Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 1, 2025
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
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.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Anyone who has lived near the water knows the terror that can accompany significant storms. For me, the most salient memory of such a storm was Hurricane Sandy. For days leading up to the hurricane, my family and I prepared our home to withstand the waves predicted to crash on the shores of New Jersey. In the storm’s immediate aftermath, I can still remember watching our neighbors standing in awe outside of their homes, most of which were now unrecognizable.
Not unlike the disciples in Mark’s Gospel, I was terrified both before and after Hurricane Sandy of nature’s ability to threaten a place—and, more importantly, people—I loved so much.
Today’s story is, of course, a classic reminder of God’s omnipotence, of God’s ability to calm even the strongest natural phenomena. So, too, though, it is a helpful reminder of God’s ability to us everyday disciples that God can calm even the strongest storms in ourselves. Indeed, when Jesus asks his disciples in the boat if they have faith, he also asks us in the “Barque of Peter” if we have the faith required to trust in God’s work in our lives.
God frequently places us in circumstances that can stir up terror in our hearts. Whether in the days before a hurricane, midterm exam, important work presentation, or otherwise, we tend to react with fear to that which we cannot control. But as Jesus’s calming of the sea reminds us, having faith in God’s plan for us is always a better response, even when we do not yet know where that plan might lead.
Through prayer and participation in the church’s sacramental life, we have a unique opportunity to develop an ever-stronger faith that can enable us to overcome challenges of any size. For through God, all things are possible.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, as your Church—the barque of Peter—sails the sea of time, it is often beset by the storms of division and persecution. In our lives, too, we encounter headwinds and squalls: physical illnesses, wounded relationships, the grief of loss, and the shame of our sins. When we can feel as if the waves breaking over us are too much and are filled with fear, rouse our faith in you whom even wind and sea obey, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Brigid was one of the greatest leaders and evangelists Ireland has known.
She was born in 453 near Dundalk, Ireland, and her parents were baptized by St. Patrick—she grew up hearing the great saint preach.
Her father was an Irish chieftain and her mother was a slave in his court. Brigid had a tender heart and could not bear to see others go hungry or cold, and she would often help them by giving away things that belonged to her father. When he protested, she replied, “Christ dwells in every creature.”
Unconvinced, he tried to sell her to another nobleman. While they bargained, she took her father’s treasured sword and gave it to a leper. Her father was so angry, he was about to strike her when she explained that she gave the sword to God through the leper. The nobleman was a Christian and Brigid’s action impressed him—he prevented her father from striking her. Her father had had enough and gave Brigid her freedom.
Brigid’s mother was in charge of the dairy of the kingdom but was aging. Brigid took over responsibility for the work there (hence her patronage of dairy workers), but often gave away what they produced. Nevertheless, the dairy prospered and her mother was freed as well.
A marriage was arranged for her, but she refused and went to her bishop to promise her life to God. She went on to found convents all over Ireland that became centers of learning and spirituality. She took on the authority of an abbot with them and traveled extensively across the island, even in the poor transportation conditions of the time, which led to her patronage of travelers.
Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel of the Basilica, and she is depicted in stained glass in the Dillon Hall chapel. The chapel in McGlinn Hall is named after her, and a statue of her stands there. With St. Patrick, she is a patron of Ireland.
In 2009, the Notre Dame Folk Choir established an initiative that continues to serve the Church in Ireland, called the House of Brigid, or Teach Bhride in Irish. The program invites recent college graduates to live as an intentional lay community for one year, dedicating themselves to the service of the Catholic Church in Ireland and to spiritual and personal formation.
St. Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of Ireland who saw God in all creatures—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Brigid of Kildare is in the public domain. Last accessed January 30, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
