the church invites us to enter into that presence in a very personal way. It calls us to share our hearts with the Lord present to us in the Eucharist.

I was reminded of that role the parish church plays in our lives by this morning’s first reading. Elijah fled to Mount Horeb from the murderous anger of Jezebel, the wife of the king of Israel. On the mountain, Elijah experienced a mighty wind, an earthquake and fire. These were traditional ways in which the Lord was understood to be present to his people. However, Elijah sensed that the Lord was not present to him in any of these extraordinary phenomena. There came the sound of a gentle breeze and it was in that sound that Elijah immediately sensed the presence of God. The ‘sound of a gentle breeze’ is often translated as ‘the sound of sheer silence’. In that gentle, wordless, sound that Elijah heard the Lord call out to him. He experienced God not in the loud statements of nature, but in nature’s silence.

It can be very difficult to find spaces and times of silence in our busy world. It is even more difficult than it used to be because of the tremendous expansion of social networking. Yet, we all need silence in our lives, and as followers of the Lord, we need the kind of silence that is charged with the Lord’s presence, the kind of silence that you often find in a church. The silence of our own particular parish church during the day has a special quality to it. Our church is nearly one hundred and eighty years old. The generations of people who have prayed here over those years has given the silence a special prayerful quality. We sense the Lord is near to us in this place.

During his short public ministry, Jesus was constantly approached by people in need. The day was never long enough for the work that came his way. Yet, he regularly sought out times and places of silence so that he could be nourished by his Father’s presence to him. This is what we find Jesus doing at the beginning of this morning’s gospel reading. He had just spent the day with a huge multitude in the wilderness. Afterwards, our gospel reading tells, he headed off by himself into the hills to pray. He sought out that sound of silence which touched Elijah so deeply, just as we might call into our parish church in the course of our day. Our time of silent prayer alone before the Lord does not cut us off from others; it does not turn us in on ourselves in any unhealthy way. Indeed, when we go to some silent place to prayer, people invariably flood into our hearts and minds. We find ourselves praying not only for ourselves but for others, lighting a candle for them perhaps. In a similar way, when Jesus went off by himself to pray in this morning’s gospel reading, he soon became aware of his disciples who at that very time were struggling in a boat on the lake, battling with a heavy sea and a headwind. As he opened himself to God’s presence on the mountain top, he became aware of his distressed disciples on the sea. Genuine prayer does not isolate us or remove us from others.

Out of his prayer, Jesus came to his struggling disciples, reassuring them with his words, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid’, and keeping a firm grip on Peter as he felt himself slip beneath the waves. The disciples discovered that the Lord was present to them in the storm. The Lord is present to all of us in the storms of life as much as in the calm of life. Sometimes when the storms of life batter us, like Peter we focus on the storm and lose sight of the Lord and we sense ourselves going under. Yet, the Lord never loses sight of us and is always there to hold us when we need him. Our attentiveness to the Lord in the calm of life, in the sound of silence, will help us to recognize his presence more easily in the storms of life.

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(vi) Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The story in today’s gospel reading of the storm at sea reminded me of another story I came across about a storm at sea. There was a naval officer who longed for the day when he could command his own ship. The day came when his hope was realized; a great destroyer was commissioned and he was named its captain. Everyone who knew him appreciated how much this meant to him and they celebrated the occasion with great rejoicing. On his maiden voyage, everything was going well until the third night brought a fierce storm. The great destroyer was lashed by huge waves and buffeted by gale force winds, but the captain was able to maintain his course. What disturbed him even more than the storm was a light that seemed to be converging on the bow of the destroyer. He ordered the signalman, ‘Send out a signal and have that ship alter its course twenty degrees to the south’. The signalman sent the message; in return the message came back, ‘You alter your course twenty degrees to the north’. The captain was a little disturbed by this message and he told the signalman to send another message, ‘This is Captain Cunningham and I order you to alter your course twenty degrees to the south’. The message came back, ‘This is Third-Class Seaman Jones, you alter your course twenty degrees to the north’. The captain was infuriated by this impertinence and sent another message, ‘You had better alter your course, I am a destroy’. The message came back, ‘You had better alter your course. I am a lighthouse’.

Perhaps one of the messages of that story is that when we are in a storm or a crisis of some kind, our judgement can often be impaired. The light the Captain saw as threatening was there to assist and guide him. Instead of reassuring him, it left him anxious and fearful. In the gospel reading, when Jesus came to his disciples in the storm, their judgement too was initially impaired. When they saw Jesus coming towards them, they thought they were seeing a ghost. The presence of their Lord and friend was experienced by them as threatening. Instead of relief and joy, their dominant emotion was fear. According to the gospel reading, Jesus had to call out to them, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid’. In reality, Jesus was the still point in the midst of the storm, just as the lighthouse was in that story. If the disciples could focus on the Lord as the storm raged, they would imbibe something of his stillness. They would be becalmed. In response to the words of Jesus, Peter initially showed a willingness to focus on Jesus as the storm raged. He even invited Jesus to call him to step out of the boat and come towards him across the water. Peter did step out of the boat and walked towards Jesus. However, he soon lost sight of Jesus and became aware only of the wind and the storm. Immediately, he began to sink; panic and fright set in once more. The Lord who called on the disciples to have courage now calls on Peter to trust and not to doubt, ‘Man of little faith, why did you doubt?’

