Society of Saints
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Links
  • Resources - Prayer
  • Resources - Prayer 2
  • Resources - Study Group
  • Resources - FBC Group
  • Resources - Listening to God
  • Resources - Other
  • Could God be real?
  • Could Catholicism be true?
  • Publications
  • About Us
  • Contact us

How did they get there on foot before Jesus?

29/7/2020

0 Comments

 
This conundrum has often puzzled me. The general Gospel story is that Jesus and the apostles went by boat to a deserted spot on the shores of Lake Galilee, and a huge crowd travelling on foot got there before them.

It doesn’t make sense to me for two reasons,
firstly, going by foot has to be slower than going by boat
secondly, there’s this sense of surprise about Jesus seeing this big crowd, and surely a crowd that big would have been visible from the boat a long way off from the shore.

The Gospel for this coming Sunday, the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A, is one such account, this time from Matthew 14:13-21.

It is a more condensed account than some of the other accounts, and one thing struck me immediately. In this account of St Matthew, there is no preaching and teaching from Jesus. Something weird is going on.

As I plodded through the Greek to English trans-literation (thank you biblehub.com) I found a second weird thing, Matt 14:14 doesn’t actually say Jesus stepped ashore, it uses ‘exelthon’ a Greek verb that is usually translated as ‘to go out’ ‘to come out’ and in other New Testament places the same verb gets translated as ‘came out’, ‘came forth’, ‘went out’, ‘went forth’. Using ‘stepped ashore’ really isn’t a very good translation.

Later on in that same verse, it says that Jesus healed their sick. No one travelling with a sick person can go at speed. You have to go at their pace if they are limping or injured. You need more rest stops if they are in pain, and often more toilet stops and clean-up stops as well. Which also begs the question, why take your sick on such an arduous journey of many hours?

So it is time to have a look at what has been happening in this Gospel prior to Matt 14:13. We do know that the catalyst for this journey undertaken by Jesus and the Apostles was the news of St John the Baptist’s death.

After all the parables in Matt 13, Jesus had left the district and paid a visit to Nazareth, and in the first part of Matt 14 we have an account of the death of St John the Baptist. Therefore the lakeside towns had not seen Jesus for a little while.

What we do know is that the disciples of St John the Baptist got the news to Jesus, and by extension to those disciples of Jesus who had previously been disciples of John. Jesus and John were blood relatives, cousins, and several of the apostles would have looked upon John as a spiritual father. Due to these close connections, it is likely that this news got to Jesus before it got to the rest of the district, possibly by some of John’s disciples travelling in haste.

This put Jesus and those apostles into an official period of mourning, which is a week in length and known as shiva. During this time of shiva mourners are not expected to do much more than exist, but they do expect condolence visits from friends and relatives, and the visitors are expected to bring the food.

The news must have hit the apostolic company hard, and it seems like Jesus wasted no time in getting them off to a lonely spot where they could have some privacy to work through the initial waves of grief. They pack their travelling gear and they pack provisions and off they go. It seems reasonable that they park Peter’s boat and then head deep into the hills to sit shiva together.

Meanwhile, back in the lakeside towns of Galilee, the news of the death of St John the Baptist breaks. In their lifetime, a true prophet has been killed, one whom many of them had met, and all of them had heard of. It is shocking. In their bereft-ness, they want to try and make sense of this with Jesus. He’s not at home. Neither are the apostles, nor their travel gear. Peter’s boat isn’t moored in its usual place, but everyone knows what Peter’s boat looks like. It isn’t long before sailors and fishermen bring in the news of where Peter’s boat is now. The crowds aren’t stupid, they can put 2 and 2 together, and deduce that they are sitting shiva privately. But at some point shiva will end, and Jesus and the apostles will return to the boat, however there’s no guarantee that they are going to go back home.

But they will return to the boat, and the crowds can make educated guesses about when shiva will end. They could get themselves and their sick ones to that lonely place by then. And they need the reassurance that God is still in control. So travel plans are made, and off on foot they go. Plenty of them may have even camped out waiting for Jesus to reappear. Just like people get to places early to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks or Boxing Day sales. Some wish to offer condolence, some want their sick ones healed, some want reassurance.

