Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
How Big is your Faith?
Today's Gospel gives us a challenge to reflect on: How big our faith is? We see disciples failing to cast out the demon that possessed a boy. And when they asked Jesus why they could not cast the demon away, Jesus responded by calling them a faithless and perverse generation and that it is because of their little faith that they could not cast out the demon. According to Jesus, if they had had faith big as the mustard seed, they would even move mountains.
According to Origen, "The mountains here spoken of, in my opinion, are the hostile powers that have their being in a flood of great wickedness, such as are settled down, so to speak, in some souls of various people. But when someone has total faith, such that he no longer disbelieves in anything found in holy Scripture and has faith like that of Abraham, who so believed in God to such a degree that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), then he has all faith like a grain of mustard seed. Then such a man will say to this mountain - I mean in this case the deaf and dumb spirit in him who is said to be epileptic - 'Move from here to another place.' It will move. This means it will move from the suffering person to the abyss...
The apostle, taking this as his starting point, said with apostolic authority, 'If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains' (1 Corinthians 13:2). For he who has all faith - which is like a grain of mustard seed - moves not just one mountain but also more just like it. And nothing will be impossible for the person who has so much faith. Let us examine also this statement: 'This kind is not cast out except through prayer and fasting' (Mark 9:29). If at any time it is necessary that we should be engaged in the healing of one suffering from such a disorder, we are not to adjure nor put questions nor speak to the impure spirit as if it heard. But [by] devoting ourselves to prayer and fasting, we may be successful as we pray for the sufferer, and by our own fasting we may thrust out the unclean spirit from him." (Excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13.7.19)
Most times we pray, and we see nothing happening, we don't get what we pray for, or we don't bring any effects in the lives of people we are praying for. We may think God is not listening to our prayers or He is asleep. However, this is not the case. Jesus tells us it's because of our little faith. More still, we may be praying badly, or we pray for what is not good for us, for others and for the service of God. Perhaps today we should ask ourselves, how big is our faith? Do we pray with real and genuine faith? Or do we pray to test God? Today's Gospel tells us that faith is the only thing for our prayer to bring effect is faith. Faith however is not a condition for miracles to be done nor is it as a result of miracles, faith is itself the power that makes the miracles or brings in effect our prayers. So, faith is power we need for our prayer to take effect.
The apostles go out and think they can cure people, but they forget the secret ingredient – faith. It is not the apostles who are doing the work; it is God working through them. Could it be that they had forgotten this fact and fell into presumption? How often do we have a great time at prayer, only to walk out the door and return to our self-centeredness? We have no power aside from Christ. Put your faith into action. Make sure your actions are done with Christ and through Christ. We cannot do anything without faith in Christ.
May we pray that God may increase our faith always. Often times, we expect God to respond to our expectations. Today, we are being given the right attitude to all the burdens we bear. It is not enough to make your requests to God. We must keep waiting in great faith for God to answer our prayers. Reflect today on how big your faith is. How have you put this faith in action? Pray for the Holy Spirit that whatever you do may be guided by faith and perseverance in the mission of Christ.
Let us Pray.
Lord Jesus may I, by your grace, grow deeper and deeper in faith daily so that I may be able to do the same deeds you did when you were here on earth and what you are still doing in our lives. Amen
Be blessed.
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