Fr. Bob’s Greeting – September 2024 Enews

The hills around Graymoor are slowly changing as the trees go from green to golden brown.  Change is a word often used at Graymoor.  Many men and women who come here seek change in their lives, and often, it is not an easy or predictable as the seasons.

Recently, I sat with a young man who, after a bitter outburst of crying, put his head in his hand and said, “I wish I had been raised to have something to believe in; at least then, I would feel like I had a purpose guiding me through life.”  Later that day at Mass, he heard the Gospel story of St. Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water to get to Jesus.  He thought that was an amazing story; that someone would be so eager to get someone or something that they would try to walk on water.  He said, “I have to get out of this boat that I am in.  It is full of drugs and alcohol.  But where am I going when I get out?  Which way do I turn?  To whom do I go?” And at that moment, he had no higher power in his life.  No reference point.

If you are a Christian, then your reference point is Christ.  Still, sometimes we have to get out of our comfortable boat because it may contain things that keep us from Him.  As Christians, there should be no question about which way to turn, how to navigate through trying times. Our direction is Christ, no matter what stage of life we are in.

We continually move toward Him because He is about a way of life.  He is about the decisions we make at work, at home and even at school – decisions that are essentially key to our everyday life.  Christ wants so much to be a part of these decisions.  He should be your Navigator.  He is about honesty and caring concerns for others.  He is about ethics and fidelity.  He is about truth and making relationships work.  He is about keeping one’s word about life here and the hereafter.

There may be times in all our lives when we want to make changes, but we are afraid to get out of the boat.  When we want to rely and depend on someone or something else – something other than Christ.  I am not telling you that you can walk on water, yet I assure you, the Lord and the Savior is there for you to hold you up in any time or circumstance.

Next time you hear the story of St. Peter walking on water, take note. It was only when he took his eyes off Christ that he began to sink.  In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, keep your eyes on Christ.  He should be your Navigator.  In closing, we recognize that September is National Recovery Month.  I ask you to join me in keeping those who are walking the road toward change in their lives in your thoughts and prayers.