Chances are that it took a little bit longer than expected for Jesus and the apostles to re-emerge. Likely too that the foot-travellers’ provisions were close to empty. We know that the apostles’ provisions were empty, because if they filled twelve baskets full of scraps, it stands to reason they were empty to begin with. It is another reason that the shiva concept makes sense. If they had just arrived, those baskets would have been full, not empty but for 5 loaves and 2 fish. The actual word used for these baskets is ‘kophinous’, the kind of baskets to carry kosher food that travellers used.

In this scenario, the timing makes sense, the size of the crowd makes sense, the coming forth of Jesus from seclusion makes sense, the absence of teaching and preaching makes sense, and the filling of the baskets makes sense.

This was a ministry time of presence to the people, listening to their fears, their grief and anxiety, and healing those sick ones who had made the difficult journey.

But there’s no food!

And food is definitely a part of shiva! Visitors are encouraged to bring food that is crowd pleasing and which can easily be served and shared, and to avoid food that requires work on the part of the mourners.

The 7 days of shiva might be closing for Jesus and the apostles, but it is likely that it is still within shiva for the crowd – assuming that Jesus got the news of St John the Baptist’s death at least half a day, and maybe up to 2 days before the crowd did.

God provides the food, through the miracle. Bread that is easy to serve and easy to share. What a thought! That through this miracle God the Father is sitting shiva together with His people over the death of St John the Baptist, and thereby consoling them in an extraordinary way. What a memorable wake for the prophet who heralded Jesus!

If you are in grief right now, let that truth sink in. Jesus knew how to mourn, and he fully entered into the process, it is OK to grieve, and He mourns with you, and He will provide for you.

​
P.S. Remember. This is according to St Matthew’s account. The accounts in the other Gospels have different contexts and different purposes.
0 Comments

A collection of good stuff to read 

23/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Over the past weeks I have come across several articles that are worthy of sharing. So here they are:

Putting them here also means that I should be able to find them easier.

Papal Visit to the USA, September 2015
I am very grateful to all those who posted photographs, tweets and articles about Pope Francis when he was in the United States, because they helped me participate in it from the other side of the world. But nothing beats getting his words unfiltered. So here is the best resource for those words. (I wish something similar had been done with the visit to Cuba). http://aleteia.org/2015/09/28/read-the-full-texts-of-all-of-pope-francis-addresses-during-his-visit-to-the-u-s/

Synod on the Family, October 2015
After Part 1 of the Synod in 2014, I decided that there would be far too many voices trying to put their own spin on the 2015 part of the Synod. To keep sanity amongst the wordy jungle and endless controversy and speculation, I decided to read only the information coming from the Synod itself, i.e. any interventions published by the speaker, any of the reports from the working groups, and snippets from the official press conferences. Very early on, I discovered that Archbishop Coleridge of Brisbane was providing a regular blog of his Synod experiences. Mercifully he has been far more interested in the participants and the daily working of the Synod than anything else – and it has been a joy to follow him through the joys of catching up with acquaintances, the struggles of finding unity of thought in the working groups, and his awareness of God might be working through it all. These blog posts are all under the title of 'On The Road Together' and start on 1 Oct 2015, and will probably continue a few days past 25 Oct 2015. http://brisbanecatholic.org.au/archbishop/articles-releases/

Related to all these discussions on the Family, are the following three articles:
Firstly, why helping families to thrive matters so much. An article with data about the outcomes of regions with the most intact marriages compared to the same data for regions with the least intact marriages. http://family-studies.org/how-strong-families-help-create-prosperous-states/
Secondly, how patterns of sin can erode marriages and why we need to hear preaching about how to recognise sinful habits and how to turn away from them and seek to live differently with God's help. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/simchafisher/2015/10/08/married-to-an-angry-man-an-open-letter-to-the-synod-fathers-guest-post/
Thirdly, how hard it is to break free of dysfunctional behaviour learnt in the family, and how important it is to have someone who cares about your well being enough to patiently teach you healthier behaviours. http://chnetwork.org/2015/10/lisa-campbell-former-assembly-of-god-the-journey-home/

