19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Friends,

The other day, I was sitting in Mass during my lunch hour and had a revelation: I am hungry. It was a thought that had crossed my mind many times before during Mass, one that I normally brushed aside so I could redirect my attention to what was happening at the altar. However, on this particular day, I let myself be distracted.

That distraction led me to think about an old jingle I used to hear on television between my Disney Channel shows growing up: “What would you do-oo-oo for a Klondike Bar?” You might be thinking: How random. How exactly does this relate to the spiritual life? Honestly, it doesn’t. Or at least not in the way you would expect. But I am a firm believer that God is present and dwelling within us at all times. The Catechism reminds us that God continually draws close to mankind. He can use even the simplest moments, even something as ordinary as hunger, to reveal something deeper about His love.

And through that hunger, God asked me:

Would you walk out onto the waves for a Klondike Bar?

What would you do to be with Me?

Peter’s faith in today’s Gospel is so striking. Peter does not ask Jesus to calm the storm. He does not ask Jesus to make his situation easier. Instead, he asks to come closer to Him, even if it means stepping directly into the wind and waves. His fear disappears when he sees Christ. For hours, Peter had been awake in the darkness, terrified by the storm surrounding him. He likely wished Jesus was there to calm the storm and save the disciples. But upon seeing the Lord, Peter forgets all of his worries. He wants only one thing: to be close to Jesus.

In Mass, I can often find myself distracted, hungry, worried, or even sleepy, much like Peter may have been on that boat. But when I see Jesus at the consecration, do I have faith like Peter? Do I forget everything worldly and believe the impossible? Do I believe that God became man to dwell among us and within me? Do I believe that He is truly present there in the Church at that very moment, longing to love me and encounter me?

Peter seems to forget that he is standing in the middle of a dangerous storm. He sees only Jesus. He is hungry enough for a relationship with God to defy nature itself. I don’t think anyone has ever done that for a Klondike Bar. But for Christ? For the One who comes to meet us, love us, and remain with us? Perhaps that is exactly what He is inviting us to do.

Grace Klein
Penn-Drexel Campus Minister