Isaiah 43:1-3, 4 & 5, Habbakuk 2:4, 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14, Luke 17:5-10

Isaiah 43:1-3, 4 & 5

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you.

When you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through fire,

you will not be burned;

neither will the flames consume you.

3 For I am your savior,

I, Yahweh, your God,

the Holy One of Israel.

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

4 Since you are precious in my sight,

and important – for I have loved you,

I give people in exchange for you

and nations in return for your life.

5 Fear not, for I am with you:

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

My Beloved, thank You for this wonderful assurance once again that I need not be afraid because I belong to You.  You have redeemed with Your Life.  I am precious in Your sight.  You watch over me tenderly and no evil would dare to come near me because You have claimed as Your own.

Habbakuk 2:4

4 I don’t look with favor on the one who gives way; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness.”

Beloved, faith is not passive.  It has to be lived, believed.  It is a spark that can be fanned by the Holy Spirit into an all consuming fire if we so desire it.  We cannot let it lie unused.  If we do, we risk losing everything in this life and more importantly our souls will be lost eternally.  You give us every grace and help we need.  You give us our own guradian angel to intercede for us and protect us.  These powerful creatures are for our help, they are ours to command.  These beautiful, supernatural, spiritual beings have been created solely for the benefit of our salvation and to crown it all, You put at our disposal Your own Holy Spirit, so if we are lost, it will not be because You have not made available to us every possible means known to Your infinite wisdom and love to save us, as if laying down Your life was not enough.

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

6 For this reason I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you re­ceived through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. 8 Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the con­trary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God.

13 Follow the pattern of the sound doctrine which you have heard from me, concerning faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Keep this precious deposit with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

Beloved, faith is a gift available to us in plentiful supply from the moment  we are baptised.  The frequent use of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist serve to increase our faith through grace.  The bolder we are in exercising our faith, the stronger it will grow and the more confident we will become to see our faith working with power when we put it to action.  Unfortunately, we are too timid and me most of all.  You have not given us a spirit of bashfulness and timidity as St. Paul tells us, but a Spirit of boldness.  We make You out to be a liar when we are timorous and we shy away from stepping up to the plate and doing and being what You have called us to do and be.

Luke 17:5-10

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, 6 “If you have faith even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree: ‘Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea,’ and it will obey you.7 Who among you would say to your servant coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep: ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? 8 No, you tell him: ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink afterwards.’ 9 Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded? 10 So for you. When you have done all that you have been told to do, you must say: ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”