Homelessness

The St Vincent de Paul society recently released a report on homelessness called 'Sick With Worry'. It convincingly shows that the major causes of homelessness are structural and rarely have anything to do with personal bad decisions. Only a tiny proportion of rental properties are affordable to someone on a pension. To have to go on a pension, all it takes is a health issue or a physical accident – things that could happen to anyone. The report contains many detailed case studies. Please read it. https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/Publications/National/Articles_Reports__Speeches/Sick_with_worry_2015_national_report/
Then read this eye-opening article with facts and figures on how providing low cost housing actually does lead to an 'everybody wins' scenario. http://www.vox.com/2014/5/30/5764096/its-three-times-cheaper-to-give-housing-to-the-homeless-than-to-keep

Gospel vs modern world view

While I don't agree with all of the conclusions in this article, the analysis of the prevailing ideas that young people have about God, faith and religion is brilliant. I am sure you have come across them:
•A God exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
•God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
•The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
•God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
•Good people go to heaven when they die. (Good as in earthly measures of good, not heavenly measures of good).
http://www.lawrencewilson.com/the-heresy-all-christian-teens-believe-and-how-to-fix-it/#more-9800

At some point or other you have heard a young person (or not so young person) ask why they should bother going to church. Answering that question stumps most of us. This article gives two viable reasons in language that millennials understand; we go to church to worship God and we go to be formed in virtue and schooled in faith. Consider sharing this one with your social networks and praying that young people click and read it. http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/go-to-church-justin-bieber

If you are looking for an antidote to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, then this next article is for you. It contains reminders from St John of the Cross about several uncomfortable truths, i.e. that life is short, and that the path to salvation is difficult. http://blog.adw.org/2015/10/some-hard-spiritual-truths-that-will-set-you-free-a-meditation-on-a-teaching-by-st-john-of-the-cross/

Another refreshing antidote to the relationship chaos that so many young people find themselves in these days is this wonderful article on how great it is to develop a relationship with God while waiting for Him to let you know His long term plan for your happiness. Any person who is sick to death at being asked about when they are going to stop being single will want to share it with their tormentors. http://arleenspenceley.com/single/

That's more than enough to chew over for now.

​May Blessed Paul IV intercede that the Synod on the Family achieves Gods purposes.
May St Rita of Cascia pray for all married couples who are struggling.
May St Benedict Joseph Labre pray for all people suffering homelessness.
May St John Bosco pray for all of our young people, that they may find the true happiness God desires for them.
Amen.
0 Comments

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

13/8/2014

0 Comments

 
As part of preparing for this month's study group, I needed to find something devotional for the closing prayers. Choosing for previous months had been easy and obvious, but not for August. So I asked for guidance, and the good Lord led me to the private revelations He had made to Berthe Petit just on a hundred years ago.

To find out more about her and how her spiritual experiences related to WW1, visit http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/2005/07/the-sorrowful-and-immaculate-heart-of-mary-the-revelations-of-berthe-petit/

Through Berthe Petit it was made known that Jesus wanted His mother to be honoured under the title Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in due course the following short but powerful prayer was indulgenced by the Church:

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to you.

What is particularly interesting is the promise attached to it, 'This devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of My Mother will restore faith and hope to broken hearts and ruined families; it will help to repair the destruction; it will sweeten the sorrow.'

I know plenty of families where members are estranged from each other, and what heartache such estrangement causes. Then there are the families suffering the long term effects of separation and divorce, and the long term effects of abortion. I am sure that you know plenty of families in these situations, too. So let us take hold of this heavenly remedy which has been given to us, and use this little prayer whenever you are reminded of your own family's sorrow or are told of the sorrows of another family.

If you'd like to take hold of this further, the PDF below has some prayers and an act of consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary composed by Berthe Petit.

