BRIDGEPORT— “Even if we’ve gotten out of the boat like Peter and feel like we’re sinking, we can say the same prayer, ‘Lord save me,’” said Fr. Frank Hoffmann in his homily for the Mass for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Fr. Hoffmann, who is diocesan Vicar for Clergy and former pastor of St. John Parish, Darien, was the guest celebrant and homilist for Bishop Frank J. Caggiano’s weekly online Mass from the Catholic Center chapel.
Reflecting on Matthew (14:22-33) “ 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down,” Fr. Hoffmann said the Gospel speaks to us in troubled times.
‘Over the last few months we have reason to be afraid as we face an uncertain future, try to prepare, and don’t know what’s going to happen. Are schools going to open? Are we going back to lock down? There’s a lot to scare us, but we have Jesus,” Fr. Hoffmann said.
Fr. Hoffmann said we are all like the Apostle Peter and sometimes our faith is not as strong as we would like it to be, but Jesus is always there for us if we reach out to him.
Peter in his fear and imperfect faith “gets out of the boat and begins to walk toward Jesus. No one else does that,” said Fr. Hoffmann.
Fr. Hoffmann said the words, “Do not be afraid” appear in all the Gospels and that many times during our lives, we may find ourselves calling out, “Lord save me.”
When we are frightened, the Gospel tells us to ‘Take courage and do not be afraid,” said Fr. Hoffmann, who noted that one of the most common refrains of Saint John Paul II was, “Don’t be afraid. Fear not.”
“We must take courage to do our best and take chances to reach out to the Lord… His promise to us is to put out his hand and pull us back into the boat,” he said.
Fr. Hoffmann said Peter made many mistakes and even grievously denied knowing Jesus, but his faith saved him. He became “prince of the apostles and one of the leaders of the early Church,” because though he called out in fear, he walked in faith.
“There are few prayers as easy for us to say as, ‘Lord save me,” said Fr. Hoffmann.
Before leading the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of Mass, Fr. Hoffman thanked those who joined the online liturgy and said he hoped their day and week was filled with many blessings.
The Bishop’s Sunday Mass is released online every Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and available for replay throughout the day. To view the Bishop’s Sunday Mass, recorded and published weekly, click this link or visit the YouTube Mass Playlist.
