First Reading: Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.
For thus says the LORD:
Incurable is your wound,
grievous your bruise;
There is none to plead your cause,
no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they do not seek you.
I struck you as an enemy would strike,
punished you cruelly;
Why cry out over your wound?
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.
Thus says the LORD:
See! I will restore the tents of Jacob,
his dwellings I will pity;
City shall be rebuilt upon hill,
and palace restored as it was.
From them will resound songs of praise,
the laughter of happy men.
I will make them not few, but many;
they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them.
His sons shall be as of old,
his assembly before me shall stand firm;
I will punish all his oppressors.
His leader shall be one of his own,
and his rulers shall come from his kin.
When I summon him, he shall approach me;
how else should one take the deadly risk
of approaching me? says the LORD.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 AND 22-23
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared on Zion;
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
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,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is 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.”
He 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 him,
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.”
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
NAB
In my first few years of motherhood I felt like Saint Peter must have as he began to drown in the sea. I had boldly stepped out of the boat to follow Christ into my vocation as wife and mom but something wasn't right. To paraphrase the Christian band Jars of Clay, I wasn't afraid of drowning, it was the breathing that was taking all the work. And I was exhausted.
I was also confused—where did this anger and anxiety come from? Here I was living out my vocation! I was embracing my cross! But daily, hourly, I would run through the litany of all that was wrong with me and it was an unending one: I must be a horrible failure of a mother, stupid, worthless, ugly, and even an embarrassment of a wife. My pain was without relief. I was awash in untreated postpartum depression, and let me tell you, PPD struck me as an enemy would strike and punished me cruelly.
The Prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that Israel's wound was incurable. How astonishing then that God, in His mercy, healed their wound just as He pulled Peter out of the water and just as He brought healing to me. My bruise was grievous but God healed me through the use of prescription anti-depressants, rest, a community who cared for my family and me, and the understanding that my children, marriage, and I deserved to be healed.
You are not unworthy of help. God wants you healed, too.
You are not unworthy of help. God wants you healed.Click to tweet
If you are struggling with depression or anxiety I pray that you will seek help. I pray that you, too, will be pulled out of the water and healed. Ask for help. Look for help. Don't carry this cross alone.
Bonnie Engstrom is a writer, baker, speaker and homemaker. She lives with her husband and five children in central Illinois. You can find out more about her here.
Get Your Planner 📒
Be a Woman of the Word
Walk with Jesus
