"Earth-Moving Faith" - 27th Sunday Homily

If God offered you a choice of an increase in faith or an increase in patience, what would you choose?

He's going to offer both two weeks from today, well, yesterday.

On the 18th, our parish retreat, he's going to offer you both an increase in faith and in patience any time you make a retreat, even for just a one day retreat.

That's a step forward in faith, the God will increase.

But our theme is patience and how to grow in the virtue of patience.

So as you leave today, you saw the tent coming in.

There's questions if you have them.

ways to sign up for it.

It's right here on the parish grounds, beautiful place to get quiet and to hear the Lord and to grow in relationship with him.

The apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith.

If you think about it, they're commanding Him.

Increase our faith.

Get bold with your prayer.

Command God.

That's what Jesus, when he teaches us to pray, he gives commands in the Lord's prayer.

When we pray, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed thy name, and we're thinking about, how are going to get the parking lot to do all the cars, then we've got the animal

blessing, and all that.

Think about the words you're saying, you're telling God, deliver us from evil, give us this day, forgive us.

We're commanding God.

The apostles command Jesus, increase our faith.

But it indicates a desire for more faith, stronger faith, and openness.

that He answered their command.

He did what they commanded.

Because when they became apostles, when they were actually sent, they were driving out demons, were curing sick and preaching and teaching with authority and power.

He says if you have this kind of faith, well he says actually if have the faith the size of a mustard seed, the smallest seed, you can uproot a tree.

In Matthew's Gospel he says you can move mountains.

So he increased their faith to where they moved mountains as he did.

And we hear this scenario.

That's why I'm saying get bold with your prayer like he did.

Because you can move mountains too.

Amen.

You and I can move mountains too with faith.

Faith can move mountains.

Faith can move hearts.

Ladies, I've seen faith move the hearts of men here.

That's like greater than moving mountains.

No offense guys.

One man went on a retreat a year two ago and he was really moved by Eucharistic adoration.

A lot of the burdens he had been carrying for years fell away.

He gave them to the Lord as he should have done, as he was trying to do.

In adoration they went away and he was relieved of the burdens.

He's been in adoration ever since and a regular in our chapel.

Faith moved one of our young adults to become Catholic.

And she and her boyfriend were engaged right here at our grotto.

Part of the first engagement we ever had.

Proposal on our property.

And her ring resembles the monstrance in the Adoration Chapel.

That's how much she loves the Eucharist.

Faith moved one of our parishioners to help the homeless man on 28.

I've heard lot about this guy the last week or so.

have not seen him or met him.

But I've heard from passers by by, our parishioner helped him significantly.

A lot of people tell me that that's the only one I've heard to stop and help.

These are the mountains that faith can move in us.

even small faith, the size of a mustard seed.

Now the beautiful thing, Cameron, Anne, is that you receive faith of small.

We all get to witness God giving you faith through the water, the water of baptism.

And I always think that the size of faith of baptism is the size of a mustard seed.

And yet it has great power.

And then your brother Dylan, making his first communion at this very mass, that's how God grows the faith given to baptism through the Eucharist.

Again, we have an image of a mustard seed, something very small and so powerful.

You all might be before your time.

Have seen Spider-Man?

No.

Don't talk to us.

We're nervous already.

Why are you us questions?

This isn't fair.

Spider-Man may be before your time.

The line from Spider-Man, movie, where there's great power comes great responsibility.

With great power comes great responsibility, the same as faith.

especially when God grows a faith.

He asks more of us when our faith grows.

There's more faith, there's more power, and more obligation and duty.

It's like parents around the house, you ask more of your kids as they grow older.

More responsibilities, more duties.

And kids, you do have a duty to help around the house, to serve your parents, because it's a gift to live in your home.

So all of us as kids of God, whether our faith is small, we have small obligations and duties, or our faith is larger and we have bigger responsibilities and duties, all of us

are unprofitable servants, unworthy servants, who are merely doing what we are obliged to do because of the gift of faith.