Lord, Increase Our Faith!
Introduction; May you continue to seek to use the talents and gifts that GOD has given you for the Good of those around you.
We often say of certain individuals that they are gifted. We say they have specific qualities that others do not have. If they are “gifted” then they must have received those “gifts” from a Giver. How true that is. But it is only part of the truth. The full truth is that GOD, the Divine Giver, gifts everyone, each in a particular way or ways. There is also a difference between a gift and a charism. People who use their special abilities for their own benefit have gifts. A charism is the God-given skill that one uses not just for one’s own benefit, but also, and particularly, for the Good of others. Yes, a gift can be a charism if it is used in the service of others. In a similar way, a charism that is practiced selfishly is only a gift, since it does not benefit all those for whom GOD gave the ability.
What is/are your charism(s)? How are you using the charism(s) in the service of others? GOD is calling you to use those charisms to build up the Body of Christ.
Being faithful is not always easy, but it is our duty as disciples of the Lord Jesus. Habakkuk, the prophet in the First Reading, begins his book by questioning GOD concerning the impending Babylonian forces threatening the kingdom of Judah. GOD responds by telling Habakkuk to faithfully await the coming of GOD’s saving plan. The Responsorial challenges the people to faithfully listen to GOD’s voice and not harden their hearts. St. Paul, in his Second Letter to Timothy, urges the young leader to remain faithful to the calling that was signed forth (symbolized - “sacramentalized”) by Paul’s imposition of hands on Timothy. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the power of one who is faithful and the calling of faithful servant to do what is expected and not to expect rewards for doing what is asked or what is required.
First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4: ‘The righteous shall
live by his faith.’
Commentary: This fascinating
passage has two entirely different meanings; the first is the meaning of the original
Hebrew prophet, the second is the meaning of ‘faith’ in the gospels. The drift of
the passage in the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk is endurance. ‘Make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner made read it’ – that is, as you whisk past, running your Marathon,
you see an encouraging placard in the crowd, ‘Keep it up!’, ‘Keep going!’ So, the
message in the last line is that, however tough and unpromising the course, the
righteous person lives by endurance, perseverance, fidelity. The message was originally
intended to keep up the spirits of the Jews as the Babylonian armies approached:
it will be tough, but stick it out, for the LORD will not desert you. However, the
Apostle Paul is using the Greek translation of the Hebrew text – of course he is
writing in Greek – which reads ‘the righteous person lives by fidelity/faith’. Paul
uses the text in Romans 1.17 and Galatians 3.11 to prove that justification is by
faith. Luther adds a further complication by adding, without justification, ‘alone’:
‘the righteous person lives by faith alone’. For Paul, faith expresses itself in
action.
Responsorial: Psalm 95:1-2. 6-7b. 7c-9: O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
The psalmist today chides the faithful to listen to GOD’s
message and be more faithful than their ancestors who heard GOD’s voice and
hardened their hearts to GOD’s message. Those who respond to GOD’s Word, even
though it may be challenging, will bow down in worship rather than test GOD by
turning away from the LORD.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14: ‘Do not be ashamed
of the testimony about our Lord.’
Commentary: The letters
addressed to Timothy and Titus, those two central members of Paul’s staff, are generally
considered not to have been written by Paul. However, they are all part of the inspired
word of God, and a handful of reputable scholars considers that Second Timothy is
indeed by Paul. In 1 Corinthians 16.10-11 the Corinthians are urged to treat Timothy
gently, and here again the author seems to be encouraging Timothy himself against
timidity; perhaps he was a naturally hesitant person. One of the principal emphases
of all three letters is the adherence to ‘sound teaching’: they are encouraged not
to show initiative but to keep to the tradition already established. This is, of
course, already implied by the laying on of Paul’s hands, for a Jewish rabbi would
learn much by heart, and at the end of his training was commissioned to carry on
the tradition in the name of his own teacher. Such methods would have been important
for the preservation of the teaching of Jesus during the Pauline period, before
it came to be written down in the Gospels.
Gospel: Luke 17:5-10: ‘If you had faith.’
Commentary: The two sections of this Gospel reading appear at first sight to be entirely separate, the first about faith, the second about the reward of service; but they do fit together. The faith required consists not in reciting a creed but in hanging on by one’s finger-tips, through thick and thin, to God’s power and will to save. In nothing else is there any hope, not in my own power or ability. That is why, in the second section, we have no right to expect any sort of reward as our due from God. Our work is valueless; only our admission of helplessness and our trust in God’s power can save us. However, not all parables should be taken as allegories. The severe master here is not necessarily God, any more than the master who in another parable praises his crooked steward. When we hear the unyielding command of the master to the slave to expect nothing and to set about serving at supper, we cannot forget that at the Last Supper it was Jesus who put on his apron and washed his disciples’ feet. We may be worthless slaves, but this gives us confidence that our Master ministers to us.
