One conclusion of the Gospel reading for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost is that “if a person prays, they are no longer alone, even if they are in solitude,” according to Patriarch Daniel of Romania.
Essentially, the Gospel about Jesus walking on the sea and calming the storm shows us that strong faith in Christ can overcome the difficulties of life, the Patriarch said on Sunday at the “St. George the Great Martyr” Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence.
The Patriarch highlighted three teachings from the Sunday Gospel text.
Physical Solitude Becomes Spiritual Communion
The first teaching is that Jesus withdrew to the mountain in solitude to pray, thus transforming physical solitude into spiritual communion with God.
After performing the miracle of multiplying the loaves and fishes, Jesus Christ withdrew into solitude. Why did He do this?
“To show us that after a great success, a great achievement, after a great good deed, we must thank God. He withdraws into solitude for prayer, to thank God for the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and for feeding the crowds,” explained the Patriarch of Romania.
“Secondly, Jesus withdrew into solitude to show us that He does not seek praise from people; He does not expect praise, appreciation, or thanks from people.”
“And thirdly, He shows us the importance of prayer,” added Patriarch Daniel.
Communication and Communion
“Through His prayer to God the Father in solitude on the mountain, He transforms physical solitude into communion, spiritual communication and communion with God. Because God Himself is communication and communion: God the Father communicates His Being to the Son through begetting and to the Holy Spirit through procession.”
The Patriarch explained that this communion in the Holy Trinity is based on the communication of the Father’s Being to the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that the Holy Trinity, as Saint Dumitru Stăniloae said, is the structure of supreme communion, supreme love.
“When the Saviour, as a Man, prayed to God the Father, He was filled with the merciful love of the Heavenly Father, which He then showed when He went out into the world, and the crowds came to hear Him and to heal their sick.”
“Thus, this example of Jesus shows that through prayer, a person grows spiritually, is enriched in divine love, and also receives holiness from God. This prayer enlightens the mind to understand the mysteries of God’s presence in the world, creation, and wondrous works He performs.”
“Prayer helps the praying person to sanctify their heart, to become merciful, to overcome selfishness and turn it into charity, to overcome hatred and turn it into forgiveness and merciful love, and to overcome violence and turn it into inner peace.”
“That is why the Fathers who prayed in solitude, in the desert, in the mountains, in caves, were sought after by people. Those who fled from the world now become very sought after by the world because they spread a divine, holy peace that the world cannot give, which comes only from God through prayer.”
If a Person Prays, They Are No Longer Alone
“The Saviour Jesus Christ, by His withdrawal into solitude on the mountain, prophetically foreshadows all the saints who, over time, withdrew into the mountains, caves, forests, and isolated places to pray.”
“The Gospel, therefore, shows us that if a person prays, they are no longer alone, even in solitude, in isolation, in the mountains, in the forests, in the crevices of the earth, or places far from human settlements.”
And if a person prays, they gain God’s merciful love and can share it with those around them.
Loneliness, Increasingly Present Today
On the other hand, the Patriarch explained, “if a person does not pray, they feel alone even if they have a crowd of people around them.”
That is why 20th-century philosophers have said, “Western capitalist society is becoming increasingly individualistic, and thus people communicate less with each other.”
“Although crowded in large cities, they do not communicate much; they have lost the ability to communicate with each other because they no longer communicate enough with God through prayer,” the Patriarch highlighted.
The Patriarch mentioned that Jean-Paul Sartre and some American philosophers noted in the mid-20th century that “many cities resemble a lonely crowd,” meaning that although many people are together, they feel alone.
“There are people in apartment buildings who haven’t seen each other in years. This means that the power of prayer and communication has weakened.”
“There is, therefore, great power in prayer: the power to make us merciful like the merciful God,” concluded the Patriarch of Romania.
A Saving Anchor
The Patriarch also emphasized that Jesus left His disciples in the boat to struggle alone with the storm on the sea at night “to understand how necessary God’s help is to humans in difficult situations.”
The Patriarch also said that the boat caught in the storm on the sea represents the struggle of Christ’s Church with a hostile world. According to St. John Chrysostom, strong faith and remembering Jesus’ name become like an anchor that steadies a ship even in the middle of the ocean.
Source: basilica.ro
