Father Dom's Homs: Faith Needs a Storm

<p>Every reading this Sunday (from the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time that is) sets up the same move: chaos first, faith second. Fr. Dom's point is God doesn't calm your storm before He grows your faith. He uses the storm to grow it.</p><p></p><p><b>Elijah gets wrecked before he gets strong.</b> After torching 450 prophets of a child-sacrificing false god at Carmel, Elijah's a fugitive. He is alone, starving, nobody wants him, living in a cave...or a desert. God doesn't lecture him, He feeds him. Twice. Then sends him to Horeb, where God isn't in the earthquake or the fire but in the whisper of the wind. That's the moment Elijah's courage gets rebuilt from the ground up.</p><p></p><p><b>Paul gets knocked flat before he gets convinced.</b> Damascus. Blinded, confronted by the risen Christ, and it's that collision that turns a guy hunting Christians into the man who writes half the New Testament.</p><p></p><p><b>Peter walks into the storm instead of asking Jesus to fix it.</b> Everybody else in his position begs Jesus to calm the sea. Peter asks to get out of the boat. Fr. Dom's read: that's the only way the faith already in you actually gets unlocked. He sinks the second he stares at the wind instead of Christ and Jesus grabs him anyway.</p><p></p><p><b>Bottom line for you this week:</b> stop praying the storm away. Whatever's raging isn't proof God left. It's the terrain faith gets built on. Faith isn't a feeling, it's a decision to submit and step out anyway.</p><p></p><p>Consider supporting the podcast on our <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://buymeacoffee.com/tmc" target="_blank">Buy Me A Coffee </a>page (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://buymeacoffee.com/tmc" target="_blank">https://buymeacoffee.com/tmc</a>) to help grow the show to reach as many men as possible! </p><p></p><p>Subscribe to our <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxrRLZNk4WqPdgcac5vuWEQ" target="_blank">YouTube</a> page: (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxrRLZNk4WqPdgcac5vuWEQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxrRLZNk4WqPdgcac5vuWEQ</a>)</p><p></p><p>Check out our <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://themanlycatholic.riverside.com/" target="_blank">website</a> (<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://themanlycatholic.riverside.com/" target="_blank">themanlycatholic.riverside.com/</a>)</p><p></p><p>Get delicious coffee from <a r