Tuesday in the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time

“Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?”  After those excellent, thought-provoking lectures of Fr. Michael Casey this is a very good question! I am very grateful to this community for hosting him and inviting the New Melleray community to participate.

So, “Why are you so afraid?” Jesus answers the question: We are of little faith. “Fear” is a judgment about a situation one is facing. One’s personal security is at risk. Fear during a storm at sea is not unreasonable. Why would Jesus be critical of them?

They are in a crisis, and we each know what that is like, and life-as-usual not working. Jesus knows what it is like to experience strong emotions. Emotions are judgments about the situation we’re in. They are a concern for Jesus because emotions are the most immediate way in which the gospel makes its mark on the human soul. In doing that it draws it into fellowship with God. In short, what emotions affect us; the heart is where we experience affections. Whether agreeable or disagreeable, affections touch the heart…and sometimes stay there. And that’s good says the man who describes Himself as “meek and humble of heart.”

“What sort of man is this…?”