Reflection: How strong is your faith in God and how can you grow in it? Faith is not something vague, uncertain, undefinable, or something which requires a leap of the imagination or worse, some kind of blind allegiance. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Faith is a response of trust and belief in what is reliable, truthful, certain, and real. To have faith is to believe and trust in someone or something. We believe in the power of electricity even though we can't visibly see it with the naked eye. We know we can tap into that power and use it to do things we could not do by our own human power. Faith in God works in a similar way.
When God reveals himself to us he gives us the "assurance" and "conviction" that his power and presence and glory is just as real, and even more real, than our experience of the natural physical world around us (Letter to the Hebrews 11:1-3). Things around us change, but God never changes. He is constant, ever true to his word, and always faithful to his promises (Psalm 145:13, Hebrews 10:23). That is why we can have the greatest assurance of his unconditional love for us and why we can hope with utter conviction that he will give us everything he has promised. Jesus is God's visible proof that his word is reliable and true - his love is unfailing and unconditional - and his power is immeasurably great and unlimited.
The Holy Spirit helps us to grow in expectant faith: What did Jesus mean when he said to his disciples that our faith can move trees and mountains as well (see Matthew17:20; Mark 11:23)? The term "mountain remover" was used for someone who could solve great problems and difficulties. Don't we often encounter challenges and difficulties which seem beyond our power to handle? What appears impossible to human power is possible to those who believe in God's power. Faith is a gift freely given by God to help us know God personally, to understand his truth, and to live in the power of his love. God expects more from us than we can simply do by ourselves. That is why Jesus gives us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit who helps us to grow strong in faith, persevere in hope, and endure in love.
Faith in God is the key for removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from doing his will. We belong to God and our lives are no longer our own. Our joy and privilege is to follow the Lord Jesus and to serve in the power of his love and goodness. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to work in and through us by his Spirit for his glory. For our faith to be effective it must be linked with trust and with obedience - an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever he commands. Do you trust in the grace and strength which God freely gives to help us resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in doing his will?
Parable of the faithful servant who is indebted to God: Are you ready to give the Lord your best, regardless of what it might cost you? Perhaps we are like the laborer in Jesus' parable who expected special favor and reward for going the extra mile (Luke 17:5-10)? How unfair for the master to compel his servant to give more than what was expected! Don't we love to assert our rights: "I will give only what is required and no more!" But who can satisfy the claims of love and loyalty? Our lives are not our own - they belong to God who has ransomed us from slavery to sin with the precious blood of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18).
Jesus used this parable of the dutiful servant to explain that we can never put God in our debt or make the claim that God owes us something. We must regard ourselves as God's servants, just as Jesus came "not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). Service of God and of our neighbor is both a voluntary or free act and a sacred duty. One can volunteer for service or be compelled to do service for one's country or for one's family when the call and need arises. Likewise, God expects us to serve him willingly and give him the worship, praise, and honor which is his due. And he gladly accepts the free-will offering of our lives to him as our Lord and Master. What makes our offering pleasing to God is the love we express in the act of self-giving. True love is always sacrificial, generous, and selfless - it is wholly directed to the one we love and serve.
The love of God compels us to give our best: How can we love God and others selflessly and unconditionally? Scripture tells us that God himself is love (1 John 4:16) - he is the author of life and the source of all true relationships of love and friendship. He created us in love for love, and he fills our hearts with the boundless love that gives all that is good for the sake of the beloved (Romans 5:5). If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (1 John 4:12).
God honors the faithful servant who loves and serves with a generous heart. He is ever ready to work in and through each one of us by his Spirit for his glory. We must remember, however, that God can never be indebted to us. We have no claim on him. His love compels us to give him our best! And when we have done our best, we have simply done our duty. We can never outmatch God in his immeasurable merciful love, his extravagant kindness and goodness, and his ever constant and unceasing care for us. The Scriptures remind us over and over again that God's love is steadfast, loyal, and lasts forever - it will never cease (Psalm 89, Psalm 100, Psalm 118, Psalm 136). Saint Augustine of Hippo writes, "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love." Does the love of God compel you to give your best to him with generous love and gratitude for all that he has done for you?