When we are in a storm or crisis of some kind, it can really put our faith in the Lord to the test. The crisis can be so all-absorbing that we cannot see beyond it. We can see nothing else. The message of the gospel reading is that the Lord is always coming towards us when we feel at our most vulnerable, when we feel threatened by forces over which we seem to have no control. Like the lighthouse in that story, the Lord is present to us as a light in our darkness, as a still point in the turmoil that seems to engulf us. There is a modern composer of religious music by the name of Margaret Rizza. She composes chant-like songs. I especially like one of her chants. The words and the melody just seem to fit each other. The words are as follows: ‘Calm me Lord, as you calmed the storm. Still me Lord, keep me from harm. Let all the tumult within me cease. Enfold me Lord in your peace’. I often find myself singing quietly to myself when some storm or other is raging around me or within me.

The Lord is our still point in the tumult of life, but we need to find our own still points to become fully aware of the Lord’s presence to us at those disturbing times of our lives. In the first reading, Elijah is at a crisis moment in his life. His mission as God’s prophet has put his life at risk. He sets out on a journey towards the most holy mountain in Israel, Mount Horeb or Sinai, and, there he experiences the Lord’s presence in what the reading calls, ‘the sound of a gentle breeze’, or, in another translation, ‘the sound of sheer silence’. Like Elijah we have to find our own equivalent of the ‘sound of the gentle breeze’, where we can become aware of the Lord’s presence to us as strength in our weakness, as the still and calming point in our storm.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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orthodoxadventure · 6 months

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The holy apostle Andrew the First Called was born in Bethsaida in Galilee. His father Jonas was a fisherman and he handed over his trade to his sons Andrew and Simon (the apostle Peter). From childhood the little Andrew was very inquisitive and already at the age of five he was going to the synagogue to learn about the Holy Scriptures, astronomy and arithmetic. In his youth the future apostle dreamed of serving God and refused to marry, preserving his chastity. When Andrew and his brother Simon grew up, they moved to Capernaum, where they engaged in the fishing trade with Zebedee and his sons John and Jacob (who were afterwards also apostles). At that time John the Baptist began his preaching concerning the coming of the Messiah. Andrew witnessed the baptism of Jesus Christ and was, along with his brother, among the first men whom Jesus called to follow him, saying “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” It may be for this reason that among the apostles he was known as the first-called. So Andrew became the Messiah’s follower. Once in the course of a long sermon Jesus had to feed 5000 people, and at his request, Andrew pointed to a boy who had five loaves of bread and two fishes, and when Christ blessed them they were transformed into food that satisfied 5000 people. The apostle Andrew then followed the Saviour until the end of his earthly life and when Christ rose from the dead, he was present at the time when the Holy Spirit appeared. Also, like Christ, the apostle Andrew was crucified on the cross. He died in the town of Patras in Greece. Part of his remains are preserved in the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Andrew, which is one of the largest cathedrals in the Balkans.

Some legends exist about sermons and the spread of Christianity by the apostle. The most well-known of them are his journeys around the south and east of Europe at that time. In Britain the Apostle Andrew is one of the leading saints and was proclaimed the defender of Scotland. This is connected with two beautiful popular beliefs. According to the first of these, a monk named Rule (Regulus) dreamt he saw an angel who commanded the monk to take some relics of the saint and bring them from Byzantium by sea to the West. Taking a lot of time in travelling, the monk`s ship was caught up in a violent storm and driven to the coast of Scotland, to the hamlet of Kilrymont (Saint Andrews). At the same time the Apostle appeared in a vision to the Scottish king and promised victory over enemies, which soon happened. As a token of gratitude, the king built a church in honour of the Apostle Andrew the First Called, to which a large number of pilgrims came to venerate the holy remains and be cured in mind and body. Another legend says that Bishop Acca, the successor of St. Wilfred in the 8th century took the apostle’s remains out of pilgrimage and founded a church in honour of the holy apostle Andrew. Also, as in the first tradition, there is a story in which the Holy Apostle Andrew the First Called appeared before the King of Scotland and promised help in defeating the enemy. As a token of gratitude the king endowed the church of the Holy Apostle Andrew with many gifts. In the blood-stained years of the Reformation of the church in England the remains of Saint Andrew the First Called, which were in Scotland, were completely destroyed, but the profound faith of the people was able to preserve and convey through generations wonderful stories and legends about the saint. The love of the British people towards the apostle Andrew the First Called continues to survive, not failing to give his name to educational establishments, streets, football stadiums and innumerable churches.

The persistent desire to save human souls and warm love of Christ drove the apostle onwards, in spite of the enormous dangers accompanying him during his travels and sermons. For this reason it was said among the people that the Apostle Andrew protected in particular pilgrims, seamen and fishermen, as he himself spent a lot of time on the sea. And of course he helps any ordinary people who direct their prayers towards the Lord and place their trust in Him.

