We have been born of Spirit by means of our baptism: as St. Paul writes to the Romans “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life,” (Romans 6:4). How do we live by the Spirit? Jesus tells us: “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes…” We must listen to the Spirit, which requires us to cultivate an interior quiet through prayer, as Elijah did on the mountaintop when he heard the approach of God as a “…light silent sound…” (1 Kings 19:12).
It is difficult to tune out the thunderous cacophony of the world around us; our own flesh can be like a sail catching its chaotic gusts instead of the sure currents of the Spirit. But the wind is not the only force that moves a ship: the sea does as well. When the apostles were at sea and “the wind was against them” (Mark 6:48) Jesus came walking upon the sea, telling them not to be afraid. “He got into the boat with them and the wind died down,” (Mark 6:51). We are born of water, brothers and sisters: the waves ought not frighten us: “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” He said to them, as He says to us (Mark 6:50). Christ has given us no mere rowboat, but the very Bark of Peter—the Church—and she has weathered every storm, navigated every strait and shoal, and stood strong against even the world’s fiercest gales: within her sturdy hull we can find a place of quiet such that we can hear the gentle whispering of the Spirit under the world’s raging. She is carried upon the water, with no sail but a firm rudder of Truth. Yes, she is tossed about, yes she collides with the world, but she never sinks. Listen to the Spirit: be attentive to its blossoming Fruits around you. Listen, and do not be afraid.