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, we entrust ourselves, our families and our parishes to your intercession.

sorrowfulandimmaculateheartpdf.pdf
File Size: 32 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments
    Picture

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    10 Commandments
    1st Rite Of Reconciliation
    24 Hours For The Lord
    2nd Rite Of Reconciliation
    3rd Rite Of Reconciliation
    Abortion
    Active Participation
    Act Of Contrition
    Adoration Of The Blessed Sacrament
    Adultery
    Advent
    Agony Of Jesus In The Garden
    Anniversaries
    Apologetics
    Apostolic Nuncio
    Apparitions Of Our Lady
    Archbishop Porteous
    Archbishop Prowse
    Ark And Dove Week 2019
    Asking The Vocation Question
    Aussie Pilgrims
    Australian Prophetic Summit
    Baptism
    Be Prepared
    Berthe Petit
    Betty Cavanagh
    Book Review
    Broken Bay Diocese
    Building The Kingdom
    Burnout
    Cardinal Pell
    Caroline Chisholm
    Catechumenate
    Catholic Charismatic Renewal
    Catholic Church
    Catholic Newcomers
    Catholics Returning Home
    Catholic Tertiary Education
    Catholic Universities & Colleges
    Cautionary Tale
    CCR
    Central Coast Diocese
    Charisms
    Christian Book Publishing
    Christian Unity
    Church Fees
    Clean Vs Unclean
    Clericalism
    Comensoli Homily
    Commitment
    Communication
    Conference Design
    Conference/Summer School
    Confession
    Confession Of Sins
    Confirmation
    Consecration Prayer
    Consequences Of Rejecting God
    Conversation Answers
    Corruption
    Covenant Communities
    Creative Lectio Divina
    Culture
    Death
    Decision Making
    Decision Time
    Deliverance From Evil
    Denominations
    Desperate Situations
    Devotion
    Diaconate
    Diocesan Plan
    Disabilities
    Discernment
    Divine Mercy Sunday
    Divine Office
    Divine Renovation Conference DR16
    Divine Renovation Conference DR18
    Doctor Of The Church
    Dying
    Dying Process
    Easter
    Eastern Rite Liturgy
    Ecumenical
    Ecumenism
    Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
    Elder Technology
    Employment
    Encounter Jesus
    End Of Life Stories
    Engagement
    Eternal Perspective
    Eucharist
    Eucharistic Adoration
    Evangelii Gaudium
    Evangelisation
    Ewtn
    Exodus 90
    Expectant Faith
    Facilitating Connections
    Faith
    Families In Sorrow
    Family
    Fatima
    Federal Plebiscite
    Feminism
    First Communion
    First Line Welcomers
    First Nations
    First Nations Seminary
    Forgiveness
    Four Last Things
    Fr Bill Meacham
    Free Speech
    Fr George Kosicki
    Fr Hugh Thomas CSsR
    Friendship
    Gerald Coates
    Gift Of Tongues
    G.K.Chesterton
    Glorious Mysteries
    God's Decrees
    God's Love
    God's Modus Operandi
    God's Plan
    God's Reset
    Golden Jubilee
    Gospel Reflection
    Guest Blog
    Happy Meetings
    Hashtags
    Healing
    Helping Young People
    Holiness / Character
    Holy Communion
    Holy Door
    Holy Spirit
    Holy Thursday
    Holy Water
    Holy Wounds
    Homelessness
    Hospitality
    Hour Of Grace
    Human Traditions
    Human Vs Divine Solutions
    Hypocrisy
    ICCRS Charism School
    Ideas
    Immaculate Heart
    Inclusion
    Inclusive Language
    Inculturation
    Indigenous Peoples
    Indulgence
    Integrating Newcomers Into Parish Life
    Intercession
    Intercessory Prayer
    Interpretation
    Interpreting These Times
    Jennifer Eivaz
    Jesus
    Jim Murphy
    Joseph Chircop
    Joyful Mysteries
    Katherine Ruonala
    Kerygma
