How strong is your faith?

Good News Reflection
Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 25, 2009

Today's Readings:
Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
Daniel 3:62-67 (with 59b)
Luke 21:12-19
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112509.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_25.mp3

How strong is your faith?

How strong is your faith? Don't measure it by how readily your prayers get answered. We often assume that "I didn't get the help I prayed for because I don't have enough faith. If I had prayed more faithfully, God would have given me what I ask for and everything would have turned out better." Or, "I can't hear God, I can't be sure of what he's telling me, because my faith is weak, and that's why my life is not going as smoothly as it should."

No, our hearing might be weak or our ability to trust what the Lord is saying or doing might not be as strong as it should be, but faith is not measured by how easily our problems are solved. Faith is measured, as Jesus points out in today's Gospel reading, by our perseverance.

What are you willing to endure for the sake of the kingdom of God? Where's your breaking point? Can you endure a little longer, go a little farther, and persevere by relying on the strength of Jesus when you don't feel strong enough to continue the journey?

How much persecution are you willing to put up with at work because of your faith, and are you willing to risk your job when you're asked to do something unethical and you know you should refuse? How much grief from your family are you willing to tolerate (without retaliating) when they criticize you for going to Mass during a family gathering? How in love with Jesus in the Eucharist are you when tempted to leave the Church because priests or other Church leaders cause damage and no healing intervention comes?

Perseverance means going the extra mile for God. If we let hardships, injustices, and persecutions turn us away from that journey, we've given our lives over to the control of the unfaithful. But when we persist on the path of holiness, we walk beyond the trouble-makers. The friends and family and co-workers who do not understand our faith might try to use fear or discouragement to manipulate us, but our faith won't let them have that power.

A strong faith is a determination to be holy regardless of the reactions of others. Determination gives us the stamina and courage to put our faith into action regardless of the obstacles. A strong faith lasts beyond reason, beyond common sense, beyond comfort, beyond worldly wisdom, beyond the natural instinct to seek vengeance for injustices or to quit. And this is the kind of faith that provides us with peace even while we're still waiting for our prayers to make a difference.

If your faith isn't this strong, turn to the Holy Spirit and make him your closest ally and support. Ask for supernatural perseverance. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:9). Since the Spirit of God dwells within us, we have all the faith that Jesus has.

© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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