Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Jose Caballes SVD – Sacred Heart Parish, Quezon City
Thursday 18th Week in Ordinary Time
A calm sea does not produce a skilled sailor. (Source Unknown)
Many have failed to fulfill a dream they have set out to attain due in part to people who caution them to pursue it because of the difficulties and dangers they might encounter along the way.
Jesus was a man driven to fulfilling a dream of saving humankind and of doing the will of His heavenly Father. Yet, Peter, Jesus’ close disciple and apostle who even rightfully identified Him as the Messiah, tried to hinder Him from going to Jerusalem to “suffer from the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes.” It was necessary for Jesus to rebuke Peter to put him in his right senses even though he was just being concerned of Jesus’ safety.
Isn’t it true that sometimes in our life we have set ourselves to achieving our dreams but have been hindered by well-meaning people close to us? And sometimes we give in thus depriving our life of fully blooming and maturing. Isn’t this what happens to pursuing a career that has gone unfulfilled because we have been cautioned about the dangers involved? Isn’t this the case even among individuals who wanted to pursue a religious vocation but due to parental concern have refrained from carrying it out?
Our Lord is telling us that dangers and difficulties are part of life’s challenges to perfect our desire to achieve that goal that we have set before us. Who was it who said “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”? Very true indeed. Let us set out and fulfill that dream regardless of what dangers we might encounter knowing that that is what we are called to do.
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