9th Sunday After Pentecost-- Daily Examination Revisited

FIVE MIRACLES THAT DEMAND A RESPONSE

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

      The miracle, which is described in today’s Gospel reading, is actually the combination of five different miraculous signs.  Taken altogether, these miraculous signs have deep meaning about our relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ.  The five miracles are as follows: 1) the Lord walks on the water, 2) Peter walks on the water at the Lord’s invitation, 3) the Lord preserves Peter, when he begins to sink, 4) The Lord stills the tempest, and 5) the boat is immediately at port.

     This whole complex of miraculous signs can be understood as a description of the way that the Lord works in the lives of all of us.  First, He gives to us the ability the pass through the midst of the temptations and troubles of the world without harm.  As long as we are in His company, we have the assistance of His grace, which helps us through the trials of our lives.  This world is a troubled, stormy sea, filled with the whirlpools and eddies of worldly distractions.  God allows us to tread these things under our feet, as He also calms the passions, temptations and persecutions of this life.  Finally, He also leads us with faithful support to the harbour of eternal life.

     The complex of these five miracles, which, in a mystical way, illustrate the way that God deals with each and everyone of us as an adopted son or daughter, also show us the means and way that we relate to God.  We know how important our daily examination of conscience is to our growth in relationship with the Lord.  The complex of these five miracles also shows to us the five stages of our daily examination. 

     In the course of the examination of conscience, we first give thanks to God for all of the blessing and graces that we have received during the past day.  This corresponds to the miracle of Jesus walking on the water.  Just as the Lord walked peacefully on the troubled water, in the same way, we, at the end of the day, are able to cast our eyes over the blessings and graces of God that have carried us through the difficulties of the previous day. 

     After our thanksgiving, we pray for light, so that God will illumine our consciences.  We need God’s help so that we can accurately see our sins and failings, and also accurately access our strengths.  This sincere prayer for light corresponds to Peter walking on the water at the Lord’s invitation.  It is only with God’s help that we can pass through this world’s temptations and struggles.  We express our dependence on God, and our confidence in Him by this simple prayer for light.

     After praying that our consciences be illumined, and our knowledge enlightened, we then review our sins and failings committed during the day.  In the Gospel, the Lord preserves Peter from drowning when he begins to sink below the waves of the sea.  In the same way, we recognize that it is the Lord’s compassion that has preserved us, when we have fallen into sin.  The Lord’s compassion has always raised us up, and the memory of our sins is the memory of His merciful actions towards us. Having been enlightened by Him to truly see the truth about ourselves, we make an honest review of our sins during this day. 

     Next, in the course of our examination of conscience, we ask God for forgiveness.  This is a very important stage in the process, and it corresponds to our Lord Jesus Christ calming the tempest.  The Lord by His word alone stills the water of the sea; just as, by His word alone, He remits our sins, obliterating them from His Divine memory.  If we are truly sorry for our sins, there is no limit to the amount of transgression that He will forgive.

     Lastly, we ask the Lord’s help with the work of the coming day. We make resolutions for the coming day that will help us to grow in the spiritual life.  We forecast the events of the coming day, asking God’s special assistance with specific things that concern us.  This corresponds to the miracle that the boat was instantly at the port.  The Lord’s deepest desire for us is to share His life with us eternally, and all our circumstances are directed by Him towards the realization of that end. Putting ourselves completely in His care, trusting Him completely, is a foretaste of our goal of being in His loving presence forever.