[source]

#Saint Andrew #Christianity #Orthodox Christianity #Scotland #Iconography

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orthodoxydaily · 5 months

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Saints&Reading: Wednesday, December 13, 2023

november 30_december 13

THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED (62)

The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was the first of the Apostles to follow Christ, and he later brought his own brother, the holy Apostle Peter, to Christ (John 1:35-42). The future apostle was from Bethsaida, and from his youth he turned with all his soul to God. He did not enter into marriage, and he worked with his brother as a fisherman. When the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John began to preach, Saint Andrew became his closest disciple. Declaring Christ to be the Lamb of God, Saint John the Baptist himself sent to Christ his own two disciples, the future Apostles Andrew and John the Theologian.

After the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, Saint Andrew went to the Eastern lands preaching the Word of God. He went through Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, he reached the River Danube, went along the coast of the Black Sea, through Crimea, the Black Sea region and along the River Dniepr he climbed to the place where the city of Kiev now stands.

He stopped overnight on the hills of Kiev. Rising in the morning, he said to those disciples that were with him: “See these hills? Upon these hills shall shine forth the beneficence of God, and there will be a great city here, and God shall raise up many churches.” The apostle went up around the hills, blessed them and set up a cross. Having prayed, he went up even further along the Dniepr and reached a settlement of the Slavs, where Novgorod was built. From here the apostle went through the land of the Varangians towards Rome for preaching, and again he returned to Thrace, where in the small village of Byzantium, the future Constantinople, he founded the Church of Christ. The name of the holy Apostle Andrew links the mother, the Church of Constantinople, with her daughter, the Russian Church.

On his journeys the First-Called Apostle endured many sufferings and torments from pagans: they cast him out of their cities and they beat him. In Sinope they pelted him with stones, but remaining unharmed, the persistent disciple of Christ continued to preach to people about the Savior. Through the prayers of the Apostle, the Lord worked miracles. By the labors of the holy Apostle Andrew, Christian Churches were established, for which he provided bishops and clergy. The final city to which the Apostle came was the city of Patra, where he was destined to suffer martyrdom.

The Lord worked many miracles through His disciple in Patra. The infirm were made whole, and the blind received their sight. Through the prayers of the Apostle, the illustrious citizen Sosios recovered from serious illness and Maximilla and Stratokles, the wife and brother of the governor of Patra, were healed. The miracles accomplished by the Apostle and his fiery speech enlightened almost all the citizens of the city of Patra with the true Faith.

Few pagans remained at Patra, but among them was the prefect of the city, Aegeatos. The Apostle Andrew repeatedly turned to him with the words of the Gospel. But even the miracles of the Apostle did not convince Aegeatos. The holy Apostle with love and humility appealed to his soul, striving to reveal to him the Christian mystery of life eternal, through the wonderworking power of the Holy Cross of the Lord. The angry Aegeatos gave orders to crucify the apostle. The pagan thought he might undo Saint Andrew’s preaching if he were to put him to death on the cross.

Saint Andrew the First-Called accepted the decision of the prefect with joy and with prayer to the Lord, and went willingly to the place of execution. In order to prolong the suffering of the saint, Aegeatos gave orders not to nail the saint’s hands and feet, but to tie them to the cross. For two days the apostle taught the citizens who gathered about. The people, in listening to him, with all their souls pitied him and tried to take Saint Andrew down from the cross. Fearing a riot of the people, Aegeatos gave orders to stop the execution. But the holy apostle began to pray that the Lord would grant him death on the cross. Just as the soldiers tried to take hold of the Apostle Andrew, they lost control of their hands. The crucified apostle, having given glory to God, said: “Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.” Then a blazing ray of divine light illumined the cross and the martyr crucified upon it. When the light faded, the holy Apostle Andrew had already given up his holy soul to the Lord. Maximilla, the wife of the prefect, had the body of the saint taken down from the cross, and buried him with honor.

A few centuries later, under the emperor Constantine the Great, the relics of the holy Apostle Andrew were solemnly transferred to Constantinople and placed in the church of the Holy Apostles beside the relics of the holy Evangelist Luke and Saint Paul’s disciple Saint Timothy.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:9-16

9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

JOHN 1:35-51

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #easternorthodoxchurch #originofchristianity #spirituality #holyscriptures #gospel #bible #wisdom #saint #apostles

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thepastisalreadywritten · 1 year

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The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome.

St. Peter's original name was Simon. He was married with children. He was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be one of the Twelve Apostles.

Jesus bestowed to Peter a special place among the Apostles. He was one of the three who were with Christ on special occasions, such as the Transfiguration of Christ and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He was the only Apostle to whom Christ appeared on the first day after the Resurrection.

Peter, in turn, often spoke on behalf of the Apostles.

When Jesus asked the Apostles: "Whom do men say that the Son of Man is?"

Simon replied: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

And Jesus said:

"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I say to you: That you are Peter [Cephas, a rock], and upon this rock [Cephas] I will build my Church [ekklesian], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." (Mt 16:13-20)

In saying this, Jesus made St. Peter the head of the entire community of believers and placed the spiritual guidance of the faithful in St. Peter’s hands.

However, St. Peter was not without faults. He was rash and reproached often by Christ. He had fallen asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane instead of praying, as Jesus had asked him to do. He also denied knowing Jesus three times after Christ’s arrest.

Peter delivered the first public sermon after the Pentecost and won a large number of converts.

He also performed many miracles and defended the freedom of the Apostles to preach the Gospels. He preached in Jerusalem, Judaea, and as far north as Syria.

