TESTING OUR FAITH

“Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.” –Hebrews 11:1

Mass Readings: January 28
First: Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19;Resp: Luke 1:69-75; Gospel: Mark 4:35-41

“Test yourselves to see whether you are living in faith” (2 Cor 13:5). You are living in faith if:

1. You don’t let yourself be manipulated by fear (see Mk 4:40).
2. Your relationship with the Lord is so deep and personal that you have confidence and assurance about what you hope for (Heb 11:1).
3. You obey God’s call even if you don’t know where God is calling you (Heb 11:8).
4. You are willing to sacrifice anything for God (see Heb 11:17).
5. You can move mountains (Mt 17:20).
6. You are conquering the world (1 Jn 5:5).
7. You have been crucified with Christ, and the life you are living is not your own, but His (Gal 2:19-20).

“All depends on faith” (Rm 4:16). Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). We must cry out: Lord, “increase our faith” (Lk 17:5), and “I believe; help my lack of faith” (Mk 9:24, our translation).

PRAYER: Jesus, when You come back a final time, may You find faith on the earth and in me (see Lk 18:8).

PROMISE: “As a result of this faith, there came forth from one man, who was himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the seashore.” –Heb 11:12

PRAISE: St. Thomas wrote a treatise on the Eucharist to clarify some questions that existed at the time. Before he made his work public, he laid it on the altar before the Lord, trusting for guidance (see Is 37:15). This treatise endures even to the present, and was accepted by the Church.