The prayer said by the priest after the Lord’s prayer at Mass speaks of deliverance, peace, and freedom from sin and anxiety. Today the word of God addresses the worries or anxieties that may hinder the peace of the human soul. Our human experience often involves a recurrence of worries and a troubled heart. When we solve one problem, another one arises, and even when there are no significant worries, we may still feel anxious about the future. There is always something to worry about.
In the first reading, the apostles faced a growing worry concerning the neglect of the needs of some members of the Church, the Greek-speaking widows, in the daily distribution of food. They called a meeting where they found a solution to the problem by creating a ministry of deacons who would take charge of food distribution to cater to the concerns. In the second reading, Peter describes Jesus as the living stone and encourages believers to come to Him as the cornerstone of their faith. They are also made into living stones built into a spiritual house, a special people, and a royal priesthood. He invited the believers to Come to Jesus, the living stone to be built up. The gospel passage is part of the farewell discourse Jesus had with His disciples before His betrayal. The apostles were already perturbed by predictions of betrayal and Jesus’ departure. So Jesus calmed their worries and strengthened their faith and trust in Him. He reassured them that they should not be troubled but should trust in Him and the Father.
There are worries we can quickly resolve when we reach out to one another and discuss our troubles, like in the first reading. We must keep reaching out to others in our difficult moments. But most of all, we need to trust in Jesus to calm our troubled hearts. He tells us to trust in God and Him. When we are conscious of Jesus’ promises and who we are as God’s people, we can overcome any obstacle and distraction to our faith. Why not commit your worries in prayer to Jesus, the shepherd of our souls?