Jesus asleep in the boat
Rest easy.
The storm will pass.
God is with us.
The Lord is in charge.
All is well.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. Mark 4:37-38a
Capilla de Corpus Christi, Catedral de Burgos
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro via Wikimedia Commons
As a unique, significant member of the Body of Christ, each of us is privileged to share in the unconditional Love that is the New Covenant between God and the human family.
This covenant of Love teaches me to open my eyes, ears, hands, and heart to welcome each of my sisters and brothers in God’s human family; to let go of judgment, resentment, and fear; to give thanks for the grace to learn the way of peace and reconciliation from the Master of Compassion, who is Jesus, who has once and for always healed our brokenness into unity and harmony.
Then [Jesus] took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mark 14:23
Jacek Andrzej Rossakiewicz (b.1956)
Jesus Appears to Thomas (St John Passion – 13), 1990
oil on canvas
Do not be afraid when your heart has closed down. Do not worry when your mind races in panic. Do not resist the darkness of confusion. The Lord finds his way through every obstacle to bring you peace.
Be at peace. He is here with you now.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:26b
John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4
The gospel is our every day wake up call: a call to love, to help the poor, to show compassion to all people.
It’s a call to spend time in quiet prayer and meditation, to read holy scripture, to deepen our relationship with Jesus.
The gospel wakes us up to the reality of God’s presence in our world, in our lives, in our being.
Today I will trust the wake up call of the gospel and ask the Lord to bless me with knowledge of his will for me and the power to carry it out.
[Jesus said,] “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!'” Mark 13:37
What am I watching for?
For an opportunity to be kind.
For an opportunity to help someone.
For an opportunity to encourage someone.
For an opportunity to feed the hungry.
For an opportunity to choose peace.
For an opportunity to speak out against violence.
For an opportunity to let go of arrogance.
For an opportunity to show respect to others.
For an opportunity to rejoice in another’s success.
For an opportunity to welcome a stranger.
For an opportunity share my gifts and talents.
For an opportunity to love my neighbor as myself.
![JESUS MAFA. Parable of the Three Servants, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48297 [retrieved November 16, 2014].](https://maryannmcsweeny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/mafa028-large.jpg?w=343&h=229)
JESUS MAFA. Parable of the Three Servants, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48297 [retrieved November 16, 2014].
Today I will not bury myself in busy-ness out of fear of loneliness.
I will not surround myself with the noise of the world out of fear of the silence of God.
I will not let fear, indifference, or fatigue prevent me from growing rich in kindness, compassion, and encouragement, peace, and love.
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Good Samaritan, ca.1655-1660
pen and brown ink and white paint on paper
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
via Wikimedia Commons
[Jesus] said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
Matthew 22:21
As I move through today, let me repay to God forgiveness. I will make a conscious effort to let go of resentment and hard feelings, and to accept others as they are without wishing them to be different.
Let me repay to God healing. I will make a conscious effort to speak and act respectfully, to offer encouragement to others, and to admit when I am wrong.
Let me repay to God generosity. I will make a conscious effort to help someone in material, physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual need.
Let me repay to God nonviolence. I will make a conscious effort to choose peace over conflict, deep within my being and in all my interactions with others.
Let me repay to God compassion. I will make a conscious effort to offer my prayers and support to those who are suffering from the effects of war and life-threatening illness.
Let me repay to God love. I will make a conscious effort to live without fear, to refuse to be a victim, to reject self-pity, to welcome all people as my sisters and brothers in God, and to bring the hope of God’s vision of unconditional, all-encompassing love wherever I go.
JESUS MAFA. The poor invited to the feast,
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library,
Nashville, TN.
[retrieved October 12, 2014].
Each day God invites me to the marriage of
peace and nonviolence
acceptance and nonjudgment
mercy and forgiveness
love and compassion
joy and gratitude.
Sometimes I think I am too busy to attend. Just for today, however, I will accept God’s invitation with a thankful heart.
Speculum Humanae Salvationis, Westfalen oder Köln, um 1360 Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable…
Finally, [the landowner] sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.'” Matthew 21:37
What kind of God keeps on sending gifts into our lives?
A God who expects us to accept the gift of love and love others. A God who expects us to accept the gift of forgiveness and forgive others. A God who expects us to accept the gift of compassion and give comfort to those who are suffering. A God who expects us to accept the gift of nonviolence and find peaceful solutions to conflict.
A God who trusts us.
Mary Ann McSweeny 
