Monday, August 3 : Origen
However, the disciples could not precede Jesus to the other side… Perhaps he wanted to teach them through this experience that it was not possible to get there without him… What is this boat that Jesus insisted his disciples get into? Isn’t it the fight against temptations and difficult circumstances? … He, the Savior, thus insisted that the disciples embark in the trials so as to get to the other side, to go beyond the difficult circumstances by means of his victory over them… Then he went up the mountain to a lonely place to pray. For whom did he pray? Probably first of all for the crowds so that, after having been sent away after eating the blessed bread, they not do anything that was contrary to that sending by Jesus. For the disciples as well…, so that on the sea, they might not have to suffer from the waves or the opposing wind. I would really like to say that it was thanks to Jesus’ prayer to his Father that the disciples suffered no damage on the sea. “While dismissing the crowds, Jesus insisted that his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side.” The crowds could not leave to go to the other side, since they were not Hebrews in the spiritual sense of the word, the translation of which is: “the people from the other side”. This work was that of the disciples of Jesus: to leave for the other side, to go beyond the visible and corporal, temporary realities, and to be the first to arrive at the invisible, the eternal… As for us, if one day we fall under the constraint of temptations, let us remember that it is not possible to come to the other side without enduring the trial of the waves and the opposing wind. Then, when we find ourselves surrounded by many tiresome matters, when we are already a little tired because of the prolonged crossing, let us consider that our boat is in the middle of the sea and that these waves are seeking to cause “shipwreck to our faith” (cf. 1 Tim 1:19)… Then let us believe that the end of the night is near: “The night is far spent; the day draws near.” (Rom 13:12) The Son of God will come close to us, walking on the waters in order to make the sea benevolent to us.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team
