19th Sunday of the Year (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

August 10, 2014
Liturgical readings
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13
Psalm 85
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

"Jesus at once stretched out His hand and caught Peter."

The name Jesus comes from the Aramaic "Yeshu" and the Hebrew "Jehoshua", which means "Yahweh is salvation" - or simply, "God saves". This Sunday's gospel shows the salvific nature of the name Jesus and His saving action in an actual incident. As Christ's disciples were out in sea in a boat, strong head winds suddenly tossed the boat with dangerous waves. In this scenario, Jesus walks to them across the water. At first the disciples were frightened - thinking that Jesus was a ghost. But the Lord spoke and reassured them. Then Peter wanted to go to Jesus by walking across the water. The Lord called out to him, and Peter began to walk on the water. But when Peter noticed the strength of the winds and the waves, he began to sink. Peter cried out from his distress and the Lord at once stretched out His hand to save him.

This passage in the gospel is memorialized in many images and reflections. One such reflection can be read from Bishop Fulton Sheen in his book "Life of Christ". Bishop Sheen writes about the many miracles of Jesus. He classifies the miracle of Jesus walking on the water as a miracle in the order of nature (miracles such as quelling of the storm at sea and making the winds His servants). But the greatest miracle Jesus performed is not in the order of nature, or in the moral order (the expulsion of evil spirits). The greatest miracles of Jesus are in the physical order (raising people from the dead and His Resurrection). This Sunday's gospel describes a miracle in the order of nature. Despite its lesser importance, it still invites all the faithful to hold on to the salvific power of Christ.

One can see the greatness of God in Christ - even with just this miracle of walking on the water and the saving of Peter. How great is the saving power of Christ! Like Peter, all the faithful want to go to Christ and walk in faith towards Him - especially in times of difficulties. But this faith to walk towards Christ will be a test. It is a test (so many times over) amidst troubles and difficulties - both small and big. As long as each one does not rely only on his own strength, but in humility, ask for God's help, God will surely save us. Jesus did not hesitate to prevent Peter from sinking, when Peter cried out to Him. God-in-Jesus saved Peter. In the same way, as each one can be distracted by any turbulence, thus weakening one's focus on God, only refocusing on Christ in prayer, faith and good works will prevent sinking into a moral or physical death. Focusing on God and His saving actions will reassure the faithful that in truth, Jesus is "God saves" in action.

Scripture quote:
"Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear God." (Psalm 85)

The New Man by Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton became a popular author in the 1960s with his book "The Seven Storey Mountain". His other book, "The New Man", are reflections on Christ, as the new man who saves all men and women from the sin of pride. Christ, the new man, saved mankind by His obedience to the Father's will. This is in contrast to Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God; for they did not do as God wanted in the garden of Eden.

The book "The New Man" is deep, but any philosophy or theology background can help in comprehending what the author intends. The book is an interesting read because Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton integrates his literary knowledge of Greek mythology within his reflections.

A brief introduction

The book is rich in insights. The reader will surely benefit and gain not only from one reading, but from re-readings of the material. A good prerequisite before reading "The New Man" is the author's popular book, "The Seven Storey Mountain". Reading the Seven Storey Mountain will give enough background to understand The New Man. It is in The New Man that the reader can find deeper truths in the Christian faith. Also, the reader will understand the life and spirituality of the Cistercians, specifically The Trappists - a stricter community of the Cistercians, to which the author belongs.

Uniqueness of the book

The book is unique, because the author integrates Greek mythology in his explanation of the "fall of man" from grace. He mentions Prometheus (a character in Greek mythology) stealing fire from Olympus, and bringing toil and sorrow into the world. Merton places the Prometheus story in parallel to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who both disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. It is by their sin that destruction, death and sin entered the world. To integrate Greek mythology into reflections on Christian faith is unique to Thomas Merton.

Chapters in the book

To get some idea of the contents of the book, the following list shows the chapter's titles:

• The War Within Us
• Promethean Theology
• Image and Likeness
• Free Speech [Parrhesia]
• Spirit in Bondage
• The Second Adam
• Life in Christ
• Sacramental Illumination
• Called Out of Darkness

The basic flow of the book

The book follows the core mysteries of the Catholic faith:

original sin and its inherited effects by succeeding generations;

Christ as the second Adam (the "new man") who obeyed God compared to the first Adam (the "old man") who disobeyed God;

mankind's salvation in Christ through obedience to God;

mankind's cleansing from the effects of original sin and succeeding sins through the sacraments of the Church;

and the Christian's life through following the teaching of the Church.

St. Dominic de Guzman and the Dominicans

The Dominicans - The Order of Preachers

St. Dominic de Guzman and the Dominican community

August 8 is the feast day of St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Dominican Order. The Dominican Order was founded at about the same time as the Order of the Friars Minor, the Franciscans, with St. Francis of Assisi as their founder. Both religious orders emphasized the vow of poverty in their religious state of life. The only distinction between them is the Dominicans would emphasize the development of the intellect for preaching, while the Franciscans would emphasize simplicity and being close to the common people.

The three orders of the Dominicans

Although St. Dominic started with about sixteen disciples, their numbers grew and they had to create structures within their community. Their members were divided into three: the first order of St. Dominic known formally as the Order of Friars Preachers (O.P.); the second order of St. Dominic made up of cloistered nuns; the third order of St. Dominic, composed of Third Order Regulars, who are sisters living in convents and engaged in apostolic works, and Third Order Seculars, who are lay men and women.