He was arrested in Jerusalem under Herod Agrippa I but miraculously escaped execution.

He left Jerusalem and eventually went to Rome, where he preached during the last portion of his life.

He was crucified there, head downwards, as he had desired to suffer, saying that he did not deserve to die as Christ had died.

The date of St. Peter's death is not clear. Historians estimate he was executed between the years 64 and 68.

His remains now rest beneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

#Feast of the Chair of St. Peter #St. Peter #Twelve Apostles #Simon #St. Peter’s Basilica

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timhatchlive · 10 months

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The 5th Gospel

Isaiah 49:1–3 (ESV) Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

Isaiah 49 brings us to the second servant song in Isaiah. It's clear from the start, the servant has been sent to those who are far off for that is who he calls to listen. He was also appointed from before his birth to speak words that would cut. He was hidden for a time and now revealed in Jesus Christ.

Peter had this in mind when he wrote:

1 Peter 1:20 (ESV) He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

Peter is a Jewish fisherman that learned the Lord had come for those of other nations. He came in the flesh to reach those in the flesh.

Now you might think from verse three where Isaiah says, "you are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified" that God is referring to the nation. But just two verses later we see that this servant has been called to reach the people of Israel for God.

Isaiah 49:5 (ESV) And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—

We see the prophetic utterance detailing the work of Jesus Christ who does what the nation failed to do. He obeys completely and brings salvation to the world. Abraham's purpose is realized in Christ.

Genesis 12:3 (ESV) I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Isaiah speaks of something we will see fulfilled shortly in Acts and longitudinaly in world history - KINGS of the Earth who formerly despised Him will arise and worship Him!

Isaiah 49:7 (ESV) Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Isaiah even details the miraculous work of Christ in verses 8 and 9:

Isaiah 49:8–10 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, 9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; 10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

Does not Jesus deliver the sinner from his sin, the lame from his physical powerlessness? Does he not also feed the 5000 and the 4000 bringing them food and offering them the Spirit if they should thirst?

It is no wonder Isaiah is called the 5th Gospel by so many.

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cruger2984 · 2 years

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THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL The Two Important Pillars of the Roman Catholic Church Feast Day: June 29

Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, was a fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee. After being called he left everything to follow Christ. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus changed his name of Simon into Peter (which means 'rock'). He said: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.'

He was constantly at Jesus' side, and nonetheless denied him three times, and for three times, Jesus asked Peter to confirm his love for him. after the Ascension, Peter directed the election of Matthias, and boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. Many miracles were performed through his intercession, like the healing of the man crippled from birth, and the coming of the Spirit in the house of Cornelius. After the Council of Jerusalem in 49 AD, Peter went to preach the Gospel in Rome. He was crucified downwards on Vatican Hill during the persecution of Emperor Nero in 64 A.D.

The apostle of the Gentiles and the writer to his letters, Paul, who originally named as Saul, was a zealous Pharisee from Tarsus. He was converted on his way to Damascus, and thereafter preached the Good News throughout Asia and Greece, where he found many churches. To these he wrote the so-called Letters of St. Paul, which are now enlisted in the New Testament. On his last visit to Jerusalem, he was arrested by his fellow Jews and charged with blasphemy. Being a Roman citizen, he demanded to have his case decided by the Emperor himself.

While a prisoner in Rome, he wrote these words from his second letter to Timothy: 'The time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have the run the race to finish; I have kept the faith.'

He was beheaded along the Ostian Way in the year 64 A.D. by the sword.

Over the shrines of the two great Apostles, Constantine built two magnificent basilicas - St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

#random stuff #catholic #catholic saints #saint peter #saint paul #peter and paul

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freebiblestudies · 1 year

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The Disciples of Jesus Lesson 09: Simon Peter

This man is one of the most well-known of Jesus’ disciples. He went from a lowly fisherman to being one of the pillars of the early church. Who are we talking about?

Let’s read together Matthew 20:2; Mark 3:13-16; and 1 Peter 1:1

Today we will study Peter.

Let’s read together Matthew 15:15; Matthew 16:16; Mark 5:37; Mark 9:2; Luke 5:1-11; Luke 9:28-32; and John 13:3-11.

While Peter was only a fisherman, he quickly became a leader among the disciples. Peter was willing to ask questions and speak his mind when the other disciples were silent. Peter was one of the first disciples to proclaim aloud Jesus as the Son of God. Peter even became part of Jesus’ inner circle, alongside James and John.

While there are many stories we pick from to discuss Peter, we will focus on two stories. We will look at Peter at his best and Peter at his worst.

Let’s read together Matthew 14:25-33.

This passage tells the story of Jesus walking on the sea to meet his disciples. When they saw Jesus, they were greatly afraid at first because they thought He was some sort of spirit. However, Peter was the first one to realize it was Jesus walking on the water. Peter asked Jesus to command him to walk on water also.

Jesus obliged and Peter got out of the boat in the middle of the sea to walk towards Jesus. Peter took his eyes off Jesus momentarily and noticed the boisterous wind and turbulent waters around him. Peter began to sink and cried for Jesus to save him. Jesus picked Peter up out of the water and gently rebuked him for his lack of faith.

