19th Sunday in Ordinay Time, Aug. 13, 2017

Written by Fr. Fitz Thursday, 10 August 2017 10:54

MAUDIE

 

JOYCE RUPP RECENTLY RECOMMENDED THE MOVIE MAUDIE TO ME.

It is the tale of an arthritic and slightly malformed resident of a remote Nova Scotia fishing village, neglected by her family, who seeks employment as a housekeeper with a rough, tough, angry fisherman.

The first half of the story is depresing as she endures his crudeness and sometimes abuse.

But yet in her quiet self effacing way, she bit by bit begins to tame him. At the same time she begins to paint to relieve her inner stress.

It then becomes a story of patient transformation.

This unlikely pair even marries, although their union is never tranquill.

Eventually her painting is recognised as valuable and people flock to their home in the wild, to seek her paintings.

This is a tale of patient endurance in the midst of turmoil. It is a tale of creativity bursting forth in the midst of chaos and abandonment.

I recommend it

Today in the Gospel Peter cannot wait to reach out to Jesus. He abandons the boat and tries to walk on water. The impetous Peter also must be tamed.

For is impetuosity gets him into deep water.

Maudie teaches us the valuable lesson that sometimes we must have patient endurance to live through life's challenges.

We cannot leap out of our boat imprudently.

This is a lesson for all of us, even for our President.

God help him, and God help us all.

And so we pray:

O God deliver us from rash judgments,

from mscalculations,

from simplistic solutions.

Help us to ride out the storms of our lives.

with patient hope

and gentle endurance.

Amen