FAITH IS A GRACIOUS GIFT
Faith is a gracious gift God
gives us for overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of doing His will.
Saint Gregory the Great wrote
these words in a reflection that is fitting for today's Gospel: "A root is
produced from the seed, a shoot from the root, fruit from the shoot, and a seed
is produced in the fruit. Let us say, then, that the seed lies hidden within the
seed." Why, then, is it therefore wonderful if He who daily restores from
a small seed the wood, fruit and leaves in the great mass of a tree, produces
bones, nerves, flesh and hair from dust?
Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI,
tells us that "Faith is a liberation of my 'I' from its preoccupation with
self... a breaking out of the isolation that is the malady of my 'I'." Faith
increases when we are willing to bear our "share of hardship for the
Gospel with the strength that comes from God" (2 Tm 1:8b). A vision of
faith "presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint" (Hb 2:3).
Faith of this intensity, even if only as small as a mustard seed, makes
miracles happen!
Jesus Christ spoke of faith
as something dynamic, active and very alive. Faith is a gracious gift God gives
us for overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of doing His will. It enables
us to cooperate with God's grace and loving power for accomplishing whatever He
wants us to do. To illustrate the powerful force of faith, Jesus used the image
of an uprooted tree. Have you ever seen an uprooted tree caused by a sudden
wind storm? On another occasion, Jesus illustrates the force of faith with the
incredible image of a mountain transplanted: "For truly, I say to you, if
you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move
from here to there,' and it will move; nothing will be impossible to you"
(Mt 17:20)!
Don't we often encounter
challenges and difficulties that are hard to handle in our lives? However, what
appears to be impossible for us as humans is possible to those of us that
believe in God's ways. Faith is a gift freely given by God to help us grow in
our faith and come to know Him personally, to understand His truth, and to live
in the power of His love.
We read from the psalmist
today, "Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of
our salvation" (Ps 95:1)!