"Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid."

 

Nineteenth Sunday in  OT  A  2023

 

“Take courage.  It is I.  Do not be afraid.”   These hope-filled words were spoken by Jesus to his frightened disciples as they were being blown around by the storminess on the Sea of Galilee.  As we engage today’s Gospel of the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, we are in the midst of an angry sea, in a boat that seems fragile, and there are howling winds and enormous waves that threaten to capsize the disciples.

Today’s Scripture readings invite us to reflect over the ways we encounter the Lord in our lives – the ways we become in touch with God’s presence.  There is much to be learned from the first disciples on the Sea of Galilee.

At some point in time, the storminess on the Sea of Galilee may describe anyone’s life – one’s parish or school; one’s business or neighborhood or family; one’s personal life as our employer tells us that our job is downsized or outsourced, or our doctor explains our test results.   This storminess has been the life of the community of the Church many times since Jesus walked on water, and it is what today’s Gospel account is all about.   When we focus on the power of the winds and the depths of the waves and how wet and how cold we are, then we panic and grasp and clutch and…sink.  When we give our life over to Jesus, when we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we save our life.

This message is straightforward and easy to understand but so hard to live out when we are gripped by our fears.    The grace we seek from today’s Scriptures is to cultivate faith in Jesus that is greater than our fears.  Faith over fear. The words of Jesus that are spoken to us again and again are: “It is I; do not be afraid.”  We aren’t being asked to walk on water, but to act like we believe that God’s love for us is more powerful than chaos, evil and apathy. 

The storminess on the Sea of Galilee describes very well the quality of life of high school girls who live in the poverty of the country of Tanzania in Africa.  I would like to describe to you the missionary outreach our parish provides for St. Mary’s School, a Catholic high school for girls in Mazinde Ju in Tanzania. This school is a beacon of hope for high school girls that gives them a life-changing experience to get out of the web of poverty that diminishes their quality of life.

On three occasions dating back more than ten years ago, parishioners from St Joseph’s have gone on pilgrimage to St Mary’s School in Tanzania.  I have the privilege of going with a group of parishioners in 2018.  This has been a life changing experience for me as well as all from St Joe’s who have had the opportunity to be a part of this Christ-like school that provides a spiritual and academic opportunity for high school girls who otherwise would be without educational opportunities.

Over these last several years, St Joseph’s has been a major benefactor to this school – contributing as much as $50,000 in a given year.  There are several of us, myself included, who contribute $1,000 per year to provide scholarships for deserving students.

My mantra is you never regret being generous to people in need.

What is so inspiring to me in my visit to Tanzania, is that St. Mary’s School is so much more than a quality classroom experience.  This is a residential school that is for me is an experience of Church in which everyone has their fixed on the Lord.  The spiritual leader of this community is a priest from the Diocese of Rochester, Fr Damien Milliken, a Benedictine priest who has served his priestly ministry for over 50 years in Africa.  This wonderful community of faith has an abundance of consecrated women, the religious sisters of Usumbara, who are teachers for these high school students.  All in this school community live out the Gospel values of love and service and friendship with one another.

I regard it as a privilege for us as a parish community to be benefactors of this Christlike school community of faith.  I invite your generosity in the second collection.

 

As a priest of 55 blessed years, I have the opportunity to celebrate Mass in many sacred places including at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome when St John Paul II ordained my nephew Jason a priest.  That was a wow experience for me.

But I tell you, my most mystical celebration of the Eucharist was in the school chapel of St Mary’s at 6:00 am on an ordinary school day.  Looking out from the altar, I was in the presence of 1,000 high school girls in full Catholic school uniform singing the opening hymn with angelic and enthusiastic voices accompanied only by one high school girl in the choir loft striking a well-worm drum.  The joy in their hearts was unmistakable.

What I would emphasize is that this wasn’t a special feast for Our Lady, this liturgy happens each and every school day at 6:00 am in the morning with the same kind energy and prayerfulness.

The holiness of this liturgy remains with me five years later.

What is so amazing is to be aware of how the graduates of St Mary’s have gone to leadership positions in the legal area, in the medical area and in business and government.  These graduates hold leadership positions improving the quality of life in Tanzania.

 

My prayer is that you will shower these deserving high school girls with the same love, generosity, and prayer as you would your own daughters.  As we are mindful that these young women are God’s beloved daughters, we are called to share from our giftedness in our generosity for these high schoolers.

We have it right in our ministry here at St Joseph’s Church when both St Joseph’s School and St Mary’s School in Mazindu Ju, in Tanzania are recipients of our prayer and our generosity.

 

May God bless you with the gift of generosity.