I have long learned to have quiet time with God. I even go on solo retreats sometimes. It is there where I truly gain strength. And when I skip doing this, that’s when I become weak. 

Fr. Bob McConaghy, my spiritual director, taught me a kind of prayer that I’ve been doing more often. Before I sleep, I spend some time just being quiet in front of our family altar, with the lights off except for a lighted candle. Father Bob said that I don’t even need to pray. I just need to be present. In God’s presence. In silence. And that continues to make a huge difference in my life.

Yes, there is power in praying with others. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). Yet, there is also much power in praying alone, quietly, and having your one-to-one with God.

It must really work because Jesus Himself did it a lot. 

Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

reflect

Have your quiet time with God tonight, lights off, with just a lighted candle. You don’t need to pray. Just be present before God. Do it more often. It will make a big difference in your life.

Lord, this time, make me silent . . . and just simply be in Your presence. Amen. (Continue with your quiet time.)

St. Casian of Autun, pray for us.

First Reading | Numbers 12:1-13

Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. Perhaps they were jealous of Moses and his close relationship with God. God defends Moses and strikes Miriam with leprosy, which is a sign of sin. Moses pleads with God to heal her. Here, we see both the humility and forgiving nature of Moses.

¹ Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman. ² They complained, “Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks? Does he not speak through us also?” And the Lord heard this. ³ Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth. ⁴ So at once the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the meeting tent.” And the three of them went. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the column of cloud, and standing at the entrance of the tent, called Aaron and Miriam. When both came forward, ⁶ he said, “Now listen to the words of the Lord: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to him, in dreams will I speak to him; ⁷ Not so with my servant Moses! Throughout my house he bears my trust: ⁸ face to face I speak to him, plainly and not in riddles. The presence of the Lord he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?” ⁹ So angry was the Lord against them that when he departed, ¹⁰ and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper! When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, ¹¹ he said to Moses, “Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin that we have foolishly committed! ¹² Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe that comes forth from its mother’s womb with its flesh half consumed.” ¹³ Then Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, not this! Pray, heal her!”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 6-7, 12-13

R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

³ Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. ⁴ Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) ⁵ For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: ⁶ “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) That you may be justified in your sentence, vindicated when you condemn. ⁷ Indeed, in guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me. (R) ¹² A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ¹³ Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy spirit take not from me. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 14:22-36 (or Matthew 15: 1-2, 10-14)

Sometimes, we are like the disciples—in a boat, far out at sea, tossed about by the wind and waves. Jesus seems far away. Although it may seem that the storms of life are going to destroy us, we can be assured that Jesus is always praying for us. At the right time, He will come to us and invite us to take new steps of faith, as Saint Peter did. 

Gospel Acclamation

Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.

²² Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. ²⁴ Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. ²⁵ During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” ²⁸ Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² After they got into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” ³⁴ After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick ³⁶ and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.

Read the Bible in one year! Read 1 MACCABEES 11 - 12 today.

Courage through Prayer

Courage is not a popular word today. Fortitude is hard to come by. Many young people simply give up struggling. They refuse to work too hard and put in much energy and time into whatever they do. They do only the minimum necessary in order to survive. They do not dream of buying a house anymore, or of getting married and having children; for no matter how much they work, that elusive dream will always be beyond their reach.

God knows how many times I, too, have lost verve and enthusiasm in my life. We lose courage. We lose the energy to do the good and pursue the right. Martin Seligman, in the 60s and 70s, discovered the concept of “learned helplessness.” According to him, feeling helpless is something we eventually learn to have and hold when we realize (rightly or wrongly) that no effort, however strong and steadfast, will stand the test of constant and consistent frustration and futility. We learn eventually to be helpless, and we adopt that couldn’t-care-less attitude and frame of mind.

There is nothing passive, let alone helpless, suggested in today’s Gospel passage. The Lord took leave of the disciples, told them to set sail to the opposite shore by themselves, and hied off to the mountain to pray. He was focused on doing something active, not passive—to commune with the Father in private prayer. And sometime in that powerful moment of encounter with the Lord, the disciples found themselves in the midst of a sudden, terrifying squall. It was in the heels of that powerful encounter that divine power emanated from the Lord. He said confidently, “Courage! It is I! Be not afraid!”

Next time you feel afraid, try prayer! It works—then and now! 

Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection question

What have been your most powerful prayer experiences? 

Thank You, Lord, for being present whenever I call on You. I know You are always there for me, and I need not be afraid when storms come into my life. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________