Eighth Friday of Ordinary Time

Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.

We all have the potential to move mountains with our faith. However, we are constantly tempted by our doubts, fears, and anxieties to trust in the world and not in God. We are especially tested when things don’t go our way or when we suffer a trial we do not think we can bear. But if we put our trust in God and do not doubt in our hearts that our prayers will be answered, then we shall receive the answer we need. Jesus goes on to tell us that when we pray, we need to forgive those who have trespassed against us so that our Heavenly Father will know our hearts are filled with love and mercy, not hatred and vengeance. The act of forgiveness Jesus asks us to offer others may not be easy for us to give, but in the end we will be measured by how we treat the least of God’s children and those whom we found most difficult to love.

Do we have faith in God? Do we believe God would move mountains for us? Have we forgiven those who trespass against us?

O Lord, we do not doubt you will do great things for us.

Amen.