It is 2nd October 2016. We are in twenty-seventh Sunday of the Ordinary Time. The readings are from Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; the second reading from 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; and the Gospel from Luke 17:5-10. The three readings invite us to flame our faith in order to face all struggles we go through in our lives. The first reading teaches us that our faith is the only answer during the time of suffering and despair. So many persons suffer right in front of our eyes in the struggles for truth, freedom and dignity of the human person and more so of poverty. The end for the wicked is so terrible and very near while all those who obey God and God’s commandments will have life of blessings here and thereafter. Our faithfulness to God will pay us in times of suffering, pain and hopelessness. The responsorial Psalm prays, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Ps.95:8). St. Pauls encourages us to “bear our share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Faith must be witnessed in our living. Faith is the unmerited and gratuitous gift from God. Our faith in Jesus must not allow us to have a spirit of timidity or a spirit of anxiousness about the future. It is, rather, the Spirit of power and love and self-control which is a divine gift. In the Gospel, seeing the unwavering faith of Jesus in the Father, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. It is not the quantity that matters for Jesus but the quality does. The abundance of faith comes by humble service to the Lord. More we give, more shall we receive. The impossible becomes possible with our cooperation with the Lord. The quest for the increase of faith must not merely end in the knowledge of the doctrines and finding new theology rather it has to be ploughed into ourselves and around to have deeper and stronger trust and confidence to face the trials and tribulations with the maturity we grow in Christ. However little faith we have, we just need to put the faith in action. Only then do we increase our faith. Faith in multiple verbs do not increase our faith. Faith with multiple services to the humanity does increase. Faith truly increases in unselfish service, obedience to God’s Word, and in the environment of peace and nonviolent respect for the other. Compromising with the Evil weakens our faith. The world around us always proposes alternatives to our faith; if we are not observant and careful, we would end up losing that little mustard seed size of our faith. May you have a good day.

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