They had rowed about three or four miles, when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and he was drawing near to the boat. They were
frightened, but he said to them, “It is I! Don’t be afraid!” They wanted to take him into the boat, but immediately, the boat was at the shore
to which they were going.

Reflection:

It was evening. A couple of parishioners were at the
presbytery, chatting away with two priests. As the time for the
community prayers approached, one of the priests got up and said,
“Nice talking to you. But I need to go.” Though he didn’t mention
the reason, the parishioners understood, and one of them
said, “Oh, fathers, it must be time for your prayers. Then we should
also get going.” But the second priest cut in and said, “No, no,
that is alright. We can pray some other time also. Talking to you is
also prayer.” And the friendly chat continued without interruption.
Contrast the sentiments in the above anecdote with the words
of Peter on the non-negotiability of prayer: “It is not right, that
we should neglect the word of God…We shall give ourselves
to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” In this difference in
approach to prayer between the above two anecdotes, you may
discover a partial cause to the crisis in ecclesial leadership today.

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