give me the works
"He did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith." —Matthew 13:58
If we are seeing only occasional miracles in our lives, we should repent of our lack of faith. If we are seeing only a few people converted every few weeks (see Acts 17:34), we must repent because the Lord wants to give us a great harvest of conversions as He adds to our number daily (Acts 2:47). If we never go beyond moving mountains with our little faith (Mt 17:20), we should repent of not letting the seed of faith grow. In our watered-down, lukewarm Christianity, those things seen in the Bible as failures can appear to us to be successes. However, we must not settle for anything less than the total fulfillment of God's promises and the abundant life (Jn 10:10).
The Lord has promised us immeasurably more than we can ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20). Therefore, we must not expect anything less. The Lord has promised us: "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9). If we love Him, we must expect and receive the unseeable, unhearable, and the unthinkable. "Is it possible that He Who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?" (Rm 8:32)
Prayer: Father, may I let You do everything You want.
Promise: "I pray to You, O Lord, for the time of Your favor, O God! In Your great kindness answer me with Your constant help." —Ps 69:14
Praise: As a youngster, St. Alphonsus and his father went on retreats together. This seed bore great fruit as Alphonsus later became a bishop and a Doctor of the Church.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape Hold Fast to The Faith on AV 71-1 or video V-71.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 19, 2014
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.