4th Wednesday of Easter

 

In the Gospel today, Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me.”

The reason why all of us are here at Mass today, is because we believe in Jesus and we believe in His Father, who sent Him.

There are different depths of belief with regard to believing in Jesus and believing in His Father. Some, who are atheists, do not even believe in Jesus and who do not believe in God the Father either. There others, who believe in God the Father, but do not believe in Jesus, such as Muslims and Jews. Still there are others, who believe only in God the Father, and who believe in Jesus, yet they do not believe all that Jesus revealed. They believe only in scripture, but not in Tradition, which comes down to us from the apostles, and they do not believe in the teachings of the Church. We call this group Protestants. And then there those who believe in God the Father and in Jesus and in everything Jesus has revealed through scripture, tradition and the teachings of the Church. This refers to us, who are Catholic.

Faith is a gift from God. It is mysterious, and we can ponder, why God does not give everyone the same faith. Or why some refuse it.

However, if we cooperate with God’s graces, the gift of faith we have received can grow and become stronger. But, if we do not cooperate with God’s graces, the gift of faith can be lost.

The Mass is one of the most beautiful ways to grow in our faith. It takes great faith to come to daily Mass, to listen to the readings, the Gospel and the homily, and have the intention of going out to practice what we hear. It also takes great faith to believe Jesus is really and truly present in the Eucharist, and because of our faith, we humbly come forward to receive Holy Communion trusting that what appears to be bread is really and truly Jesus Himself, who comes to dwell in our heart.

May we, therefore, pray that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pillar of Faith, will help those, who have not faith, those who lost their faith, those who have weak faith and that others be strengthened in their faith, and that She may help us to bare witness to our faith, by our words and actions, so that everyone who sees our faith, may not remain in darkness, but that they may receive the light of faith.