deeper faith or else
"Jesus then said in reply, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass.' That very moment her daughter got better." —Matthew 15:28
Because the Lord loves us (Jer 31:3), He wants to show us His mercy (Jer 31:3) by giving us rest (Jer 31:2) and restoration (Jer 31:4). To accept these expressions of His love, we must repent of our sins and let the Lord run our lives completely. This is done by faith, and the greater the faith, the better.
Pope John Paul II has observed that most of the mammoth problems we face in the culture of death are symptoms. The cause of abortion, starvation, violence, racism, family breakdown, ethnic hatred, and many other evils is a lack of faith. The crisis of faith is the cause of most other crises. Jesus' question remains: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Lk 18:8, our transl)
If we cry out to Jesus, He will help our lack of faith (Mk 9:24). The Holy Spirit will build our faith through God's word (Rm 10:17) and through the sufferings we endure in obeying His word (see 1 Pt 1:6-7). Then, as men and women of faith, we will move mountains (Mt 17:20) and be victorious over the world (1 Jn 5:5). We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8).
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to give me the gift (1 Cor 12:9) and fruit of faith (Gal 5:22).
Promise: "The Lord has delivered His people." —Jer 31:7
Praise: Pope St. Sixtus II had been pope only one year when he and four deacons were arrested and executed for their faith.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape, Spiritual Anorexia, on audio AV 58-3 or video V-58.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 7, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 12, 2002