Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time ,Year C Luke 17,5-10

Many of us have trouble shopping. There are many goods, but you have to look for the best one, so we are willing to go to the whole city for it and, if necessary, stand in line for a long time. We refer to some products as “semifinished products.” It is already clear from the name that they are not quite finished, and therefore, they need to be completed. Many of us are certainly used to them, and when we have to make a quick lunch or dinner, they will serve us. Our faith is also an unfinished thing that needs to be continually completed. But it is not as simple as with a semifinished product. It is never “finished “; you have to work on it all your life. Perhaps someone will say, “But I have it firm and unwavering!” Is that really the case? The apostles teach us a nice lesson. They turned to Jesus with a request: “Give us more faith! “

Imagine those disciples who lived daily with Jesus for three years, walked with him, saw his miracles, and witnessed his fascinating manifestations. These disciples ask for the strengthening of their faith! It could literally freeze those who claim to have firm faith. However, let’s return to the apostles. They, despite walking with Jesus, did not have it easy. Jesus was outwardly a man like them, and to believe in his divinity, they needed firm faith. Because faith is certainty in something that we have not verified or proven by hand, and yet we accept it as a fact. How did Jesus react? He saw into the future with his divine nature. Therefore, he saw both the Mount of Olives and Golgotha and knew how the disciples’ faith would fail there, so he reacted in such a reproachful way: “If you had faith like a mustard seed and you said to this mulberry tree: ‘Break out with the root and plant yourself in the sea, ‘she would obey you. “

Therefore, when today we have before our eyes the apostles who, despite what they saw in Jesus, failed, we cannot claim that our faith is firm and perfect. We do not see, and daily experience teaches us how easily we can fail in faith. We must ask for the gift of faith all the sooner and more because most of us have become Christians without knowing it. Our parents baptized us as infants, so it is essential to nurture and strengthen this faith. We cannot even be satisfied with the faith that our young souls received in preparation for the first Holy Communion or for the Burmese. Because people who are satisfied with such faith often leave it behind as soon as they leave home and go to the dormitory or to war, and it fails. After all, faith is not a done deal, and just as there is never enough love, so it is with faith. There is never enough of it.

Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that numerous factors threaten and weaken faith. Young people often talk about science. But serious scientists say that science is not an enemy of faith. On the contrary, faith and science complement each other, and those who adhere more to science have enriched themselves in faith thanks to it. The prominent French poet and playwright Paul Claudel also responds to this problem, saying: “Young people who give up their faith so easily do not know what a pain it is to get it again. “For others, faith is degraded by clinging to wealth, career, and fame. Others, on the other hand, are ashamed to confess their faith and consider human considerations, such as how it hurts when the church is full at a wedding, and I myself pray the Our Father with the minister. Is it possible for the few dozen people not even to know this prayer?

Last but not least, it must be acknowledged that our faith is weakened by television, the Internet, and computers, which allow us to sit for hours and then leave us with little time for reading a religious book, attending catechism, praying, or meditating. So what to do? To ask for the gift of faith. Ask for strengthening in faith. Let’s make sure that each of our prayers also contains a request: “Lord, strengthen my faith. “We do not have to be ashamed of this request, because if the apostles made it, we have all the more reason to make it too. Do I do that? Do I strengthen my faith through education, prayer, and meditation? Am I a witness of faith in events where strangers also participate? Can I bless myself in front of them or pray? Am I not ashamed to show them that I know?

Princess Lee of Korea, who became a Christian in 1962, said: “Not that happy days were missing in our previous life, but it cannot even be compared to the happiness that faith brought us. “And a certain Vietnamese, who turned from Confucianism, spoke in the circle of believers: ‘You Christians who have owned the faith from birth, so to speak, have no idea what treasure you have received. Only we who have wandered one whole human life, who have had to go through darkness, fear, uncertainty, and bitterness, can know this. I have been carrying peace of mind since I found Krista “. What did these people have in common? They found Christ, strengthened their faith in him, and indeed constantly asked for its strengthening. Because faith is like a precious treasure that must be continuously improved, now let us also ask our heavenly Father together: “Lord, do not allow us to be satisfied with our delicate and hesitant faith, but in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, we ask you to strengthen our faith every day. “Let’s not forget to put this intention into our daily prayers.