You may be tempted to think of this story as a lesson of failure. However, of all the disciples, Peter was the only one with enough faith to ask Jesus to command him to walk on water. No one else dared to get out of the boat. In addition, when Peter realized he was sinking, he knew that only Jesus could help him. This is the type of faith Jesus wants us to have, to step out of our comfort zone and go towards Him.

Let’s read together Matthew 26:34-35; Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:33-38; and Luke 22:54-62.

Jesus predicted Peter would deny Him three times. Peter refuted Jesus’ statement, boldly proclaiming he would rather die for him first. However, Jesus’ words came to pass and Peter denied Him three times. Peter even cursed and swore to hide the fact he was a follower of Christ.

Why did Peter fail Jesus so spectacularly? Peter made the same mistake as the children of Israel when they promised Moses they would obey God’s words (Exodus 19:8). Peter tried to follow Jesus on his own strength. If Peter had prayed with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, he would have been strengthened for the trial to come. Let this be a lesson to us. We must depend on Jesus for everything (Philippians 4:13).

Let’s read together John 18:15-19 and 1 John 1:9.

Jesus is so merciful. He forgave Peter and restored his apostleship after Peter repented of his sin. No matter how badly we fail Jesus, He is willing to forgive us our sins if we confess and repent of them.

Peter may not have had a perfect faith as a disciple of Jesus, but he had great passion and a willingness to learn from his mistakes. Friend, are you willing to learn the lessons of faith Peter learned?

#bible study #disciples of Jesus #simon peter #cephas

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mcx7demonbros · 2 years

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Catholic!MC summoned to the Vatican

Ft. Catholic!MC, the Seven Demon Brothers, the Pope and multiple side characters.

Warning: mention of Roman Catholicism

The story takes place after Lesson 20.

Synopsis

You returned to the Human Realm after 1-year of exchange program in the Devildom. There, you received a summon from the Pope.

PART I

“Electricity bill, water bill, ads, ads, ads, Bitcoin ads…”

As you skimmed through all the things in your mail box, you noticed a strange envelope with red sealing wax. On the red sealing wax, you could see an old man fishing, the old man had a hallow on the top of his head. On top of the image, engraved ”GREGORIVS.XVII. PONT. MAX”.

As a devout Catholic, you knew the old man fishing featured on the wax. He’s St. Peter, who was a fisherman by trade, and also the first Pope of the Catholic Church. The image of St. Peter the Fisherman is the symbol used exclusively by the Pope.

With trembling hands, partly from excitement partly from fear, you opened the envelope. Right at the top of the letter, you saw the coat of arms of the reigning Pope, Gregory XVII. On the top half, there were two Hearts - the Hearts of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary on blue background. On the bottom half, there was a small coat of arms. A mural crown with 8 towers for the crest, an azure cross in silver field for the blazon, a rampant lion on the right side of the viewer, and a bull on the left side. It’s the coat of arms of Marseille, where Pope Gregory XVII used to be Bishop and his hometown before he was elected Pope.

You read the letter.

Dear MC,

The Church doesn’t approve the exchange program with the Devildom in which you took part for the last year. Upon learning that you are a Catholic, His Holiness, Pope Gregory the Seventeenth, wishes to meet you at the Vatican.

Please answer the summon of the Holy Father as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Matthieu Cardinal Dupont

Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office

Pietro Cardinal Rossi

Secretary of State

“I’m doomed.” You put the letter down as you looked at your pact mark with Lucifer on your right hand.

On one hand, you just wanted to run away, maybe to Devildom, the Demon Brothers and Diavolo would surely let you stay. But on the other hand, what would happen if you ran away. Maybe the Pope would take this as an act of guilty conscience and disobedience, he would issue disciplinary actions, including excommunication. No, you can’t stand that, you love the Faith, the Church, you consider the Pope as your spiritual father, like any good Catholic would. In the end, you wrote a reply back to the Cardinals and went to the post office to have it sent.

More than a week later, you received a reply saying ”The Holy Father will be waiting for you.” along with entry permits to Vatican and Italy. The Holy See would also pay for all your travel expenses. At least, your wallet wouldn’t be thinner from expensive plane tickets.

Meanwhile, in the Devildom,

Asmodeus, the Avatar of Lust, was partying hard at The Fall, one of Devildom’s most renown clubs.

“Hey, did you hear the news?” a demon of Envy whispered to his friend, a demon of Lust.

“What news?”

“Geez, you’re always so slow. Apparently, the Avatars’ pet was summoned by that geezer in Rome.”

“They’re gonna run away?”

“No, of course not. As a Catholic, they’re not gonna run away. I heard they already boarded a plane to Italy, obedience and such.”

“Do you guys have any interesting thing to tell me?”

“Gaah!!! Lord Asmodeus!!!”

“Sorry for making you startled with my beauty. Now tell me what you heard about MC.”

MY MASTERLIST

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me main character #obey me catholic mc #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

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tmarshconnors · 1 year

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How the apostles died

1. Matthew. Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark. Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke. Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost.

4. John. Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered From death.

John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully

5. Peter. He was crucified upside down on an x shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6. James. The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.

This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry.

As a strong leader of the church, James was beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.

Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew. Also known as Nathaniel. He Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew. He Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.

His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it". He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.

