Fr Peter Ireorji, MSP - Homily from Monday, Nov. 12, 2018

Jesus was challenging his followers in Lk 17:1-6, with the implied question: Do you have true faith? If we have true faith in Jesus, we’re enthralled by who he really is, we’re excited, amazed and fascinated. Because of this, we focus on his every word, so much so that we grow in our understanding of the truth and we become better at living the truth. We becoming more and more unwilling to sin or cause a scandal. And we become less and less likely to accidentally cause a scandal. If we have true faith in Jesus, we notice how readily he forgives everyone, no matter what they’ve done, and that he has compassion for their regret, joy for their desire to change, and patience for any continued stumbling. We also realize that he knows each sinner’s heart far better than we do, and so we quit judging them, we quit holding grudges, and we freely choose to be merciful to them. True faith is only a matter of remaining true to the faith. Jesus isn’t asking us to have enormous faith in him, just real faith. Never underestimate the importance of your faith, even if it seems too small. Trust the truth. Your holiness will grow. Shalom!