By Allison Auth

 

Safe with the Lord - WINE

 

“Perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” ~ 1 John 4:18

 

In today’s Gospel, the disciples are in a boat in the middle of the night, and the waves are tossing them. When they see Jesus, they think he is a ghost and are afraid. They do not understand the recent miracle of the fishes and loaves, and they are not perfected in love and trust in the One who is Lord overall. And yet, when Jesus gets into the boat, the wind dies down.

 

Jesus tells us we do not need to be afraid when He is with us. As I read the Gospel, I imagine the waves in my life tossing me around in my tiny vessel. Will I allow Jesus to be Lord over my life? Do I love and trust Him enough to invite Him into my boat to order the world around me? Or do I react in fear to Jesus’ appearance at different times, dreading what He will ask of me?

 

Safe with the Lord

 

I’ve gone through a lot of hardship, loss, and heartache over the last year. The Adoration Chapel has been my boat, a place where all feels calm. Literally, one evening, the loudest thunder and the largest hail was pounding the roof, but I was safe with the Lord in that little chapel. I am beginning to understand how perfect love casts out all fear because if I love the Lord, I can trust in His love for me and His desire to dwell in me interiorly. The winds will rage around me, but He will guide my soul safely to the distant shore.

 

Perfect love casts out fear because fear has to do with punishment. Love has to do with repentance. If I allow the suffering in my life to purify my love, if I repent of my pride and self-reliance, I have nothing to fear, for the Lord will be in my boat, ordering the wind and the seas to obey.

 

Prayer:

Lord, who even the winds and the seas, the loaves and the fishes obey, please help me to trust in Your power to protect me. Cast out all my fear through Your perfect love.

 

Call to Action:

Pray the Litany of Trust written by the Sisters of Life.  Pray it online Here.

 

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