Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 2, 2024
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
Seven years ago, my dad’s side of the family (all 18 of us) spent a week on a houseboat. We also had a tiny speedboat, so one afternoon, my dad and uncle took us kids tubing in one of the lake’s large inlets. A tall wall of trees restricted our view, so it wasn’t until the massive thunderstorm was practically on top of us that we realized we were in trouble. Uncle Kevin floored the accelerator to beat the storm back to the houseboat. We almost beat it. Almost. I’m sure our parents’ and grandparents’ prayers in that moment closely resembled the disciples’ prayer in today’s gospel: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
We have all been victims of storms that seemingly come out of nowhere—downpours on boats, perhaps, but also storms of heartbreak, illness, injury, or losing a job or loved one. I am often like the disciples in today’s gospel. At the arrival of even the smallest of life’s storms, I am quick to say, “Lord, save me! I am perishing!” However, Jesus challenges us to see these storms not as existential threats but as opportunities to grow in faith. As St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” With Christ in our boat, we cannot perish. Faith will not prevent every storm, but faith gives us the strength to endure and grow. Even if we struggle to see Jesus amid the storm—if he appears asleep—he is ever present and will always wake when we call him.
May our faith in Jesus inspire us to trust that he will bring growth and regeneration out of the storms we face!
Prayer
There are times, O Lord, when daily realities frustrate us. Sometimes one thing after another happens, and we feel overwhelmed. These are the times when we most yearn for your presence and your support, yet we don’t feel it or sense it. Please…..tell us what we can do! We need your help so much at those times. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Monegundis was a woman who lived in Chartres, France, in the sixth century. She married and had two children, both daughters, whom she adored.
Both of her daughters died in childhood, and Monegundis was thrown into a deep depression. She decided to fill the hole in her life with devotion to God, and she began to spend her time in prayer.
With her husband’s permission, Monegundis became an anchoress—a person who lived in a small, walled-up cell attached to a church. Such people spent their days in prayer, and acted as a spiritual director for many who would come to visit them and speak to them through the one, small window in their cell.
Monegundis lived on nothing but bread and water, and her cell was furnished with only a small mat on which she would sleep for a few hours. After living this way for several years, she moved to Tours and built a hermitage near the tomb of St. Martin of Tours.
Over time, Monegundis became known as a holy woman, and other women began to join her there in a life of solitude and prayer; eventually, they built a convent there. She died of natural causes around the year 570, and miracles were reported at her tomb.
St. Monegundis, you were the mother who grieved the death of both of your daughters by giving yourself to God—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Monegundis is in the public domain. Modified from the original. Last accessed March 19, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
