Those methods are sometimes mutually exclusive; you can’t have a lively discussion group during the silence of Perpetual Adoration, nor should you be reading this blog during Mass! 🙂

So if devotions to Mary don’t do as much for you as you might like, I think that’s fine. There are other ways to get closer to God! (Personally, I don’t ask for much intercession from the saints, preferring to offer my thoughts and prayers to God directly. But I’m grateful for the saints, and for those who do have an easier time relating to the Almighty through them.) So long as you’re not actively acting against the belief in Mary (disparaging others’ love of her, rolling your eyes during a Rosary, etc.), I think it’s okay to acknowledge and accept that you’re not as close to her as others are.

Now, if you want to get closer to Mary, by all means continue to work at it! But nothing says that we need to be super-enthused about all aspects of every opportunity offered by the Church; Heaven knows I don’t wake up for 6:30 Mass very often, even though our parish offers it every day! 🙂

As for the other question: I can’t offer much insight into what the other disciples thought Jesus was going to do. The most likely answer (to me) is they expected him to get another boat somehow and meet them sometime later. (Jesus could have easily and truthfully assured them that God would provide for His needs to get to where He needs to be.) There are certainly other stories of Christ going off to do His own thing for a while, stretching all the way back to the child Jesus in the temple!

I was also intrigued by the comment about Jesus having meant to pass them by, but didn’t feel I had much to say on the topic. I believe the intent — and the subtext — is that Jesus wasn’t trying to show off: “Look at me! I’m walking on water! Ta-DAAAA!” Jesus’ miracles have generally been in the context of having a larger purpose besides proving His divinity as an end-goal unto themselves, and those miracles have generally not been “showy.” I’m sure we could all imagine how Jesus could have fed the five thousand with much more pomp and circumstance, instead of just having them hand the food out to each other. Similarly the healing of the sick and the curing of the blind tended to be fairly sedate: one moment sick, the next moment not. Even the Resurrection was about as low-key as you could imagine; no columns of light, no choir of angels . . . just an empty tomb, and an angel saying, “He’s not here.” So I think the mention that Jesus wasn’t trying to do something miraculous for the disciples by walking on water was a continuation of that line of thought.

I understand the concept of fearing God, but I try not to, personally. I don’t see the point. In some ways, the prospect of God’s judgment is (to me) like a tornado, or cancer. I can be concerned that a tornado will destroy my house, or that cancer will consume my body. And I can take preventive measures (heeding warning signs, trying to eat right, etc.), but — in the end — additional fear of those things won’t provide any benefit. God is the all-powerful maker of the universe; He is entirely within His rights to do with me what He will, and I accept that reality. My actions cannot “make” Him do anything. All I can do, then, is have faith in His mercy and love, try to be the best person I can be, and follow the examples and commands He has set forth . . . with the understanding that I will fall short; being human and having original sin, I can’t help but do so. And — for me — additional fear would be counterproductive; in the same way I may harbor a worry that (say) my wife may leave me someday, I recognize that dwelling too much on that worry would prove counterproductive to our marriage. (Demanding daily proof that she still loves me would be pretty annoying and may bring about that which I worry about!) If my fear of the Lord keeps me from doing what He wants (because there’s a chance I’ll do poorly or mess up), then that fear is more counterproductive than not fearing Him.

Anyway, those are just some random thoughts on the comments presented. Again, thank you all.