1 John 4:11-18
Psalm 71(72):1-2,10-13
Mark 6:45-52
HAVE NO FEAR, PUT ON THE LOVE OF GOD AND LET IT BE YOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE
In today’s first reading, we reflect on love: “… if God so loved us, we also ought to love another… God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him”. We look for God often, but He’s within reach. We only need love to see God in our community.
This love to endure, praying that we would pass through themesus’ death to save us: “Greater love than this no man has than that a man should lay down his life for his friends”(John 15:13). It’s not selfish love, which characterizes much of our world, causing unchristian acts and lack of peace.
In today’s gospel, after Jesus fed the multitudes. He escaped and told the disciples to get into the boat. As they sailed, a storm rose, and Jesus walked on the em. The disciples were terrified, thinking He was a ghost, but it was Jesus. “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). When we truly love, fears vanish.
This may describe how some feel now—fear hindering seeking God, doing charity, or making decisions. Fear can cause doubts and despair, making us feel lost. God has a plan, but fear can blind us to our path. The disciples feared sinking and dying in the storm, but standing firm could have prevented that. Fear of death grows when we don’t know the Lord; He freed us from slavery to fear through His death (Hebrews 2:15). Knowing Jesus’s victory over death frees us from that fear.
During struggles, remember, God sees and cares for you. He thinks of you constantly: “How precious to me are your thoughts, God!… they outnumber the grains of sand” (Psalm 139:17-18). Jesus knew storms would come; He encouraged His disciples not to fear but endure, praying for us to pass through storms.
Thus, God invites us to exercise faith instead of fear (Isaiah 41:10). Whether health, emotional, relational, or financial storms, look to Jesus and hear Him say, “I am here. Don’t be afraid.” I am with you always.
Therefore, beloved loving as God commands dispels fear, enabling us to do the impossible. Let’s resolve this new year to love truly so that God’s presence remains among us. Amen.
what need I fear when thou art near, O King of night and day?
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF AINT JOSEPH MARELLO
JANUARY 06
Let us revive our faith.
This is the torch that
must light up to us the new and difficult paths of virtue.
Fr Joseph Osho
