Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake:

As I was contemplating on all the ‘storms’ of life –e.g. the hurricanes & flood, the senseless killings & especially the clerical sexual abuses... It was up-lifting to read the Sept 14th Article in the COMPASS, entitled “In the Midst of a storm, trust Jesus” written by Julianne Stanz, director of Discipleship & Leadership Development for our Diocese. Below is part of that Article –Fr. Phil:

‘Reading or watching the news these days, it seems that we are in the midst of a mighty storm raging in and against the

Catholic Church. And we are. Much of it, unfortunately, of our own making. Referenced by St. Augustine in his writings, it seems like the Catholic Church itself is a tale of two cities right now --the City of God and the City of Man. A city of love bound together by the presence of Jesus Christ, faithful to the promises of the Father with hope in the resurrection and eternal life. But it is also a city filled with those who have turned from God and have been corrupted by the evil of sin. Right now, it would seem that the Catholic Church is made up of inhabitants of both cities and yet we need to be united. It is hard enough to be a Christian at the best of times but at a time when the Catholic Church and the actions of her leadership are facing intense scrutiny, it becomes even harder. We question, we despair and we doubt. While we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against us, we are being tossed around in a sea of lies, betrayal, sadness and despair. It hurts. On the Sea of Galilee, the disciples, too, were in the midst of a storm. Throughout the Bible the sea often stands as a symbol of the powers of evil in combat with God. During the fourth watch of the night (between 3 & 6 in the morning) the disciples were caught out in their boat and looked up to see Jesus walking on the water towards them. Peter, ever the impetuous one, got out of the boat to make his way toward Jesus. The Scriptures tell us that Peter actually ‘began to walk on the water toward Jesus’ (Mt 14:30). Defying all of the laws of the natural world, for a short time, Peter made the impossible, possible, as he walked on water! But then, Peter looked around and saw how strong the wind was and he became frightened. Beginning to sink, he cried out what is the shortest and perhaps most desperate prayer in the Bible, the prayer of a drowning man, ‘Lord, save me.’ We are told that without hesitation Jesus ‘reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Mt 14:31).

Right now, in the midst of hurt and suffering, it may feel like we are drowning in the news, but can we step out in faith like Peter? We can, but only if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus’.