Deacon Kevin Gingras
Aug 9th, 2026
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080926.cfm
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14
When I go too long without confession - I start to sink. When I go too long without time in adoration - I start to sink. When my prayer life is scattered and not focused - I start to sink. When I focus too much on the storms of the world around me instead of Jesus - I start to sink. For a moment, think about what, in your life, takes your focus off of Christ and causes you to sink.
Remember, when you go to confession, the priest is in the person of Christ; in the confessional you are reaching out to Christ as Peter did and crying out “Lord, save me!” That’s just what Jesus does through the priest as he says: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Adoration is another life preserver that is at our disposal when we start to sink. Remember how Elijah found the LORD. The LORD was not in the strong and heavy wind. The LORD was not in the earthquake. The LORD was not in the fire; no, the LORD was in the tiny whispering sound. I find that the quiet of our adoration chapel is where I can hear that tiny whisper. Where the noise of the world around me subsides in the true presence of Christ, even if just for an hour or so, so that I can hear the voice of the LORD speaking to me as I pray.
My prayer life always needs work; it’s another area that might cause me to sink. There are times I feel I only give God the last few moments of my day when I’m tired and not really focused. It’s something that I once confessed to a priest many years ago, and he knew, based on my confession, that I had a wife and kids and a full-time job. He told me that those things are also my prayer life. I must bring Jesus into those moments as well. If all I did was to spend all day in prayer and adoration, I’d lose my job, my kids wouldn’t know me, and my wife would not be too pleased. He told me to pray about ways to bring Jesus into all the areas of my life. I needed this advice, especially when I went to work. A month or so before this confession, a guy in the office was talking about his son getting Confirmed. My boss said to ask Kevin; he’s “wicked” Catholic. The man responded, “Oh, I didn’t even know he was religious!” The words cut to my heart! At the time, I thought I was very religious, teaching confirmation, helping with youth ministry and VBS and all that. Clearly, I left Jesus in the car when I went into the office. I was sinking all day long! Fortunately, Jesus was my life preserver, and when I reached out to Him, He saved me. Now I make sure that everyone in the office knows I’m “wicked religious”!
Correcting these little errors in our lives can make us spiritually strong for the big storms that will come. They will, because life inevitably brings storms: storms of illness, grief, uncertainty, family struggles, and fear. It is then that we really have to work hard to focus on Christ. Back in 2015, just as I was starting the diaconate, I thought for sure it would be smooth sailing in my life as I was answering God’s call. Alas, that wasn’t to be so! There was a bad mental health crisis in my family, my father was dying, and my bank account was gasping for help; we were bordering on bankruptcy. Each week as I went to put gas in my car, I pleaded with God to let my bank card work so I could fill up and drive to work. There was even one night I went to angry adoration. I was mad at God! I was answering a clear calling to become a deacon; why wasn’t it smooth sailing? I brought all those storms to some quiet time in adoration so I could hear what the Lord had to say. I went in angry with God but was soon at peace. The peace of knowing that a sailor doesn’t learn how to sail with no wind on a calm lake. My gaze focused back on Jesus, away from the storm for a while. Jesus calmed that storm inside of me, not the storm outside. It was exactly what I needed; I was assured all would be ok.
A few days later, I had to pull my brothers aside to tell them why I wasn’t at the hospital by my mom’s side as much while my father was dying because of this other family crisis. They asked me how I was getting through all of this. Jesus - that was my one-word answer. Jesus was getting me through this storm.
When we hit the storms of life, we are in good company! Saint Paul lamented to the Romans in our second reading that he had “great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart”. Paul’s mission did not give him clear skies and calm seas! Our storms aren’t always taken away, but with Christ and the Sacraments we can better navigate the storms, learn from them, and offer them up in prayer.
This week, think about where we can focus our eyes better on Jesus in the storms. Where can we find Him waiting to rescue us? Confession? Adoration? Quiet prayer at home? Here at Mass?
St Padre Pio reminds us:
The storms that are raging around you will turn out to be for God's glory, your own merit, and the good of many souls.
