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October 5, 2025 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 17:5–10) —
__ “Lord, Increase Our Faith”
The apostles plead with Jesus,
“Lord, increase our faith.” It’s a short prayer but one that carries the
longing of every heart. We all want greater faith — not just belief, but a
living confidence in God’s presence and power.
Jesus replies with a promise that almost defies logic: *“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”* (Lk 17:6)
He is not exaggerating. He is revealing a truth about grace. Faith is not something we manufacture through willpower; it is God’s gift — the door through which divine power enters our lives. Grace, not effort, moves mountains.
On this Respect Life Sunday, we ask for that gift anew: faith that protects the vulnerable, heals wounds, and reverences every human life from conception to natural death — faith that believes even when we cannot yet see.
Sometimes we think, “My faith feels smaller than a mustard
seed.” But Jesus’ point isn’t about the size of faith; it’s about its presence.
A seed, however tiny, is alive. Faith, even if whispered through tears, can move the heart of God. When you light a candle, say a quiet prayer, forgive someone who hurt you, visit the sick, or speak gently for what is right — God is at work.
A mustard seed may seem
insignificant, but it is living, growing, and connected to divine power. The
smallest consent of faith lets God’s grace flow through our lives and into the
world.
3. Reparation and the Sacred
Heart
This call to faith also
harmonizes with our Church’s devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially remembered on First Fridays.
The devotion to the Sacred
Heart is not sentimentality — it is a call to reparation: prayer and love offered to heal the wounds our
sins inflict on Christ’s Heart. Reparation is not guilt-driven but
grace-driven. It means allowing the mercy of Jesus to transform us and then
offering love where love has been lacking.
Recently, I was invited by a
home builder to bless a newly renovated house. All through the home were images
of the Sacred Heart — not as decoration, but as testimony. This builder planned
to sell the house; the images weren’t a business strategy but a statement of
faith. Whether or not a buyer noticed them didn’t matter. What mattered was the
intent: to ask God to
sanctify the home and its future occupants.
That’s what it means to “begin with the true end in mind.” The goal wasn’t material success, but spiritual sanctification — that the work of human hands might become a place where God’s love dwells.
This devotion always leads us back to the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. Just as Friday points toward Sunday, acts of reparation point toward Communion — the encounter with the living Heart of Jesus.
__ 4. Hidden Acts of Penance
Every Friday of the year, not
just during Lent, has a penitential character. The Church invites us to
remember Christ’s Passion with small, hidden sacrifices: forgoing a favorite
food, limiting screen time, writing a note of encouragement, or performing an
unseen act of charity.
The Lord reminds us, “The
Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Mt 6:6)
These small acts — invisible
to others — repair what sin has wounded and draw us more closely to the Heart
of Jesus. They are mustard-seed acts of love that sustain the life of the
Church.
__ 5. Forgiveness:
Person-to-Person Reparation
There is also a personal
reparation that every disciple can make: forgiveness.
When we pray, “Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we are not reciting
poetry; we are participating in God’s mercy.
To forgive someone is to say,
“I believe by grace you can change, even if I don’t see it yet.” That is
exactly what God says about us in Christ.
Forgiveness repairs love that
has been torn and opens space for God’s transforming mercy. And this, too,
belongs to Respect Life: a culture
of life is born wherever hearts forgive, reconcile, and begin anew.
__ 6. The Providence of God
Faith often finds its proof in
the ordinary, not the spectacular.
Over the past months, I was anxious about my elderly parents needing new identification — the state’s REAL ID requirement. It’s a complicated process involving paperwork, appointments, and long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). I urged them to get U.S. passports instead, but they disagreed.
Then, by providence, I ran
into one of their neighbors and shared my concern. The neighbor agreed with my
suggestion and offered to talk with them. Within days, my parents had decided
to apply for passports, found an appointment, and completed the process
smoothly — all without ever knowing that neighbor and I had “conspired” together.
It was such a small thing —
but to me, a sign of grace. God’s mercy worked quietly through a simple
kindness, through ordinary human cooperation. That’s how providence works: not
lightning from heaven, but divine coordination through the generosity of
others.
Faith allows us to recognize
those hidden miracles.
October is the Month of the
Rosary and October 7 marks the Feast
of Our Lady of the Rosary. Mary shows us what mustard-seed faith looks
like — a steady yes in
darkness, fidelity at the Cross, and perseverance in prayer.
Pray the Rosary this month for
the protection of life, for peace, and for the grace to say “yes” with Mary in
the face of fear and uncertainty.
__ 8. Takeaways for the Week
Keep the true End in mind: eternal communion with God.
Answer His call with conversion: do not harden your heart.
Live the Sacred Heart devotion: through Eucharist, hidden penance, and quiet acts
of reparation.
Choose forgiveness: let mercy
repair what sin has wounded.
Practice a mustard-seed act for life: one
concrete work of love this week.
__ 9. Closing Invocation
May our prayer echo that of
the apostles: “Lord, increase our
faith.”
Faith may begin as small as a
mustard seed, but when it takes root, it transforms everything. Through small
acts of trust and love — through prayer, forgiveness, and reverence for life —
God still moves mountains.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have
mercy on us.
Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for us.
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