A Reflection on Mark
4:35-41
The disciples had witnessed Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and teach
with an authority that left crowds astonished. Yet when the wind began to howl, and the waves crashed over their boat, they forgot everything they had seen.
Fear erased their memory of who was sleeping in the stern. This is the paradox
of our faith journey: we can know Jesus intimately through prayer, receive Him
in the Eucharist, and still panic when life's storms arrive. The disciples' fear
reveals something profound about human nature. We often trust Jesus with our
souls but struggle to trust Him with the circumstances that are in our lives.
Their question, "Do you not care that we are perishing?" echoes in
our own hearts during trials. Yet Jesus was never unaware of the storm. He was
present in the boat, and His peace in the midst of chaos was itself a lesson
they needed to learn.
Today, we celebrate St. John Bosco, the great apostle to youth, who knew storms
of a different kind. He faced poverty, opposition from civil authorities, and
the immense challenge of rescuing abandoned children from the streets of Turin.
Yet Don Bosco possessed an unshakeable confidence in Divine Providence that
mirrored Jesus sleeping peacefully in the boat. He taught his boys to pray the
Rosary daily, and in those mysteries, we find the same pattern: Jesus present
in every storm. In the Sorrowful Mysteries, we contemplate Jesus in the Garden,
when Jesus was scourged at the pillar, when Jesus was crowned with thorns; the storms
of human cruelty and divine love intertwined. Mary stood at the foot of the
Cross, not because the storm had passed, but because she trusted completely in
her Son's presence and purpose, even when He seemed silent.
The Rosary teaches us to hold both joy and sorrow, light and darkness, in the
same faithful gaze. When we pray the Luminous Mysteries, we see Jesus calming a
different storm, the confusion of our minds, through His Transfiguration and
the institution of the Eucharist. The very Jesus who slept in the boat is the
same Jesus who becomes present on the altar at the Holy Mass, who enters our
bodies in the Eucharist, who dwells within us. The question shifts from
"Where is Jesus in my storm?" to "Do I recognize that Jesus is
already here?" St. John Bosco understood this deeply. His dreams, his
miracles, his extraordinary ability to multiply resources for his children all
flowed from a simple conviction: Jesus was in the boat of his life's mission,
and therefore, no storm could ultimately sink it. He taught the boys not to
pray for the removal of difficulties, but for the grace to see Jesus present
within them.
The rebuke Jesus gives the disciples is not harsh but heartbroken: "Why
are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" After all they had
witnessed, after choosing to follow Him, they still didn't grasp the
fundamental truth that His presence changes everything. The same invitation
extends to us. Each bead of the Rosary is a reminder to wake Jesus up in our
hearts, to remember He is present, to let His peace calm our interior chaos.
St. John Bosco would tell his boys that the Blessed Mother is the one who always
points us back to her Son, especially when we're afraid. When we pray the
Rosary during our storms, we're doing what Mary did at Cana: bringing our needs
to Jesus while trusting His response, in whatever way that may be. The waves
will calm, perhaps in our circumstances, perhaps only in our hearts, but they
will calm, because Jesus is present in the boat.
Questions
to Consider:
·
In
what areas of my life am I living as if Jesus is absent from the boat, even
though I know He is present in the Eucharist and in my baptized soul?
·
When
I pray the Rosary during difficult times, am I bringing my fears to Mary so she
can lead me back to trust in her Son, or am I simply asking for the storm to
end?
·
What
would it look like to have the faith of St. John Bosco, to rest peacefully in
God's providence even when circumstances seem overwhelming?
·
Do
I believe that Jesus is more concerned about the storm of fear in my heart than
the storm of circumstances around me, and what difference would that belief
make in how I pray today?
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
