On Sundays, Night Prayer will focus on an element from the day's celebration of Mass. Tonight our prayer comes from the scene in the gospel where Jesus invites Peter to walk on water.
After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Jesus said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."
In my homily this weekend I spoke of how we've all walked on water - how we're walking on water even now - and I invited you to accept the Lord's invitation to step outside your boat and walk on water again... If you haven't heard my homily, here it is. I preached twice this weekend and, as often happens, a homily improves with repetition, so this is the newer edition:
For our prayer tonight, I invite you to consider when and where you've walked on water in your life... and how you're walking on water even today... and how the Lord might be inviting you, again, to step out of the boat and walk on the water today, tomorrow and in the week ahead... To help us all in that reflection, I've gathered together 6 songs on the theme of walking on water. They're all contemporary compositions - to my surprise, this theme is virtually absent from traditional hymnody. Spend a little time finding one that speaks to you and ask the Lord for the faith you need - to walk on water... (if you don't have time tonight - wait until you do...)
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