LITTLE FAITH

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Saturday 9 August 2014

LITTLE FAITH

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “Why were we unable …?”  “Because you have little faith …” (Matt17:14-20)

Reflection. The little word ‘faith’ slips off our tongues easily and, if we are not careful, we pay little attention to it. What is faith? What is my answer to that question? We live in an optimistic time when people seek answers to the questions of life in science and techniques and that is surely good. Yet the word ‘faith’ represents the human desire to go beyond science to something deep in our being; our stretching out to what is beyond our reach. I like the word ‘beyond’. ‘Beyond the horizon’ means we are not there yet. In the early days of Zimbabwe’s independence we used it a lot; ‘Pamberi!’ It is a slogan that contains a way of seeing faith. We do not hear it much these days because people are tired of slogans. But we cannot grow tired of faith. It is that astonishing quality of life that makes us truly human. It is that aspect of our being that is the key to our sharing in the divine. It expresses what we have and what we do not yet have – at the same time. It is our crown and glory/

      

Prayer. Lord Jesus, deepen our desire to live by faith, to reach out to you beyond the daily tasks and hopes we have. “You excite us, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (St Augustine)..  Amen

David Harold-Barry SJ