By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted August 5, 2026

(See the readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Gordon and Norma had been married 72 years. They had both been in their early 20s when they married and now were in their 90s. Their relationship grew and developed over their long lives together, as did their love. At this point in their lives, they knew each other very well and were content just being together.

One day they went out to do some errands and were in an automobile accident. The injuries were not too bad but they had to be taken to the hospital. Each in separate rooms, their primary concern was for the other. Unfortunately, their bodies were not able to recover due to their age. At their son Dennis’ request, they were moved to a shared room. Norma was holding Gordon’s hand, surrounded by family, when he passed.

Dennis noticed that although his dad was not breathing the heart monitor was still registering a pulse. The nurse checked and said that was because they were holding hands and Norma’s heartbeat was going through Gordon and the monitor picked it up. Norma died an hour later.

When asked about his parents’ long marriage, Dennis said: “They just loved being together …. I don’t believe there was a big secret to their marriage. Sometimes one or the other would get mad, but they worked everything out. In the end, they chose each other, and that was it. They were committed.”

Marriage is often used as an image of God’s love for His people and Christ’s love for His Church. The analogy is not perfect but it is a good one. The relationship between a loving husband and wife is also a good metaphor for prayer because prayer involves a relationship that is at once stable and, at the same time, open to growth.

St. John Vianney, who was known to spend a lot of time before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer, was once asked, “What do you do in there?” He replied: “I look at him and he looks at me.” He was content at just “being together.”

The readings for this Sunday’s liturgy give us some insights into prayer and the relationship that it is built upon. Let’s first look at the Gospel. The account picks up where last week’s passage left off. Jesus has fed the multitudes with the great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. You may recall that before His heart was moved with compassion at the sight of this vast crowd following Him, He had been headed to a deserted place. He wanted to be alone in prayer.

Now He has that opportunity and sends His disciples off in the boat to the other side of the lake. He spends time alone on the mountain in prayer. Jesus in the midst of all His activity finds the time, not always on His schedule, to pray. He does so because He needs to pray and He wants to pray. It is important to Him because of His Father. He loves the Father as the Father loves Him.

Even though the Father is always with Him, prayer provides a special opportunity for them to be alone, together. We do not know what Jesus “did” while He was alone in prayer on that mountain, just that He was there and took the time to “be” with the Father in prayer.

After this we see Jesus come down and head to the disciples. A storm had come up, as was typical with the Sea of Galilee, and He walked on the water to the disciples. The interchange that then occurs gives us another insight into prayer, albeit in an indirect manner. Fearing a ghost the disciples don’t believe it is Jesus at first. Jesus gives the consoling command: “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.” There is nothing to fear when Jesus is present. The storms may abound but as long as He is near, there is nothing that can harm us.

Peter tests Jesus: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus tells him to come, and Peter walks on the water toward Jesus in the midst of that great storm. All is well when Peter keeps his focus on Jesus but when that switches to the storm, Peter begins to sink. He then calls out in prayer: “Lord save me.” Jesus reaches out and grabs his hand saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus then leads him to the safety of the boat. All are amazed and cry out in faith: “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The relationship we have with God is through Jesus. We have to know Him, listen to Him and love Him in order for that relationship to grow. These are part of the life of faith. Being with Him in prayer is like keeping our focus on Him.

So many times in prayer we get distracted, like Peter did. We have “rough winds” that blow in our lives all the time: responsibilities, insecurities, worries, anxieties, pressures and so forth. We certainly bring them to Him in prayer but he already knows them for He is with us always. Our time in prayer gives us the opportunity to focus on Him. It gives us the opportunity to hear Him say, as He did to Peter: “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”

The first reading also gives us a wonderful insight into prayer. The passage from I Kings is, for many people, one of those well-loved and remembered from Sacred Scripture. Here we have the setting for a great theophany, where God will make His presence known through a powerful natural phenomena.

Elijah is told to go up Mount Horeb. We might think here of Moses going up Sinai. Now Elijah witnesses the great and mighty wind, and the earthquake, and the fire. But God was not present in these, only in the “tiny whispering sound” that followed the fire. Elijah’s experience of God in the quiet has resonated with many pray-ers over the millennia.
The place of quiet becomes a place of encounter and provides an opportunity to listen. In our busy lives finding that quiet time (and place) can be challenging but also very rewarding.

Gordan and Norma were blessed with a loving and healthy marriage. As the years passed by they became more and more content with just being together. So it is in our relationship with God. Prayer gives us the opportunity to be with Him. Jesus’ whole life was a life of prayer but even He took time to be alone with the Father in prayer.

Perhaps this week we can take some quiet time alone, in a quiet place (many parishes are open for this) and like Elijah encounter God in the “tiny whispering sound.”

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of St. Dorothy Parish in Drexel Hill and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Prior here.