10. Thomas. He Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.

11. Jude. He Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias. The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul. He Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

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cassianus · 2 years

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JUNE 29: THE HOLY PRE-EMINENT APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Master and Lord, Jesus Christ our God, you wish all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. By your loving grace you brought the fisherman Simon to repentance after his denial, and the Pharisee Saul to the light of faith even after he had persecuted your followers. Grant that we may imitate them in their faith and repentance, turn away from our sins of weakness or malice to receive your heavenly Spirit, coming into your true light, that you may live in us, and that we may remain in your love. As we honor your pre-eminent apostles by the names of Peter, the rock of faith, and Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, we give glory to you, the light of the world, with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and forever.

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 11 months

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29th June >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 16:13-19 for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul: ‘You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’.

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 16:13-19 You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 16:13–19 You are Peter, and I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Reflections (8)

(i) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Peter and Paul were two very different people who on at least one important issue in the early church were seriously at odds with one another. Peter wanted pagans who entered the church to submit to the Jewish Law, whereas Paul insisted that this was an unnecessary imposition on them. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee, a predominately rural area. Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, in the south of modern day Turkey. Peter was an Aramaic speaking Jew; Paul was a Greek speaking Jew. Peter probably just had the very basic education of his time and place; Paul was clearly a very well educated and literate person. Peter, of course, knew Jesus personally and was with him throughout his public ministry. Paul only ever encountered the risen Lord. Peter’s mission was primarily to preach the gospel to the Jews. Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel primarily to pagans. According to Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, he met Peter for the first time in the city of Jerusalem, some three years after the risen Lord appeared to Paul, ‘after three years, I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days’. No doubt, on that occasion, Peter had an opportunity to share with Paul his own experiences of Jesus during his public ministry. In spite of their many differences, they were both equally dedicated to serving the Lord. According to the first reading, Peter was imprisoned for his work of preaching the gospel. In the second reading Paul speaks as one who is already ‘being poured away as a libation’, a drink offering in the Temple. They were each put to death because of their faith in Christ during the persecution of the church in Rome ordered by Nero, who blamed the Christians of Rome for the great fire in the city. The Lord worked very differently but very powerfully through each of them. The Lord wishes to work through each of us and will do so in a way that is unique to each of us. The Lord needs diversity, not uniformity. Yet, he needs us to work in harmony, like the different parts of one body. Sometimes our diversity can cause tension, as happened between Peter and Paul, but such tension can be healthy and can ultimately serve the Lord’s purposes. Our tensions can be resolved if, like Peter and Paul, we keep our eyes fixed on the risen Lord whose servants we are.

And/Or

(ii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

In many respects Peter and Paul were very different people. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee. His world was the Sea of Galilee and the hilly countryside that surrounded it. According to John’s gospel, he was from Bethsaida, a small town on the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He would have had a basic education and his first language was Aramaic. Paul was from the university city of Tarsus, the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia, on the south-east coast of what is today Turkey. He seems to have been educated to a high level. He wrote fluently in Greek. His family appear to have been well-to-do as his father was a Roman citizen. He was a zealous Pharisee, who declared himself blameless with regard to the keeping of the Jewish Law. If the two of them had met before they came to faith in Jesus, one senses that they would have had little in common. Yet, today, the church throughout the world celebrates their joint feast day. It is Jesus who brought them together. Yet, he touched their lives in very different ways. Peter heard the call of Jesus by the shore of the Sea of Galilee as he engaged in his daily work of fishing; Paul heard the call of the risen Lord somewhere in the vicinity of Damascus where he was heading on his mission of persecuting people like Peter who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah. Jesus called Peter to be the rock on which his church would be built; he called Paul to be the apostle to the non-Jewish world, the pagans. Each of them gave their lives in responding to the Lord’s call; Peter was crucified; Paul was beheaded. They were both executed in Rome, a long way from Galilee and from Tarsus. Their tombs have been places of pilgrimage to this day and two of Rome’s four great Basilicas are built over their tombs, Saint Peter’s in the Vatican and Saint Paul’s outside the walls. We celebrate their joint feast today, giving thanks to God for their generous and courageous witness to their faith in the Lord. From its beginnings, the church has worked to be true to the faith of the first apostles, especially the two great apostles Peter and Paul. That is why we speak of the faith as apostolic. Today, we too try to be true to the faith as lived and articulated by those two great pillars of the church. This apostolic faith finds expression in a special way in the New Testament. We keep returning to the gospels and letters and other books that are to be found there so as to remain connected to the faith of those early preachers of the gospel. The Lord continues to speak to us through their lives and through the sacred literature that they inspired. The Lord calls out to each of us today, as he called Peter and Paul. He wants to work through us in our distinctiveness, as he worked through the very different people that were Peter and Paul. We each have a unique contribution to make to the coming of the Lord’s kingdom. In our efforts to respond to this call, Peter and Paul can continue to be our inspiration.

