Faith is brought up again in today’s readings. Remember two weeks ago we heard from Jesus that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could tell a mulberry tree to uproot and replant in the sea and it would obey. Last week we had the ten lepers – with the one being truly cured physically and spiritually because of his faith. This week we have Jesus wondering if He will find faith on earth when He comes. Faith seems to be an important part of this Cycle in the Lectionary as we near the end of the Liturgical Year in a few weeks. So, once again, we sing songs about faith.
Our opening song, “O God Beyond All Praising,” continues to hit on the fact that we should praise God for all He has done for us. Remember the one leper from last week who gave praise; remember the entrance antiphon from Esther two weeks ago telling us to rejoice in the God who made all things. This week’s antiphon also tells us to
rejoice and to turn to the Lord. We give God praise for all in this traditional hymn.
At the preparation of the gifts, we sing “These Alone Are Enough”. The text is taken from St. Ignatius of Loyola’s (the founder of the Jesuits) “Suspice” prayer. Here is the original prayer:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will, all that I have and possess.
Thou hast given all to me.
To Thee, O Lord, I return it.
All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will.
Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.
Once again, we’re praising God for all and asking for His love and grace (aka faith).
At Communion, we have a relatively new song composed in 2015 entitled, “A Place at Your Table”. It speaks of being invited to sit at His table where mercy prevails, burdens find rest and the hungry can feast. If we continue to have faith and to praise our God, we will hopefully be among those called to His table.
At the end of Mass, we are once again not only dismissed, but challenged to go out into the world and share the Good News. Take that on as your personal challenge this week. Who can you show the love of God to? Who can you share His message of peace and goodness with? Who can you make an effort to bring closer to God? Maybe it’s a family member, maybe it’s a friend or neighbor, maybe it’s a stranger in the grocery store.