27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2025 - Increase our Faith

If you could ask Jesus for anything—if you had one request—what would you ask for? In the Gospel today, the apostles made request—simple, yet profound. Did you catch it? They didn’t ask the Lord for riches or material security; nor did they ask for health or a long life. They asked him for something they far more important than all of these things combined. They asked him, “Increase our FAITH!” They asked for faith.

The very first encyclical Pope Francis issued back in June of 2013 dealt with Faith.  It was called “Lumen Fidei” – The Light of Faith. The Holy Father wrote, “The Church never takes faith for granted, but knows that this gift of God needs to be nourished and reinforced so that it can continue to guide her pilgrim way.” Like the apostles, we members of the Church on earth are to always be about the business of growing in faith—doing our part to make sure that our faith is strong as possible. 

But what is Faith?

In one of my favorite passages from his encyclical on faith, Pope Francis wrote, “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.”

Do you get what he is saying here? What is faith? Faith isn’t some sort of magical power that removes the obstacles of religious people. Nor does faith eliminate the darkness in our life. Rather, it’s the light in the darkness that enables us to experience God’s abiding presence with us. 

So, again, to be a person of faith doesn’t mean that we expect God to remove all of our difficulties and sufferings. After all, Jesus promised us that each of us would have our own crosses to carry. Rather, to be a person of faith is to trust that God will provide enough light for us to make our way through the darkness, it’s to trust that God will provide us enough strength to bear the weight of our crosses; the fortitude to withstand the powers of evil that assail us.

What caused the apostles to make this request of the Lord to increase their faith in the Gospel today? Why did the apostles beg for an increase in faith? Well, in the preceding passage, the Lord had given his famous teaching on scandal: “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” And so, the apostles hear this warning, and immediately ask for faith. Why? Well, this is an instance of the apostles showing some real humility. They knew how easy it is for us to set bad example for each other, and so they pray for faith—all the faith they would need to avoid leading souls astray. 

The apostles, as the first bishops, knew that people would be looking to them—to their words and example. Anyone in a position of authority, including parents, should conduct themselves with fear and trembling, knowing that people are looking to them. “Lord please, never let my missteps and failings cause anyone to doubt your goodness or love or the need to practice right religion. “Lord increase my faith, that by my conduct, I may not lead anyone away from you, today, but toward you.”

“Lord, increase my faith” This is a petition for those who take seriously the call to build up the Church, those who understand that the duty of the Christian is to draw souls to Christ. And that is a task incumbent upon each of us. And it’s not an easy one, is it?

We have a mountainous task before us: to evangelize this confused, fallen world in 2025. It seems impossible. But, faith, the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. I hope you believe that—faith can move mountains. The apostles did more with less. We are capable of doing great things when we trust God—when our faith is strong. And the more we nurture our faith—the more faith grows in us—the more faith is stirred into flame—the more room we make for God to do truly wonderful things in us and through us.

So what do I need to do to stir faith into flame? Well it certainly requires effort. Daily effort. We must read the bible daily. Study Catholic doctrine. Engage in daily devotions which nurture faith like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, the liturgy of the hours. We must confess our sins—those times when we have neglected, ignored, or violated our Catholic faith in order to pursue selfish ends. We must make time for silent listening to God, for meditation and contemplation.  If you can, participate in daily mass throughout the week. These practices will increase the light of faith which will help you to see how God wants to use you to touch souls—to gather souls to Himself.

At times in our lives, we may feel as if our faith is weak. Then more must be done to strengthen it. Do penance to increase your faith. Fast. Make a pilgrimage. Dedicate serious time to the works of charity. When faith grows weak, many people make the mistake of pulling away from prayer. They stop going to church. They fill the emptiness with earthly endeavors. But that is the exact wrong thing to do. The small weak ember of faith must be stirred back into flame through intentional and disciplined spiritual means.

In the first reading, from the prophet Habakkuk, we heard, “the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” Faith is the light we need as not to stumble, the armor we need to withstand the attacks of the enemy and the hatred of the world, the wisdom we need to avoid causing scandal and to draw souls to Christ, and the lever we need to move the mountains God wants us to move.

May the Lord increase our faith, and may the Eucharist we celebrate, nourish us, and unleash the power of faith in our lives and our families and world, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

October 1 2025 (school mass) - St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Way and the Mission of the Church

 The month of October begins with the feast day of a beloved saint of the Church, St. Therese.

Therese was born and raised in a profoundly religious home—where the Catholic faith was devoutly practiced and cherished. Therese’s parents, Louis and Zellie have also been declared saints due to the evidence of their profound holiness. All four of Therese’s older sisters became nuns. And from a young age, Therese also had a burning desire become a nun as well—to dedicate her life to prayer in the Carmelite Convent. 

And so at the age of fourteen, Therese traveled with her father to Rome to meet the Pope, to personally ask his permission for Therese to enter the Carmelite convent in the city of Lisieux. And it was granted.

The Carmelite convent that Therese entered had a very strict rule of life. The nuns lived a hidden life of prayer, silence, and sacrifice. the sisters ate simple meals, they wore a plain habit, like St. Clare is wearing in her statue. The nuns did not interact with people from the outside world, not even with members of their family, and they were not allowed to leave the convent grounds. Even their conversations were limited, because silence helped them to listen more closely to God’s voice.

Their days were carefully ordered, beginning very early in the morning with prayer, Mass, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They prayed the Liturgy of the Hours together several times each day, lifting up the needs of the whole Church. When they weren’t in the chapel, they worked quietly at simple tasks like cooking, sewing, cleaning, and gardening.

But St. Thérèse didn’t see this way of life as gloomy or depressing. Therese and her sisters chose a simple, quiet life, in order to focus their minds and hearts on Jesus, and to do a very important work for the Church—praying. While we are engaged in working for Jesus and spreading the Gospel out in the world, Therese and Carmelites like her pray for us—that we can be faithful and have the strength and wisdom we need for our duties.

Therese prayed for the success of the mission of the Church—to go to all nations and make disciples of Jesus. That’s the mission of the Church. That’s why I’m here. That’s why Corpus Christi Academy exists. That why St. Clare parish exists. That’s why the diocese of Cleveland exists. We have a mission. To help people know, love, and follow Jesus Christ to the best of their ability.

This is why St. Therese took up this very strict way of life. Because she believed in the mission of the Church, and wanted to do everything she could to support it—which included praying many hours a day, fasting, doing penance, and doing small sacrificial things with great love. 

And this is another reason why St. Therese is so beloved by Catholics. She reminds us that often, the most powerful thing we can do for the mission of the Church—is to do small things with great love. Our conversations, teaching in the class room, learning in the class room, how you behave, how you treat people in the lunch room, on the playground, on the sports field, at work, the stranger, the person who annoys you, in everything we do, we are to pour into it, the love of God. May St. Therese help us to do all things with great love for the mission of the Church for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.