Praying on the Mountain

Sunday, August 07, 2011
Matthew 14:23-33 (Praying on the Mountain)

After Jesus had multiplied the bread in the wilderness and fed the crowd of five thousand, He made His disciples get into the boat while He went up the mountain to pray. There He saw them struggling against the wind and waves. When, like Jesus, the contemplative prays alone on the mountain, she is never less alone, for to pray is to be in a loving communion.  Just as a woman gives herself to her husband and conceives new life, so the contemplative becomes a spiritual mother in her surrender to God.  Her children are borne in her heart, their needs, sorrows and sufferings flood her mind and she holds them in her arms before the face of the Father even as she is in the embrace of Divine Love.  Jesus rescues her children, by walking on the chaotic waters and speaking words of encouragement and peace.  Let us all pray for those who are sailing on stormy seas, and especially for those called out of the boat to walk on water, that their faith may not fail until Jesus brings them safely home.