Dear Friends in Christ,
Hope is one of the three theological virtues. Along with faith and love, hope is infused into our souls by God and allows us to persevere through life’s inevitable trials. The gospel reading for this Sunday gives us much hope in Christ. In this well-known passage, Jesus rescues His friends who are in a storm-tossed boat and are in danger of sinking. Interestingly, just before this, Jesus is in
prayer, communing with God on the mountain. How did he know that His friends were in peril? Prayer is the answer. In prayer, God showed Jesus that His friends were in distress. Through prayer, Jesus received from God direction about what He should do to help them. Jesus’ walking on the sea towards His friends to rescue them was an answer to their prayers.
One wonders how the disciples in the storm-tossed boat felt before Jesus came to them. In their fear, did they feel that God had abandoned them? Did they doubt that God loved them? When Jesus appeared and calmed the storm, God proved to the disciples that they were loved and cared for. Indeed, He had not abandoned them.  Prayer itself is an act of hope. It is believing without
seeing. When we pray in petition for something we need, we hope in faith that God will help us and we trust in His love. Prayer is most difficult when things seem the most hopeless. In these moments, hope gives us the strength to pray.
Hope has been described, in past times, as “the anchor of my soul.” It grounds us in Christ through the storms of life. Though the boat of our lives may be buffeted with trials and sufferings, we are anchored securely in the Lord’s love. St. Paul’s Letter to The Romans 8:38-39 says it best “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor
future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In Christ,
Fr. Michael