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From: Mark 6:45-52

Jesus Walks on Water

[45] Immediately he (Jesus) made his disciples get into the boat and go
before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the
crowd. [46] And after he had taken leave of them, he went into the
hills to pray. [47] And when evening came the boat was out on the sea,
and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were distressed
in rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of
the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by
them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was
a ghost, and cried out; [50] for they all saw him, and were terrified.
But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have
no fear." [51] And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased.
And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about
the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Commentary:

48. The Romans divided the night into four parts or watches, whose
length varied depending on the season. St Mark (13:35) gives the
popular names for these watches: evening, midnight, cockcrow, morning.
Therefore, it is towards dawn that Jesus comes to the disciples.

He wishes to teach us that even when we are in very pressurized and
difficult situations, he is nearby, ready to help us; but he expects us
to make an effort, to strengthen our hope and temper our resolve (cf.
note on Mt 14:24-33); as an early Greek commentator puts it: "The Lord
allowed his disciples to enter danger to make them suffer, and he did
not immediately come to their aid: he left them in peril for the whole
night, to teach them to be patient and not to be accustomed to
receiving immediate succor in tribulation" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In
Evangelium Marci, in loc.").

52. The disciples do not yet see Jesus' miracles as signs of his
divinity. They witness the multiplication of the loaves and the fish
(Mk 6:33-44) and the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:17), but
their hearts and minds are still hardened; they fail to grasp the full
import of what Jesus is teaching them through his actions--that he is
the Son of God. Jesus is patient and understanding with their defects,
even when they fail to grasp what he says when he speaks about his own
passion (Lk 18:34). Our Lord will give them further miracles and
further teaching to enlighten their minds, and, later, he will send the
Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything he
said (cf. Jn 14:26).

St Bede the Venerable comments on this whole episode (Mk 6:45-52) in
this way: "In a mystical sense, the disciples' effort to row against
the wind point to the efforts the Holy Church must make against the
waves of the enemy world and the outpourings of evil spirits in order
to reach the haven of its heavenly home. It is rightly said that the
boat was out on the sea and He alone on the land, because the Church
has never been so intensely persecuted by the Gentiles that it seemed
as if the Redeemer had abandoned it completely. But the Lord sees his
disciples struggling, and to sustain them he looks at them
compassionately and sometimes frees them from peril by clearly coming
to their aid" ("In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Catholic Culture Calendar

January 07, 2004

Optional Memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort, priest

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Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Raymond of Penafort, priest. Born in Barcelona, Spain, he was the third Superior-General of the Domincan Order. He is famous for his work in the freeing of slaves. He wrote five books of Decretals which are now a valuable part of the Canon Law of the Church. The Summa Casuum, which is about the correct and fruitful administration of the Sacrament of Penance, is the most notable of his works.

St. Raymond of Penyafort
The blessed Raymund was born at Barcelona, of the noble family of Pennafort. Having been imbued with the rudiments of the Christian faith, the admirable gifts he had received, both of mind and body, were such that even when quite a boy he seemed to promise great things in his later life.

Whilst still young, he taught humanities in Barcelona. Later on, he went to Bologna, where he applied himself with much diligence to the exercises of a virtuous life, and to the study of canon and civil law. He there received the Doctor's cap, and interpreted the sacred canons so ably that he was the admiration of his hearers. The holiness of his life becoming known far and wide, Berengarius, the Bishop of Barcelona, when returning to his diocese from Rome, visited Bologna in order to see him; and after most earnest entreaties, induced Raymund to accompany him to Barcelona. He was shortly after made Canon and Provost of that Church, and became a model to the clergy and people by his uprightness, modesty, learning and meekness. His tender devotion to the Holy Mother of God was extraordinary, and he never neglected an opportunity of zealously promoting the devotion and honor which are due to her.

When he was about forty-five years of age, he made his solemn profession in the Order of the Friars Preachers. He then, as a soldier but just entered into service, devoted himself to the exercise of every virtue, but above all to charity to the poor, and this mainly to the captives who had been taken by the infidels. It was by his exhortation that St Peter Nolasco (who was his penitent) was induced to devote all his riches to this work of most meritorious charity. The Blessed Virgin appeared to Peter, as also to blessed Raymund and to James the First, King of Aragon, telling them that it would be exceedingly pleasing to herself and her divine Child, if an Order of Religious men were instituted whose mission it should be to deliver captives from the tyranny of infidels. Whereupon, after deliberating together, they founded the Order of our Lady of Mercy for the Ransom of Captives; and blessed Raymund drew up certain rules of life, which were admirably adapted to the spirit and vocation of the said Order. Some years after, he obtained their approbation from Gregory the Ninth, and made St Peter Nolasco, to whom he gave the habit with his own hands, first General of the Order.

Raymund was called to Rome by the same Pope, who appointed him to be his Chaplain, Penitentiary, and Confessor. It was by Gregory's order that he collected together, in the volume called the Decretals, the Decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, which were to be found separately in the various Councils and Letters. He was most resolute in refusing the Archbishopric of Tarragona, which the same Pontiff offered to him, and, of his own accord resigned the Generalship of the Dominican Order, which office he had discharged in a most holy manner for the space of two years. He persuaded James the King of Aragon to establish in his dominions the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He worked many miracles; among which is that most celebrated one of his having, when returning to Barcelona from the island of Majorca, spread his cloak upon the sea, and sailed upon it, in the space of six hours, the distance of a hundred and sixty miles, and having reached his convent, entered it through the closed doors. At length, when he had almost reached the hundredth year of his age, and was full of virtue and merit, he slept in the Lord, in the year of the Incarnation 1275. He was canonized by Pope Clement the Eighth.

Patron: Attorneys; barristers; canonists; lawyers; medical record librarians.

Things to Do:

St. Raymond diligently studied Canon Law, spend some time learning what are the obligations and rights of the laity under Church law.
Learn more about the Spanish Inquistion.
St. Raymond contributed much to the understanding of the Sacrament of Penance, make sure your family knows the Act of Contrition and says it every day.