Mark 4:35

For the Lord is said to have had three places of refuge, namely, the ship, the mountain, and the desert. As often as He was pressed upon by the multitude, he used to fly to one of these. When therefore the Lord saw many crowds about Him, as man, He wished to avoid their importunity, and ordered His disciples to go over to the other side...

And he said to them that day when evening had come: Let us cross over. And dismissing the crowd, they took him along in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him. In this passage, the Lord deigns to show both natures of his one and the same person, when he, who as a man sleeps in the boat, calms the fury of the sea with a word as God. Furthermore, by allegory, the sea which he desires to cross with his own is taken as the dark and bitter turbulence of the present world. But the little boat he boards is best understood as the wood of his most holy passion. By whose benefit, all the faithful, aided, rise above the waves of the world and reach the abode of the heavenly homeland, as if to the stability of a secure shore. However, the other boats said to have been with the Lord, but not brought into the deep or reported to have endured any storm, clearly signify those who, having been imbued with the faith of the Lord's cross, have not yet been struck by the whirlwind of tribulations, and only preserve the mysteries of faith received in the peace of the Church; or indeed, those who, after repeated gales of temptations, use a little granted calm of peace for a time. It is uncertain whether those boats, recently made, were brought into port or returned to port after experiencing the dangers of the sea. Hence, they can rightly denote both those who have not yet been tested by temptations, and those who, after frequent examination by tribulations for Christ, now, with temptations somewhat stilled, enjoy the tranquility of things.

(ubi sup.) Or else the ship into which He embarked, is taken to mean the tree of His passion, by which the faithful attain to the security of the safe shore. The other ships which are said to have been with the Lord, signify those, who are imbued with faith in the cross of Christ, and are not beaten about by the whirlwind of tribulation; or who, after the storms of temptation, are enjoying the serenity of peace. And whilst His disciples are sailing on, Christ is asleep, because the time of our Lord's Passion came on His faithful ones, when they were meditating on the rest of His future reign. Wherefore it is related, that it took place late, that not only the sleep of our Lord, but the hour itself of departing light, might signify the setting of the true Sun. Again, when He ascended the cross, of which the stern of the ship was a type, His blaspheming persecutors rose like the waves against Him, driven on by the storms of the devils, by which, however, His own patience is not disturbed, but His foolish disciples are struck with amazement. The disciples awake the Lord, because they sought, with most earnest wishes, the resurrection of Him whom they had seen die. Rising up, He threatened the wind, because when He had triumphed in His resurrection, He prostrated the pride of the devil. He ordered the sea to be still, that is, in rising again, He cast down the rage of the Jews. The disciples are blamed, because after His resurrection, He chid them for their unbelief. And we also when being marked with the sign of the Lord's cross, we determine to quit the world, embark in the ship with Christ; we attempt to cross the sea; but, He goes to sleep, as we are sailing amidst the roaring of the waters, when amidst the strivings of our virtues, or amidst the attacks of evil spirits, of wicked men, or of our own thoughts, the flame of our love grows cold. Amongst storms of this sort, let us diligently strive to awake Him; He will soon restrain the tempest, pour down peace upon us, give us the harbour of salvation.

Matthew narrated this differently (Matt. 8:23–27) than Mark: what the one said at greater length, the other abbreviated, and conversely, what the first set forth briefly, the latter said at greater length.

After His teaching, they come from that place to the sea, and are tossed by the waves. Wherefore it is said, And the same day, when the even was come, &c.

Mystically, however, the hinder part of the ship is the beginning of the Church, in which the Lord sleeps in the body only, for He never sleepeth who keepeth Israel; for the ship with its skins of dead animals keeps in the living, and keeps out the waves, and is bound together by wood, that is, by the cross and the death of the Lord the Church is saved. The pillow is the body of the Lord, on which His Divinity, which is as His head, has come down. But the wind and the sea are devils and persecutors, to whom He says Peace, when He restrains the edicts of impious kings, as He will. The great calm is the peace of the Church after oppression, or a contemplative after an active life.