Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 8, 2025
After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.
Today’s gospel could be seen to end on an awkward or even depressing note. The disciples are witness to some of the Lord’s most powerful miracles—but their hearts are hardened. Really, after all they had seen and heard?
But I think I can relate. Sure, the disciples witnessed tremendous signs and wonders, but they also just had a really bad day. First, they’re compelled by Jesus to row across the sea without him in unfavorable conditions, no less. They then get “tossed about” during their long journey. And to top it off, in the dead of night, they think they see a ghost. Only after Jesus gets in the boat with them and calms the wind do they get any respite from a highly stressful day.
So, I can also understand why the disciples’ hearts were hardened despite all the wonders. The wind may have died down, but that doesn’t mean their disappointment, exhaustion, or confusion did. Those feelings all stayed in the boat—at least for a while. But in getting in the boat with his disciples, Jesus also brought astonishment, wonder, and his very self. He sat with them, hardened hearts and all, as they continued their journey together.
Hearts don’t stay hard forever. Sometimes, they soften in an instant through the Lord’s grace, like a storm that ceases at his word. Other times, the softening is more gradual. The greatest miracle in this passage isn’t the calming of the wind or walking on water—it’s the person of Jesus who gets in the boat with us. He doesn’t wait for us to be ready or whole. He meets us in our doubt, exhaustion, and confusion.
Even when my heart feels hard, Jesus accompanies me to the other side of the sea.
Prayer
God of all strength and consolation, you always hear those who cry out to you in their need. Though the world’s evils are many, never let your faithful people be overcome. Heal us with the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation. Let your face shine upon us and we shall be saved. Grant this through Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Our Lady of Prompt Succor is a title under which Mary is honored uniquely by the people of New Orleans. When Louisiana was still French territory, Ursuline nuns arrived to educate the children of the territory—the children of the French colonists, the Native Americans, and the local Creole people. Louisiana changed hands between the French and the Spanish governments, but, in 1800, Louisiana came back under French control. Anti-clerical and anti-religious sentiment was running high among the French in the wake of the French Revolution, thus many of the Ursulines fled to Havana.
The head of the remaining Ursulines in New Orleans, Mother Saint Andre Madier, needed more sisters to come aid the struggling convent and Lousiana mission. She wrote to her cousin in France, another Ursuline, Mother Saint Michel. She pleaded with Mother Saint Michel to send more sisters. Mother Saint Michel knew that this was going to be a nearly impossible request: due to the persecution of religious men and women during the revolution, France was itself experiencing a shortage of sisters.
Feeling that she had to aid her cousin as much as possible, Mother Saint Michel wrote to a French bishop, requesting a transfer of French sisters to America. The bishop referred her to the pope.
Pope Pius VII was a prisoner of Napoleon, thus his access to mail was extremely limited, to say the least. Mother Saint Michel sent her letter and prayed in front of a statue of the Madonna, vowing to have Mary honored in New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, if she would grant her letter a speedy and favorable response. Just over a month later, Mother Saint Michel received a letter from Pope Pius VII granting her and several sisters permission to go to New Orleans.
In December of the next year, Mother Saint Michel arrived in New Orleans with a crew of postulants and the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. They placed the statue in the chapel of the Ursuline Convent on Chartres Street in New Orleans, where it is still honored today.
The image to the right and below shows a mosaic honoring Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Ursuline Convent garden. The mosaic was created in 1997 by the Florentine artist Sergio Papucci. Around the border, it names two of the famous miracles in which Our Lady of Prompt Succor has interceded for the people of New Orleans.
In the fire of 1812, as the fire was approaching the convent, the sisters begged Our Lady of Prompt Succor for her intercession, and the fire shifted, sparing the convent. It was one of the few buildings in the old French quarter preserved from the flames. In 1815, on the eve of the Battle of New Orleans, the sisters prayed throughout the night with the American troops for their success in battle against the British, who more than twice outnumbered them in manpower. On the morning of January 8, the sisters offered Mass in their chapel for the American army. In the middle of Mass, a messenger arrived announcing the defeat of the British, who had gotten lost in the swampy area outside the city. Ever since, a Mass of Thanksgiving has been offered to Our Lady of Prompt Succor on January 8.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, who always desires to aid your children in times of need—pray for us!
Image Credits: The image of the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Ursuline Convent chapel is by SICDAMNOME and was last accessed November 14, 2024 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The image of the Battle of New Orleans mosaic, "Our Lady of Prompt Succor," was taken by Mike Young of Mike's Travel Guide. Used with permission.
