Good morning, Good People,
May the Lord give you peace, and blessings in the Holy Spirit.
It is 09th August 2025. Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross—Edith Stein, virgin, and martyr—and as it is Saturday, we also honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. We reflect on Deuteronomy 6:4-13 and Matthew 17:14-20.
Saint Teresa Benedicta understood this profoundly. Being a Jew, she wore the spectacles of atheism, philosophy, and a restless quest until she embraced Jesus. For her, faith in Jesus was not an abstract idea but a fire that consumes through action. Her martyrdom at Auschwitz was not a tragedy but a witness of love and faith in Jesus.
Once, after her conversion, a woman asked Edith Stein, “How can I serve God? I am just a wife and mother, doing small things and without opportunity for public works.” Edith replied, “God doesn’t measure the size of the work but the depth of the love.”
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
It is not a mere command but a covenantal commitment. Faith is not optional but the very breath of our being. It is a self-surrender in love, embracing the truth.
Saint Teresa Benedicta once said: “Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love if it lacks truth.”
In the Gospel, a desperate father approached the disciples of Jesus to heal his son. They could not. Jesus corrected them: “Because of your little faith.”
When we approach the issues and challenges of our lives relying only on our skills and talents, we may not be able to solve them. But by channelling our faith in God in dealing with these challenges, we emerge victorious.
Jesus encourages us that even faith the size of a mustard seed could move mountains—mountains of doubt, pain, sin, fear, anxiety, failure, sickness, or whatever we face at this moment in our lives.
It is through a loving and experiential relationship with God that our personal life and conviction are repeatedly strengthened. That is the kind of faith that moves mountains and smashes the obstacles in our lives.
Unless we have faith that is active and alive, we cannot be effective servants of Christ.
May the Lord strengthen our faith in our daily encounters with the Risen Lord. Have a peaceful day.