Lord, increase our faith!
Homily given by Monsignor Michael Deering
October 2, 2022

There are many people who want to come into America ...

not just for a visit ... but to stay and live their lives here.

Why?

Why’s there an unending line of people at our Southern border seeking to come in?

I’m quite sure it’s because our country is seen as ... “a Land of Opportunity”.

Yes, people all around the world know that living in America gives them the chance to get an education and develop a skill or a trade that enables them enjoy a higher standard of living and enables them to acquire many desirable things ...

like homes and cars and trucks and clothes and food and many amenities.

They figure that all they have to do is apply themselves and success will be theirs.

They want to live the American dream that everything you see is available to you!

And you can have anything you want in life ...

as long as work hard and pay the price to get it.

They believe that if they just buckle down and study in school ...

they too can have a college degree and secure a nice paying job.

They believe that if they just put in enough practice time on the golf course or

   the Soccer field or the basketball court, they too can be a professional athlete.

They believe that if they just work hard enough at their job, then one day they too will be able to have all the things that America offers  … the grand home,

the fancy car, the tricked out Pick-up Truck, the toys and luxuries of this world. 

They adopt the belief of many Americans ... that everything has a price … 

and if you’re able to pay the price ... you can get ... whatever you want.

ln other words, everything that we desire can be earned or bought.

Well while that appears to be the case for many of the things in this world ... that is definitely not the case for acquiring another very desirable thing … called Heaven.

No ... you can’t earn Heaven ... and you can’t buy Heaven.

The only way to gain Heaven is by Grace ... the supernatural help of God.

and

the only way to gain Grace is by Faith ... the belief in Jesus, the Son of God.

You see, gaining the prize of Heaven is vastly different from

     gaining earthly prizes.

That’s because Heaven is God’s gift and God is vastly different from human beings

God is not a vending machine ...

where you put in your 4 quarters and out comes an ice cold can of coke!

God is the dispenser not of cold drinks ... but of Grace

Now, there’s simply no way for us to buy this grace.

And, there’s simply no way for us to earn this grace.

The only way to acquire this grace … is by faith!

Faith is the wondrous gift of God that enables us to attain the Gift of Heaven.

It too ... cannot be bought or earned... but only responded to.

It is the free gift of God that moves us to respond with works of love and service.  

What is faith?      Faith is the human response to Divine Truth.

                             Faith is our free response to God’s invitation to trust Him.

Faith is a free & humble act in which man admits of his radical insufficiency ...

and then places his Trust  and Confidence in ... the help of God.

In faith, man opens his arms to the saving advances of God,

which culminate in God’s wondrous promise ... of Eternal Life.

Faith is above all ... belief in Jesus!

Faith is believing that Jesus really came from God and is the Eternal Son of God.

St. Paul proclaims this today in Second Timothy saying, “Take as your norm the sound word that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Do you have full faith in Christ Jesus?        Is He Son of God and Savior to you?

Interestingly enough, those were the 3 Titles that emerged among Christians in the very early Church.      Jesus Christ ... Son of God ... Savior!

These three titles for Jesus were easily combined, becoming a creed and a prayer.

So all together in Greek, the Holy Name of Jesus plus these titles read:

• Iesous Christos Theou Yos Soter for       (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior)

Now the first letters of these five words form the Greek word ichthys (fish).

This is the reason that Christ is often pictured as a fish. It represents the acronym of the initials of His three famous titles, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Do you accept and honor those three titles?

If you can’t reply yes instantly ..., then you need to humbly ask God what the Apostles asked Jesus in today’s Gospel when they said, “Lord, increase our faith.”

You know, on one hand, it’s hard to imagine the Apostles making this request.

For they had the privilege of walking with Jesus for 3 years, during which time they got to see with their own eyes the many miracles He performed, and His mighty power over creation and yet they’re still asking Him to increase their faith in Him!

Well, we need to remember that, it wasn’t until after Jesus died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven that He sent the Holy Spirit into the world, descending first upon the Apostles, and bestowing on them the gifts of:   faith, hope and love.

Now in some way, the Apostles had developed a level of faith in Jesus, but still they were thirsty for more, which moved them to ask, “Lord, increase our faith.”

And the first thing that Jesus did in response to their request was to define ...

what great faith would look like.    He says,

“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree,

‘be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Wow! Imagine having faith like that!

Jesus indicates that it’s possible.

So, is faith important?

It’s extremely important …

for it’s the only way to bridge the gap between us & God …

        between the natural & the Supernatural.  

How are we saved?

We’re saved by Grace ... by the Supernatural Help of God!

How do we get Grace?      

By having Faith... in the one whom the Father sent to save us ... His Son, Jesus.

Recall the many Gospel accounts of Jesus healing people of some physical or mental or spiritual illness.  And after He cured them He said, “Your faith has saved you!”

Even the O.T. Prophet Habakkuk foretold this as he said today, “For the vision,  … presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. … the just one, because of his faith shall live.”

Yes, Faith is essential to being saved.

So, how do we increase our faith? Remember, we can’t buy it and we can’t earn it!

We increase our Faith when we become truly humble, and acknowledge that,

God alone is God ... and we are not!

Jesus tells His Apostles today, “When you have done all you have been commanded,

   say, ‘We have done what we were obliged to do.’”

It’s humility that helps us recognize that God alone is perfect …

and we are far from perfect!

No matter how good we think we are,

the difference between us and God is huge …

and the only way to approach Him is by grace.

You know, money can buy many things.

But ... there are some things that money just can’t buy …

money can’t buy grace ... or faith … or Heaven.

All of these are huge gifts from God.

You don’t buy them or earn them ... you merit to receive them.

God wants us to have them ... and He’s told us how to receive them …

    it’s by having faith in Him ... and in the One whom He sent ... His Son, Jesus.

This involves having humility and obedience which is why Jesus told them the parable of the servant coming in from the field and continuing to serve his master.

He wanted to show them ... and us ... that there is nothing we can do

 to make God indebted to us.

We need to understand our place in the grand scheme of things.

• God is the Creator; we are the creatures.
• God is the King; we are the subjects.
• God is the Master; we are the servants.

This is His creation; we are mere stewards of His creation.

We won’t be here long! 

Maybe a hundred years. But that’s nothing in the span of God’s creation.

Science tells us that the Sun has been burning for 4 Billion years ...

and will burn for another 4 Billion years!

So a human life of even 100 years is nothing but a spark in the continuum of time.

We’re here for but a moment in time to use the talents and abilities ...

that God has given us ... for His greater glory and honor.        

Everything we have and give to God is already His!

When we have done our best, we’ve done only what we’re supposed to do!

Faithfully going to Mass or praying the Rosary will not make God indebted to us. Even becoming a Priest or a Sister, is not doing anything special.

     The men and women who enter the religious life are simply living out

God’s plan for them. They’re only doing what they were supposed to do.

Understanding this will serve to keep us from getting too uppity, too swept up with ourselves.    Doing our duty does not mean we’re doing God a favor.

But we are responding in a way that will merit us the gift of Eternal Life with God.

As Jesus told His Apostles,     “You can eat and drink afterward.”

Here, Jesus assures us that God will indeed reward those who serve Him.

As we go forward, let’s make the words of the Apostles our own ...

regularly asking Jesus:     “Lord,  increase my faith.”

And then through humility and obedience allow Jesus to draw you closer and closer to Him in this life ... and ready to enjoy union with Him in Eternal Life.

You see ... entering into Heaven is way better than entering into America.

It is truly the place where you can get everything you’ll ever want!