And/Or

(iii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Today we celebrate the feast of two of the great pillars of the church, Peter and Paul. They came from very different backgrounds. Peter was a fisherman from rural Galilee. Paul was a learned Pharisee from the university city of Tarsus. Peter’s first language was Aramaic; Paul’s first language was Greek. Peter knew Jesus from the time of Jesus’ baptism and was with Jesus until the time of Jesus’ passion and death; Paul only ever met the risen Lord, in the vicinity of Damascus. For all their differences, they had at least one thing in common. Both of these men found themselves at odds with the Lord. Peter denied Jesus publicly three times. Paul violently persecuted the followers of Jesus, and thereby persecuted Jesus himself. Yet, their resistance to the Lord did not prevent the Lord from working powerfully through them. Peter was chosen to be the leader of the twelve, the rock on which Jesus would build his church. Paul was chosen to be the great apostle to the pagans. We know from the letter to the Galatians that Peter and Paul had a serious disagreement at one point about the direction the church should be taking. They were very different people and the Lord worked through each of them in very different ways. They were certainly united in death. Very early tradition recalls that both were executed in Rome by the emperor Nero who blamed the Christians for the fire of Rome. Today’s feast reminds us that the way the Lord works through us is unique to each one of us. The feast also reassures us that our many resistances to the Lord need not be a hindrance to the Lord working through us. Peter who denied the Lord and Paul who persecuted the Lord went on to become great servants of the Lord. Our failings do not define who we are. Paul would go on to say, ‘the Lord’s grace toward me has not been in vain’. The Lord’s grace towards us in our weakness and frailty need never be in vain if we continue to open ourselves to the workings of that grace, as Peter and Paul did.

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(iv) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

According to the gospel reading, what singled Peter out from the other disciples was his God-given insight into the identity of Jesus. It was because of his unique insight that Jesus gives Peter a unique role among his followers. He is to be the rock, the firm foundation, on which Jesus will build his church. Peter’s role is further spelt out by Jesus giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The image of the keys suggests authority. The nature of that authority is expressed in terms of binding and loosing. This refers to a teaching authority. Peter is being entrusted with the task of authoritatively interpreting the teaching of Jesus for other members of the church. Yet, this same Peter immediately tries to deflect Jesus from taking the way of the cross, and when Jesus did take that way, Peter would deny any association with him. Jesus gives a significant role to someone who remains very flawed. If the gospel reading associates teaching with Peter, the second reading associates preaching with Paul. In that reading Paul refers to the Lord who ‘gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be preached for all the pagans to hear’. Paul was the great preacher of the gospel to the pagans throughout the Roman Empire. He preached it for the last time, in the city of Rome, where, like Peter, he was martyred for his faith in Christ. Our second reading today may well have been written from his Roman imprisonment, ‘I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith’. The image of the fight and the race suggest that ‘keeping the faith’ was a struggle for Paul; it did not come easy to him, just as keeping the faith did not come easy to Peter either. Keeping the faith does not always come easy to any of us. Paul was very aware that keeping the faith was not due primarily to his own efforts; it was the Lord who enabled him to keep the faith. As he says in this morning’s second reading, ‘the Lord stood by me and gave me power’. It is the Lord who empowers all of us to keep the faith; his faithfulness to us enables us to be faithful to him. The faithful witness of Peter and Paul speak to us ultimately of the Lord’s faithfulness to us all.

And/Or

(v) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

The two saints whose feast we celebrate today were key members of the early church. Peter was the leader of the twelve. According to the gospel reading, it was to Peter that Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven, a symbol of Peter’s authoritative role in the early church. Paul never met Jesus before Jesus’ death. Whereas Jesus called Peter by the Sea of Galilee, it was the risen Lord who called Paul on his way into the city of Damascus. Whereas Jesus called Peter to be the authoritative rock on which he would build his church, the focal point of the church’s unity, the risen Lord called Paul to be the apostle to the pagans. Each of these great disciples had very different experiences of Jesus and each received a very different mission from Jesus. Yet, it is clear from today’s first reading and second reading that both Peter and Paul had one thing in common. They both suffered in the exercise of their mission. The first reading tells us that King Herod Agrippa imprisoned Peter and in the second reading Paul writes from prison to Timothy in the awareness that his life is coming to an end. Indeed, both men were executed because of their preaching of the gospel. The two basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Rome today stand over their tombs and are places of pilgrimage. The particular way the Lord calls us to follow him will be unique to each one of us. Yet, what we can all have in common is a dedication to the Lord’s way, even though it may mean the way of the cross. When Peter and Paul took this way, they both discovered the Lord was supporting and sustaining them. Peter says in the first reading, ‘The Lord has saved me from Herod’, and Paul declares in the second reading, ‘The Lord stood by me and gave me power’. When we try to be faithful to the Lord’s way, we will make the same discovery of the Lord’s sustaining presence in our lives.

