Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Today’s gospel passage from St. Luke begins with the apostles’ request of Jesus: “Increase our faith” (Lk 17:5). Does their simple petition not capture the deepest longing of our own hearts? Isn’t that our prayer as well? “Lord, increase my faith.”

How do we go about increasing our faith? Wait, let’s stop right there! Faith is not something that simply comes about by anything that we do. The disciples had the right answer. They implored the Lord to grant them faith. We begin by making an act of belief in God in response to his action in our lives and then the gift of faith grows in us through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at faith in our everyday experience. How do we come to have faith in other people, in family, in friends or in colleagues? We spend time with them. We come to know them and place our trust in them through repeated encounters that prove their fidelity and truthfulness —particularly when they stick by our side during difficult times. How, then, do we come to have faith in God, in One we cannot see? Fr. Jacques Philippe maintains that it is through prayer—especially praying with the scriptures—that our faith increases. He wrote “Faith is the capacity of believers to act not according to impressions, preconceived ideas, or notions borrowed from other people, but according to what they are told by the Word of God, who cannot lie.” (Time for God, p. 9). As St. Augustine put it, “Believe in order to understand.” Faith is not a matter of acquiring the right kind of knowledge. It is about entering into a relationship of trust and love.

Throughout the entire Old and New Testament, we read about God’s fidelity toward his chosen people. This is so powerfully summarized in the letter to the Hebrews (10:23), “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.” As we spend time in prayer with the scriptures, our relationship with Christ deepens and we come to recognize him as one whose promises are “trustworthy.” And it is through frequent and regular encounters with the Lord in prayer that our faith grows in strength.

What small step can I take today to deepen my relationship with Jesus and come to know his faithfulness and merciful love?

Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB