MONDAY OCTOBER 16, 2023
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY EIGHTH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME A
St. Hedwig Religious (Opt Mem)
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Opt Mem)
Roman 1:1-7
Luke 11:29-32
We still find many who move from one miracle centre to another, desperately hoping to find answers to their problems and situations. They transgress many kilometers, visiting supposedly “super priests” and “super ministers”, making promises and vows and engaged in even the events of the miracle worker as if God is no more present in their parish community, especially in their parish Eucharistic celebration, in their tabernacles and even in their grottos.
These kind of people are addressed today’s gospel as Jesus warns them to end their superficial faith and trust more in God who is able to do much more than we can ever think or imagine.
Saint Paul’s greetings in his letter to the Roman, our first reading today, gives a greater analysis of the kind of faith we must hold. It is a faith in which at the centre is Jesus Christ, prophesied by the great prophets of all. Jesus who came in the flesh as man but also “designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” What marks Jesus as our deliverer and Saviour is his death and resurrection. He suffered for us, giving us life and reason to live. Though He is God, yet he came to take away our problems and restore our union with God. By his resurrection, we gain new life, new power, new relationship in him.
And by this instance, Saint Paul also calls our attention to the fact that we have been made disciples and apostles of the good news and ambassadors of Jesus Christ. And this is better expressed in our faith. So there is absolutely no reason why we must not hold and develop stronger faith in him.
Jesus in the gospel therefore urges us to rise from superficial faith in him to greater and more enhanced faith in his mysteries. He admonished the people of his time using the story of Solomon being visited by the Queen of Sheba as well as the preaching of Jonah which the Ninevites accepted and got converted and received forgiveness of their sins as well as preservation from the impending doom that would have visited them.
Our faith could do much more than these, if we grow it, accept it and live it out to the amazement of the people of our time too. There is therefore no need to continue looking for signs, expecting extraordinary manifestations before we believe and trust in the provident and benevolent powers of our God.
Let us keep faith alife, trusting always in Christ Jesus, living with ever trustful heart in our prayers and meditations before him. He listens, he hears and he will answer our heart yearnings at his own time.
Heavenly Father, we begin this week by your power. We thank you for the gift of faith in you. We place all our trust in you, asking that you increase our faith. May we never have any reason to doubt your capacity to save and deliver us. Keep us faithful in attending to our faith and may we live proclaiming same faith in our words and actions and in every situations of our lives through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
