Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 23, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062324.cfm

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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?”
Mark 4:37-40

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Many years ago, at a particularly critical crossroad in my life, a revered mentor rescued me. She did it with a simple phrase, “Do not go down under this wave.”

Her counsel challenged me to stand up and reach for my faith, despite having been knocked down by gross misjudgment. Her confidence led me to realize that with faith we can find God within our circumstances, releasing a power we may not have recognized before.

In today’s passage, Jesus urges his disciples to live this kind of faith. God is with them, even when seemingly asleep. Fully trusting that Presence will allow their lives to unfold in peace, despite any passing storm. And yes, all storms are passing. 🙂

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Poetry: I Go Down to the Shore – Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

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Music: Every Storm Runs Out of Rain – Gary Allen