    Kingdom Wishlist
    Larry Sparks
    Leadership
    Leadership Structure
    Learning From Other Churches
    Lent
    LetUsPray2017
    Life Regrets
    Linda's House Of Hope
    Listening To God
    Litany
    Liturgy
    Liturgy Of The Hours
    Love In Action
    Making Disciples
    Marriage
    Marriage Preparation
    Married Spirituality
    Mary Queen Of Apostles
    Mass
    Mass Homily
    McCarrick Report
    Mental Health
    Mercy
    Message / Homily
    Ministry To Divorced Catholics
    Miracles
    Misery
    Mission
    Missionary Disciples
    Monthly Recollection Day
    Movements Of Grace
    Music
    Napoleon
    National Church Life Survey
    New Evangelisation
    Novena
    Obedience
    Obituary
    Obscure Saints
    Open Letter
    Open To Conversion
    Open To Reform
    Open To Renewal
    Opposition To God's Work
    Ordination
    Our Lady
    Our Lady Help Of Christians
    Our Lady Star Of The Sea
    Palliative Care
    Pandemic
    Parables
    Parents
    Parish Life
    Parish Meetings
    Parish Ministries
    Participant Guide
    Paschal Candle
    Patron Saint For The New Year
    Pentecost
    Personal Log
    Pilgrimage
    Plenary Council
    Plenary Council 2020
    Plenary Council 2021
    Plenary Council 2022
    Plenary Council Agenda
    Plenary Council Motions
    Plenary Council Process
    Plenary Council Proposals
    Plenary Council Theme 6
    Political Leaders
    Pope Benedict XVI
    Pope Francis
    Praise And Worship
    Prayer For A New Bishop
    Prayer Groups
    Prayer Of The Heart
    Prayer Request
    Prayers
    Preaching
    Preparation For Holy Mass
    Pre-Synod Youth 2018
    Priests
    Proclaim 2014
    Proclaim 2014 Conference
    Proclaim 2016
    Proclaim 2016 Conference
    Prophecy
    Prophetic Intercession
    Providence
    Purgatory
    RCIA Rite Of Christian Initiation For Adults
    Rebuilt
    Recommended
    Reddit
    Renewal And Reform
    Reparation
    Repentance
    Resources
    Responding To God
    Rest
    Retaining New Catholics
    Revival
    Rosary
    Rosary Meditations
    Sacramental Preparation
    Sacramentals
    Sacrament Of Penance
    Sacraments
    Sacred Heart
    Sacred Scripture
    Sacrifice
    Salvation
    Scientists
    Signs Of Hope
    Silence
    Sin
    Social Distancing
    Social Media
    Social Media Apostolate
    Soft Evangelisation
    Spiritual Communion
    Spiritual Life
    Sr Margaret Wall Rsj
    St Anicetus
    StartupAusCC
    Stations Of The Resurrection
    Statistics
    St Augustine Zhao Rong
    Stewardship
    St Faustina
    St Francis Of Assisi
    St Gregory Of Narek
    St John The Baptist
    St Joseph
    St Raphael
    Strengths
    StrengthsFinder
    Suffering
    Summer Camp
    Summer School
    Surrender
    Survival
    Synod On The Family
    Synod Process
    #TakeTheAdventChallenge
    Teaching
    Teams Of Our Lady
    Teamwork
    Tertiary Study
    Testimonies
    Thanksgiving
    The Body Of Christ
    The Fight Back Plan
    Topics Of Controversy
    Tradition
    Trauma
    Trinity
    True Reverence
    Trusting In God
    Tsunami Of Grace
    Unity
    Unity In Diversity
    Via Lucis
    Virtual Pilgrimage
    Vision Casting
    Vocation
    Waiting On God
    Welcomers
    Welcoming Via Websites
    What Ordinary Holiness Looks Like
    #WhyRemainCatholic
    Wisdom
    WNFIN Challenge
    Women
    World Youth Day
    Worthwhile Charity
    Writing Christian Non Fiction
    Writing Christian Non-Fiction
    WYD Krakow
    Year Of Mercy
    Young Men
    Young Parents
    Youth Group
    Youth Ministry
    Youth Synod 2018

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly