Friar’s Corner: Prayer and a mustard seed

Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR

Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10

I see great hope in this week‘s scriptures. God has an ultimate plan for us. He doesn’t want us to get discouraged if we don’t see events unfolding as we would like. We call on the three theological virtues we all received at our Baptism: faith, hope and charity.

In our payers over the years certain psalms have touched our hearts. These are my favorites: Psalm 23 (the Good Shepherd), Psalm 27 (The Lord is my light and my salvation), Psalm 34 (Taste and see the goodness of the Lord) and Psalm 95, today.

This psalm is a three-level prayer. The first part is singing joyfully to God with thanksgiving. After we do that, we bow down in worship for Jesus is our shepherd and we are the flock he guides. As we proceed in prayer, we move into a type of silence as we relax into silence. Then we wait to hear God or Jesus speak to us. It does take a little while to quiet ourselves down from all the noise and business of our surroundings.

As Jesus speaks to us, we want to listen with open hearts, not hardened ones. These levels are growth in our conversation with God. Our Lord has many wonderful blessings for us.

In our gospel story today, those closest to Jesus ask him to “increase their faith.” Jesus tells them a little story (parable) about a master and his servant. Jesus speaks of a deeper faith the size of a very small mustard seed.“We could say to a mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey.’”

Religious faith is a confidence in what God has told us and what kind of power his words and kingdom could become in our lives. As I am at a Charismatic Conference in Philadelphia, PA, I shall be praying for all of us that our faith can be a great confidence in the power God has given us. Have a faith-filled week.

Blessings,

Father Bob Hilz
fbhilz@gmail.com

(© 2019 Father Bob Hilz, TOR)