A simple question posed by Jesus to His apostles, as He calms the storm in which they find themselves on the seas crossing to the other side, and the rough winds and waters cause the apostles to be filled with fear as they wonder how to pass through the storm. Jesus, after teaching them and illustrating His miraculous power in healings, feed the hungry, and raising the dead, wonders “what more do you need to see and experience to know that I AM?” 

Apparently more—or do they?

Today’s Gospel of Mark (4: 35-41) also speaks to us as we traverse the “rough seas” of our lives—the trials and tribulations of marriage and family, of faith as it intersects with culture, of aging and the loss of loved ones and friends and the onset of illness or the navigating of a less flexible body; and from the struggles we all have with the ways in which our Nation and world are turning. Do we feel rudderless becoming a boat tossed about amid the winds of change; are we struggling with where and in whom to place our faith, our trust, and our hope?

This simple question from Jesus, “Do you not have faith?” can and must be asked of ourselves as we are called to deal with difficult or challenging situations in our own lives and families. But the bigger question for us today is not just, “Do we not have faith—but how do we develop a deeper, broader and lasting faith in our merciful and loving God. It is easy actually to seek someone or something else—other than God—in which or whom to place our faith. Like most things in life, Truth challenges us and is not ever easy. The easy way out is to find a false prophet or a shiny object that never requires accountability or choice. It gives comfort immediately but the shine never lasts, it dulls quickly as its truth dims once challenged.

Faith—and prayer—lead us to Truth. It is in conversation with God, each and every day that we develop a relationship with God and come to know Him (for He already knows us) and we come to listen to His Voice in our lives, leading us to righteousness and Truth—which gives us confidence in the choices we make and the journey we are navigating in this life. Remember the Gospel of Doubting Thomas…rather than kicking Thomas out of the elite group of the apostles and sending him to a lousy pastoral assignment, Jesus calls Thomas closer to Him and tells him to see His wounds and know that I am Risen.

For us today, we must ask ourselves how do I communicate with Christ? How do I listen to His Words and seek His counsel? If not in prayerful consideration—and that means setting some time each day aside to tell the Lord of my concerns, my fears and my hopes, and to listen in silence to God speak to me in the heart, directing my life towards what is the excellence for me, then how can I expect to hear Him? Turn off the radio or TV, silence the house—go to another room alone—and speak with God: conversation can be prayer, but it is always good to center oneself in prayer…a Hail Mary, an Our Father, the Glory Be or any other prayer…and then talk to this Friend we call God. After all, He made you out of Love; Redeemed you out of Love in Christ’s death and Resurrection; and, then sent Their Love, the Holy Spirit to guide you and reveal to you all Truth.

There are so many different forms and styles and ways of prayer that I believe it is impossible to become bored with prayer. Yes, it can become monotonous if we do not change-it-up from time –to-time, but we cannot exhaust prayer. From sacred music to contemplation, from the rosary to the Memorare, from Scripture study and prayers of Petition, Blessing and Adoration, to intercessory prayers and prayers of thanksgiving and praise, to Lectio Divina—and so much more. It is up to us—to start the conversation with God and to find a new “GPS” for life’s trials, tribulations and every other challenge imaginable. So to quote an old Kellogg’s commercial: “Try it again, for the first time.”