Tonight awhile attending mass, I was happy to hear the Gospel from Saint Matthew 14:22-33, 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.” There are 3 subjects dealing with this gospel, the subjects about courage, determination and defeat anxiety. The 1st subject is about courage, the word courage means is the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. Its accompanying animal is the lion. It is sometimes seen in the Catholic Church as a depiction of Christs triumph over sin (see Revelation 5:5). It also is a symbol in some cultures as a savior of the people who live in a community with sin and corruption. The 2nd subject is about determination, the word determination mean is a positive emotion that involves persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles. Determination occurs prior to goal attainment and serves to motivate behavior that will help achieve one’s goal. Empirical research suggests that people consider determination to be an emotion; in other words, determination is not just a cognitive state, but rather an affective state. In the psychology literature, researchers have studied determination under other terms, including challenge and anticipatory enthusiasm; this may explain one reason for the relative lack of research on determination compared to other positive emotions. The final subject is about anxiety, the word anxiety means Anxiety is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior, such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints and rumination. It is the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events, such as the feeling of imminent death. Anxiety is not the same as fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat;whereas anxiety is the expectation of future threat. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing. It is often accompanied by muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue, and problems in concentration. Anxiety can be appropriate, but when it is too much and continues too long. I recall when Pope Saint John Paul 2 said at his INAUGURATION OF HIS PONTIFICATE on October 22, 1978, he said “Dont be afraid! Open the doors to Christ!” I could not fully know how far they would take me and the entire Church. Their meaning came more from the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, promised by the Lord Jesus to His disciples, than from the man who spoke them. Nevertheless, with the passing of the years, I have recalled these words on many occasions. ... Why should we have no fear? Because man has been redeemed by God. ... The power of Christs Cross and Resurrection is greater than any evil which man could or should fear (Threshold of Hope, 1994). As Catholics, we always be pleasant in the time to thank the Almighty Father to be allow us to have a delightful day and try to define in the determination to protect us in our lives and have overcome an true prayer. The great poet, Maya Angelou once said about courage, Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you cant practice any other virtue consistently.” Another great author, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said about determination, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 02:06:00 +0000
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