Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 5, 2019

Homily for Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 5, 2019

Growing Faith

            Is it reasonable to have faith? The Apostles want more faith – but what does “faith” even mean? Is God just a “magical sky fairy” (as some atheists refer to Him) or does it make sense to believe?

            Faith, at its core, is believing something on the basis of someone else’s testimony. For example, if I tell you that I went to Paris in 2012, you will likely believe me, but you will take it on faith. Perhaps someone will say, “I need proof!” And then I could show my passport, or plane ticket. But what if I say, “I ate roast duck in Paris in 2012” (which I actually did) – that would be a lot harder – if not impossible - to prove. And you would just have to take my word for it.

            In the same way, there are a few things we know about God from human reason – basically we know THAT He exists. We can logically know that creation needs a Creator, and that a design needs a Designer. But who is this Creator, this Designer? We only know because God has revealed Himself to human beings.

            Starting with Abraham, then through Moses, David, and the Prophets, God continually revealed Himself to us. That is how we learned that He is merciful and forgiving; that is how we learned what we must do to please Him (the 10 Commandments). The ultimate revelation came through Jesus Christ – He revealed everything about God to His Apostles, and entrusted them with the task of passing it on.

            So the basic question of faith is – do we believe the testimony of these people? Do we believe that Abraham, Moses, and the prophets really spoke with God? Do we believe that the Apostles really saw Christ rise from the dead? We can believe these people who have experienced God in two ways. First, we consider the people themselves – were the Apostles trustworthy? I believe they were. They would have no reason to lie or make up such a fanciful story. They were flawed, weak, fearful men who were immediately transformed into powerful, courageous preachers because they obviously experienced something. If it wasn’t the Resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, what would have caused such a transformation? Also, consider what they gained from their testimony about Jesus – only hard work, suffering, and eventual martyrdom. This makes me think that it’s not a lie and it’s not the preaching of a madman – the Apostles must have really encountered God through Jesus.

            A second way in which we can believe is the existence of miracles – proofs of God’s power. I know in today’s modern world we tend to be skeptical about miracles – and I personally tend to be quite skeptical! A few years ago when I was at St. Mary’s in Stamford, we had a special celebration for the feast of Padre Pio. Afterward, there was a reception in the church hall and I noticed a crowd had gathered around one particular table. I went up to the table and saw a window pane on it – just a single part of a window. I asked what it was, and a woman responded with awe, “Don’t you see it? It’s an image of the Virgin Mary in the window! It’s a miracle!” I looked again – it was a smudge that could only be considered an image of Mary by the most far-fetched imagination. I must’ve smirked because the woman huffed and said, “Those priests! They never believe!”
            But miracles ARE real! The parting of the Red Sea was a real, historical event – as evidenced by Egyptian chariot wheels that archeologists have found at the bottom of the Red Sea! The Resurrection was a real, historical event, as evidenced by the Shroud of Turin and the empty tomb. I absolutely believe in miracles – both in the Scriptures, and throughout history even until the modern day.

            For example, back in 2013 in Poland, a priest dropped a consecrated Eucharistic Host on the floor during Mass. He placed it in a basin of water, and a day later a red splotch was found on it. It was sent to two university laboratories in Poland, without telling the scientists where it came from. They identified it as human cardiac tissue (from the heart) with evidence that the tissue was damaged due to great physical trauma. The bishop then asked them to examine the possibility that it was not actually human tissue but a bacteria or mold that caused the red splotch. The scientists stated definitively that the red tissue was not from bacteria or mold, but was human flesh. The Vatican declared in 2016 that this is a legitimate miracle, the most recent of over 150 verified Eucharistic miracles in history.

            Now, one may argue, “Okay, but modern-day miracles do not prove that our Catholic Faith is true.” And – they are right. It is not proof, but evidence. What’s the difference? Proof means that it must exist – there is no way it could be opposite. So 2+2 must equal 4 – and any other answer would be wrong. Evidence, on the other hand, helps to strengthen our belief but does not prove it. For example, I believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist because of what Jesus said in the Scriptures, and because of the Eucharistic Miracles throughout history, and because it has been the consistent teaching of the Church throughout history. But none of this evidence is the same as scientific proof – there is no way that we can prove, scientifically and beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is there in the Eucharist. This is where faith comes in – we consider the evidence from Scripture and Tradition, and we give our assent to truth, not because we can prove it ourselves, but because we believe the testimony of the Gospel writers and the Church and the scientists that examined the Eucharistic miracles.

            So, if faith is necessary, we must seek to possess it and grow in it! The Apostles beg the Lord, “Increase our faith!” As I used to tell the teens at Trinity, faith is a living thing – if you feed it, it will grow, and if you starve it, it will die. Some teens used to complain that they came back from their first year of college and have lost their faith – but it’s no wonder why, since those teens didn’t attend Mass or bible study or Catholic fellowship while at college! How can we feed our faith? Some ways include: attending Mass, daily prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, reading Scripture or other spiritual books, going to talks and bible study and youth group, having Christian fellowship, listening to Christian music. It’s not rocket science: if you feed your faith, it will grow. If you do not feed your faith, it will die.

            And if we feed our faith just the bare minimum, it will be stunted. St. Paul instructs Timothy to “stir into flame” the gift he has received – the gift of faith! If we do not “stir it into flame” and help our faith in God to grow, then it will stay small. The person who attends Sunday Mass but does nothing else throughout the week – that person’s faith is stunted and small! One might say, “Well, I’m doing what the Church requires.” But in our Gospel today, Jesus has some sharp words for those who only do what is required – he says that they are “unprofitable, useless servants”.  Let’s not be useless servants or have stunted faith. Rather, let us feed our faith, since we want it to grow, to flourish, and to bear the fruits of holiness in our lives.