And/Or

(vi) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Rome has been a place of pilgrimage since the very early years of the church. In earliest times, Christians went on pilgrimage to Rome to visit the tombs of the martyrs, in particular, the tombs of Peter and Paul. Both of these great apostles were martyred in Rome during the persecution of the church under the emperor Nero in the year 64 AD. The two basilicas of Saint Peter and of Saint Paul outside the Walls were built over their tombs. Those basilicas, especially Saint Peter’s, remain places of pilgrimage to this day. If Peter and Paul were alike in death, both martyred in Rome, they were quite unalike in life. Peter was a fisherman from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee; Paul was a very well educated Pharisee from the university city of Tarsus. Peter was called by Jesus as he was fishing by the Sea of Galilee. Paul was called by the risen Lord as he approached Damascus in pursuit of his mission to persecute the church. Peter was to be the rock on which Jesus would build his church; he was to be the focal point of the church’s unity. Paul was commissioned to proclaim the gospel to pagans throughout the Roman Empire. Yet, for all their differences what they had in common, apart from the circumstances of their death, was their faith in the Lord, their willingness to give their lives in his service. The gospel reading gives us Peter’s great confession of faith in Jesus, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’. Paul expresses his faith in the Lord in today’s second reading, ‘I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith’. The feast of these two great followers of the Lord reminds us that our faith in the Lord can bind together people who otherwise might have little in common. Our background, gifts, personality, can all be very different, and, yet, we can be one in the Lord. Paul uses the image of the human body to express this unity in diversity of the church. We give expression to our faith, our relationship with the Lord, in a way that is unique to each of us. Uniformity is not a mark of the church. The Lord’s rich and mysterious identity can only begin to find expression in the many and varied members of his body. As we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, we give thanks for our own distinctive faith journey which the Lord is always calling us to take.

And/Or

(vii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Peter, the leader of the twelve, and Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, have been remembered together on this date since ancient times. According to very ancient tradition, both were put to death for their faith in Jesus during the persecution of the church in Rome by the Emperor Nero in 64 AD. Successive generations of Christians remembered where the two leaders of the early church were buried and, when Christianity became legal under the Emperor Constantine, a basilica was built over the tomb of each of them, the Basilica of Saint Peter on the Vatican Hill and the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls. Both Basilicas remain places of pilgrimage to this day. Peter and Paul had very different backgrounds. Peter was a fisherman by the Sea of Galilee in modern day Israel. Paul was a learned Pharisee from the university city of Tarsus in modern day Turkey. Peter journeyed with Jesus from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry until the time of his passion and death; the risen Lord appeared to Peter. Paul had never met Jesus until the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus in modern day Syria. According to Paul’s letter to the Galatians the two of them met in the city of Jerusalem probably less than twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and they went on to have a major disagreement in the church of Antioch about the terms on which pagans should be admitted to the church. Even great apostles and saints can disagree over matters of fundamental importance. However, what united them, their faith in and love for the Lord, was far more significant than what divided them. They were very different people and they didn’t always see eye to eye, but the Lord needed both of them. He had a very different but equally vital role for each of them to play in spreading the gospel. Today’s feast reminds us that the Lord has a role for each of us to play in his work today. Our very different backgrounds, and even our disagreements over church related matters, is not an issue for the Lord. Rather, it is our very diversity which allows the Lord to work through us in a whole variety of ways. The church is never uniform, but the Lord asks to be united in our faith in and love for the Lord, as Peter and Paul were.

And/Or

(viii) Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

I would like to welcome you back to our first celebration of a public Mass since the middle of March. We have been through a difficult time together and hopefully we are beginning to emerge from our social isolation. Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter and Paul. Each of them went through their own times of confinement, of social isolation. There were each imprisoned for their preaching of the gospel. In the first reading, we heard that King Herod arrested Peter and put him in prison. Yet, according to that reading, Peter in prison was supported by the prayers of the church, ‘the church prayed to God for him unremittingly’. The Lord came to him in his imprisonment through the prayers of the faithful. The Lord came to him in an even more dramatic way through an angel who delivered him from his confinement and restored him to the community of faith. Peter declared, ‘The Lord really did sent his angel and has saved me’. Hopefully, the story of Peter reflects our own experience. When we are confined, socially isolated, the Lord does not isolate himself from us. Even when we cannot come to church, the Lord comes to us. The Lord knows nothing of social isolation. He has been with us all this time, and he remains powerfully present to all who continue to stay put in their homes for their protection. Even when we cannot receive the Eucharist, we can say in the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’. This was the experience of Saint Paul as well, the other great pillar of the church. In today’s second reading, he writes from prison, fully expecting that he may not get out alive, ‘the time has come for me to be gone’. It was a very isolating experience for him. He writes in a verse omitted from our reading, ‘all deserted me’. Yet, like Peter, he experienced the Lord’s powerful presence. As he says in today’s reading, ‘the Lord stood by me and gave me power’, and he goes on, ‘the Lord will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom’. Like Peter, he experienced the Lord’s sustaining presence when he was at his weakest and most isolated. This is one of the lessons these two great preachers of the gospel can teach us today. The Lord comes to us in our times of weakness and stands by us in our moments of isolation. No matter what distressing situation we may find ourselves in, the Lord is with us to strengthen and sustain us. Even when we are cut off from those who matter most to us, we are never cut off from the Lord, because he is always true to his name of Emmanuel, ‘God with us’. That is why, in the words of today’s psalm, every moment of every day, we can ‘look towards him and be radiant’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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orthodoxadventure · 6 months

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Apostle Andrew, the Holy and All-Praised First-Called

Commemorated on November 30

[source]

#Saint Andrew #Scotland #Christianity #Orthodox Christianity #History

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orthodoxydaily · 1 year

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Saints&Reading: Tuesday, December 13, 2022

december 13_november 30

THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED (62)

Source: orthodox Church in America_OCA

JOHN 1:35-51

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

1 CORINTHIANS 4:9-16

9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

#orthodoxie #orthodoxchristianity #easternchristianity #originofchristianity #spirituality #holyscriptures #bible #gospel #wisdom

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