“I DO BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF!” MK 9:14-29
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”
He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”
He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” MK 9:14-29
Today, Jesus teaches us the power of prayer and the importance of developing a relationship with God so that we learn to trust and ultimately believe. Of course, the father of the boy who had a demon wanted his son to be free of the demon. The people who are sick want to be cured. But, what is Jesus really trying to teach us? God is the most powerful. God fulfills us, not material goods. Seek a relationship with Him in prayer and reflecting on the Scriptures. Prayer and fasting (detachment) help us grow in holiness. They help us realize who we are and who God is. This puts things into proper perspective and helps us rid ourselves of the vice and establish virtue with the help of God’s grace.
We pray to establish a relationship with God which builds trust like any other friendship, trust is established over time. Bishop Barron then says, “After trust is established, we begin to believe that person’s words.” This leads us to the Scriptures where God speaks to us. This deepens our belief, establishes a greater trust, and strengthens our faith. Mark Hart says, “Sitting around talking about prayer or how to pray or reading a book about it doesn’t teach one how to pray. To learn how to pray you have to do it. People don’t sit around a pool talking about swimming and read books about it, they get in the pool and learn to swim.”
Today’s challenge: Pray, fast, and establish a deep relationship with your Creator and Savior. Pray for an increase in God’s gifts of faith, hope, and love. ”I do believe, help my unbelief”
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Today in scripture we learn that God is our preacher and leader. We learn Our Father to know how to pray with him like were at the first mass. We need to learn that every mass God is present in all of us.