Lord Jesus, fill me with your consuming love and set my heart free to love generously and to serve selflessly. Fill me with gratitude for all you have done for me, and increase my faith and loyalty to you who are My All, My Strength, and My Life.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: To increase faith is to strengthen it by the Holy Spirit, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"They ask, 'Add faith to us.' They do not ask simply
for faith, for perhaps you might imagine them to be without faith. They rather
ask Christ for an addition to their faith and to be strengthened in faith.
Faith partly depends on us and partly is the gift of the divine grace. The
beginning of faith depends on us and our maintaining confidence and faith in
God with all our power. The confirmation and strength necessary for this comes
from the divine grace. For that reason, since all things are possible with God,
the Lord says that all things are possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23).
The power that comes to us through faith is of God. Knowing this, blessed Paul
also says in the first epistle to the Corinthians, 'For to one is given through
the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to
the same Spirit, and to another faith in the same Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:8).
You see that he has placed faith also in the catalog of spiritual graces. The
disciples requested that they might receive this from the Savior, contributing
also what was of themselves. By the descent upon them of the Holy Spirit, he
granted it to them after the fulfillment of the dispensation. Before the
resurrection, their faith was so feeble that they were liable even to the
charge of being 'little of faith'." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE,
HOMILIES 113-16)
Forest fires of the spirit?
“How long, O Lord? I cry for help but You do not listen!” —Habakkuk 1:2. Many of us are praying and complaining, as did the prophet Habakkuk, that our prayers are not being answered, that God is not helping us, and that we cannot continue in this way much longer. One of God’s most frequent answers to this complaint is: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift” of the Holy Spirit (2 Tm 1:6).
We don’t need the circumstances outside us to change as much as those inside. We have grieved the Holy Spirit through our sins (Eph 4:30). We have quenched the Spirit by giving in to fears (1 Thes 5:19), although “the Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit” (2 Tm 1:7). We must repent and live our Baptisms (Acts 2:38). Then we will see the smoldering remains of our life in the Spirit blaze into a blast furnace or even a forest fire of life-changing grace and world-renewing love.
What the world needs is Christians fully alive in the Holy Spirit. We need a new Pentecost. We need Christians docile to the Holy Spirit. We need Marian Christians who will invite the Spirit into their lives by saying: “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me as you say” (Lk 1:38). Stop complaining (see Phil 2:14). Stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, “increase our faith” (Lk 17:5). “Guard the
rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us.”
—2 Tm 1:14. Praise our risen Lord Jesus, Who holds “the keys of death and the
nether world” (Rv 1:18).
The personal question for
today: When I think of the fact
that I am being called by GOD to service (ministry), how do I react? Do I feel
burdened by the amount of work that is being expected of me? Do I think about
the benefits that I will receive when I finish my work? Or do I respond obediently
and faithfully, being conscious of all that GOD has already done for me? In
what way(s) am I being called to service (ministry)? What gifts has GOD already
given me and what gifts am I expected to use in my proclaiming the Good News to
others? How can I affirm the ministry (service) that other people are doing and
reassure them that they are responding to all the GOD has given them.
*Saint Maria Faustina
Kowalska: Saint Maria Faustina
Kowalska’s name is forever linked to the annual feast of the Divine Mercy, the
Divine Mercy chaplet, and the Divine Mercy prayer recited each day at 3 p.m. by
many people.
Born in what is now west-central Poland, Helena Kowalska was
the third of 10 children. She worked as a housekeeper in three cities before
joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. She
worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.
In addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously
serving the needs of the sisters and the local people, Sister Faustina also had
a deep interior life. This included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus,
messages that she recorded in her diary at the request of Christ and of her
confessors.
At a time when some Catholics had an image of God as such a
strict judge that they might be tempted to despair about the possibility of
being forgiven, Jesus chose to emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins
acknowledged and confessed. “I do not want to punish aching mankind,” he once
told Saint Faustina, “but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful
heart.” The two rays emanating from Christ’s heart, she said, represent the
blood and water poured out after Jesus’ death.
Because Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska knew that the
revelations she had already received did not constitute holiness itself, she
wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts
granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul
with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither
its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close
union of my will with the will of God.”
Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska died of tuberculosis in
Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993,
and canonized her seven years later.
Devotion to God’s Divine Mercy bears some resemblance to
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In both cases, sinners are encouraged
not to despair, not to doubt God’s willingness to forgive them if they repent.
As Psalm 136 says in each of its 26 verses, “God’s love [mercy] endures
forever.”