Dominicans and their specific charism

Scholars, artists, saints, and mystics

In a Dominican priest's vocation, the ascetic element is joined to a religious life that is primarily apostolic and clerical. Dominican preachers are clerics, and not monks, but their clericalism is subordinated to their mission of saving souls by being "champions of the Faith" and the "lights of the world". Their motto is "Truth". The intellectual element of a Dominican vocation is seen in the list of illustrious scholars, artists, mystics, saints, and holy men who lived the Dominican charism in their own personal vocations: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Albert the Great, St. Vincent Ferrer, John (Meister) Eckhart, John Tauler, Thomas Cajetan, John of St. Thomas, Fra Angelico, Fra Bartolommeo, Blessed Henry Suso, and Blessed Raymond of Capua.

Dominican sisters and the establishing of the first Dominican house in the United States of America


Of the Dominican sisters, most outstanding among their tertiaries were St. Catherine of Siena, patroness of Italy, and St. Rose of Lima, the first-native born saint of the Americas. Dominican nuns (Second Order) established a monastery in Canada in 1925 A.D., and Dominican Sisters (Third Order) opened a novitiate in Canada in 1927 A.D., and a school, in Montreal, in 1951 A.D. But the first real important presence of the Dominican Order in the United States of America, was begun by the men, when Edward Fenwick, later first bishop of Cincinnati, and several companions inaugurated the first American Dominican house at St. Rose Priory near Springfield, Kentucky, in 1805 A.D.

The Dominican scholars

Theological development reached its absolute prime in the so-called High Scholasticism of the thirteenth century. The Dominicans St. Albert the Great (d. 1280 A.D.), St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274 A.D.) and Meister Eckhart (d. 1328 A.D.), were the most important representatives of High Scholasticism. St. Albert the Great was probably the first to systematically apply Aristotelian philosophical and theological method to Christian theology. It was his student and great pupil St. Thomas Aquinas who then created and produced the classical Summa Theologica, the unsurpassed universal representation of the Christian religion based on philosophical and theological Christian Aristotelianism. As for as Meister Eckhart (ca. 1260-1328 A.D.), he is not only noted foremost for his preaching, but also for his technical scholastic writings that provide the foundation for much of his teaching on Scriptural and exegetical works.

The Dominican artists

There are many Dominican artists, but Fra Angelico is one of the popular Dominican artists who many admire because of the deep spirituality of his life, which he transferred to his paintings. With his brother, Benedetto, he was ordained a priest and they lived in the same convent. As a Dominican friar, he continued his career as a painter. Vasari, a contemporary of Fra Angelico, said that the friar painted incessantly, and would never represent anything but a sacred object. Some go so far as to say that this Dominican friar never touched a brush without first humbling himself in prayer. He never painted the crucified savior without having his cheeks bathed in tears.

The Dominican mystics

Among the Dominican mystics were John Tauler, Blessed Henry Suso, Meister Eckhart, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Catherine of Siena.

John Tauler viewed the mystical path to union with God as a process, or journey, that could be presented in terms of stages. In this mystical journey, he begins with a stage that he calls jubilatio, or rejoicing. The next stage however, negates this delight because God withdraws his presence. The third and final stage according to the mystic is one of true and lasting union - a state what he calls divinization.

Blessed Henry Suso (ca. 1295-1366 A.D.) was the third great male mystic produced by the German Dominicans in the fourteenth century. Among his many writings is his "The Life of the Servant", which Blessed Henry Suso is best known today. It has been read as a quasi-autobiographical account of Henry Suso's spiritual path from severe practices of literal imitation of Christ's passion to a more Eckhartian state of mystical detachment and union with the Trinity.

Meister Eckhart was not only a Dominican scholar but a mystic as well. His biblical commentaries are the foundation for his mysticism. His vernacular mystical teaching is given in the approximately 120 surviving sermons preached on Bible texts found in the liturgy.

St. Rose of Lima became a Dominican tertiary and lived as a recluse in a shack in the garden she had worked to help her parents. This Dominican mystic experienced mystical gifts and visions of such an extraordinary nature. At first, these were suspect, but then a commission of priest and doctors decided that they were of supernatural origin. Stories of her holiness spread, and her garden became the spiritual center of the city.

St. Catherine of Siena already started having mystical experiences at the age of six. At seven years of age, after a vision of our Lord, she consecrated her life to God. As she matured even more, she got involved in the political life of the Catholic Church. In 1375 A.D., while praying in the Church of St. Cristina in Pisa, she received the stigmata from the Lord. Because of her holiness, she was constantly called upon to arbitrate feuds and misunderstandings.

The Dominican Pope

Before becoming Pius V, the initiator of the feast of the Holy Rosary, Antonio Michael Ghislieri joined the Dominicans at Voghera when he was fourteen. After ordination, he rose into the ranks of the Catholic hierarchy until he became Pope Pius V. What this Dominican Pope was popularly known for was his great success in ordering the naval battle of Lepanto, fought off the coast of Greece on October 7, 1571 A.D. It was the first major defeat of the Muslims. This victory was attributed to the help of Mary, whose aid was invoked by the praying of the rosary. Because of this victory, Pope St. Pius V instituted on October 7 the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney


• Encyclopedia International, by Grolier Incorporated


• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.


• The Who's Who of Heaven, by Msgr. John P. Kleinz


• The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, by Bernard McGinn