[media presentation below] GospelThink Monday, August 7 MATTHEW 14:22-36 Peter walks on water to teach us a lesson. Prayerthoughts: a. The Lord in a sense “sets up a situation” for his disciples. The Lord gives us situations in our lives. Are we open to realize that everything that happens to us happens for a reason that the Lord has in mind? Think of some difficult situations and think of what the Lord wants of me. (This is the task of the meditation.) b. The Lord again takes time to pray. Have I set up a prayer schedule that I can easily follow? c. The wind was against them. It is a symbol of things not going right. In my life, right now what most of all is not going right, and am I adjusting well? d. Jesus as God can do anything, of course. He walks on the sea as a sign of encouragement  to the disciples. How is the Lord encouraging me right now? e. Peter selfishly wants to feel the sensation of walking on water. Perhaps “selfishness” is the destroyer of the spiritual life. In what ways am I being too selfish? f. It is significant that when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened. The wind can easily signify the world and its enticements. How strong is that world in my life right now? g. We say with the disciples that Jesus is the Son of God.  It is faith that Jesus wants with this miracle. Again, how strong is my own faith in God? h. My prayerthoughts….   Today, I will carry out letter a. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  REACHING OUT TO JESUS  + Today’s Gospel is perfect for a personal meditation               – since it presents not only a story from the Gospels, but considering Peter in particular, it is a practical allegory to what Christians may be doing in their lives  + Peter is a tremendous example of a modern American Christian               – he has witnessed this miracle of Jesus walking toward them in the midst of the waves               – like his fellow disciples, he is fearful               – but he hears Jesus’ voice and he understands that Jesus is there                              – the American Christian—you and I—are people who have heard the Lord in one form or another                              – and we have accepted the Lord, at least in a shallow sort of way, sort of like the Israelites in the first reading                                       – happy with the Lord but complaining when we are not satisfied the way we want  + Then, with Peter, we want to experience the glory, we want what we want               – saying—since we have accepted you, Lord, let me have my way               – let me experience the joy of living, the pleasure of life, the power of being in charge, the things that I want                              – in Peter’s language: “Command me to come to you.”  That is, let me walk on the water also,                                            – let me have the experience that will give me a thrill, let me have my way  + Peter after walking for a while, begins to sink because of the strength of the wind               – with us, when we take over, thinking more of what we want than any other factor, chaos happens—the world begins to influence us too much – and what must happen?                              – Peter does it—he reaches out to Jesus                                            – we must reach to the values that Jesus makes so clear in the Gospels                              – and basically it means: we cannot rely on ourselves and what we want                                            – we cannot pursue our own agenda as Peter did, but we must turn to the agenda that Jesus gives in the Gospels                                                           – we must really trust the Lord to help us in the things that happen in our lives  + The ending of the Gospel story is important               – if we reach out to the Lord, he will immediately stretch out his hand to us               – but we have to reach first               – it may be very true to say that if we don’t do that—really reach to Jesus—then the chaos in our world will only get worse. MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “Avengers: Endgame” — final session RESISTING THE HOLD OF EVIL The Gospel MATTHEW 27: 45-50 From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit.

Gospelthink: I died for you.  Do I act as though I am grateful to the Lord for all He has done for me?

After they had gone back in time in the movie “Avengers: Endgame,” the team of Avengers each found a way to get the Infinity Stones back to their original place. But it took a fight in each instance since it was not an easy task. Finally, with all the Stones ready to go to their original resting place, they came back only to have Thanos there to attack them, and it seems with superior force. After another lengthly battle, Iron Man managed to move the Infinity Stones to himself, destroying Thanos and his army, but at the same time mortally wounding himself. Finally, Captain Marvel is tasked to go into the past, returning the Stones to their original time line, but decided to stay in the past to enjoy his past.

The greatest example of commitment to a cause that a Christian has is what Jesus Christ did for us. The theological word for it is “redemption.” In the Scriptures, it is clear that Jesus knew what he was doing, and set out to do it with firm conviction. He understood the power of evil, but accomplished redemption while suffering in the most violent of ways, and in Matthew’s Gospel, even feeling that God the Father had forsaken him. But Jesus did it. And in so doing, Jesus showed that even in the greatest of difficulties that could destroy him, he was up to the task. Jesus gave us eternal life by his action, but also showed us the importance of putting up with demons, and conquering them. The life of the Avengers in the movie “Avengers: Endgame” is fantasy, of course, but as portrayed, their job was extremely difficult. Evil because of Thanos had taken over the world. It seems that there is no hope, but with the discovery of time adjustment, the Avengers discover a way to confront the evil that surrounds the world. It is the grace of God that has led us out of the evil and away from the demons that want to destroy our time on earth. Those demons go by the name of selfishness, substance abuse or sexual temptations or the like. Jesus has redeemed us and those demons no longer have a hold on us. Our problem is that we are not willing to do the difficult task of perseverance to stay away from the demons that are present. Our prayer as we consider movies like “Avengers: Endgame” is a prayer of thanksgiving that we have had our Redeemer who conquered forever the evil that has worked itself into the world. But at the same time, we pray that we will be able to resist the hold that demons still want to have over us.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son has accomplished the work of the ultimate battle over the demon. Give us the grace to continually turn to Him so as to constantly be free to live our lives well. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: It is difficult to work against the demons that want to destroy us.   DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 85 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie was most striking to you? Why? 2. What does the movie “Avengers: Endgame” teach young people? 3. What is most striking about Jesus’ death? 4. In the movie, Iron Man was willing to sacrifice himself for the cause of life. It is what martyrs have done throughout our lives. In what way are we called to be “martyrs”? 5, What are the strongest demons in the world in which we live, that is, what evil is the strongest in our society right now? 6. How do we best confront the world that surrounds us? 7. Why is it so difficult to overcome the evil around us? 8. What is the best way to continue to stay away from the evil (demons) that want to overcome us?