Fr Peter Ireorji, MSP - Homily from Monday, February 25, 2019

Jesus said, “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” And the father of the boy replied, “I do believe. Help my unbelief.” He believed in Jesus, but he knew his faith wasn’t enough. So he prayed: “Help my unbelief.” That was enough for Jesus to do another miracle of casting out the evil spirit from the boy. It is not necessary that we have great faith. Jesus said that if we have a faith the size of a mustard seed, we can command a mountain to move. But that has to be accompanied by a great deal of prayer. It is only by asking God to help us that our faith will be much stronger. This is what happened to the father of the boy. In contrast, let us look at the disciples. They were trying to cast out the evil spirit from the boy, but they could not. Why? Jesus told them, “This kind could only come out through prayer.” In other words, they were not praying. They were trying to cast out the devil through their own power, without asking for God’s help. It is only through prayer that our faith can grow stronger, and then everything becomes possible. I always like this quotation: “When man works, it is just man who works. But when man prays, God works.” Another quotation says: “The most powerful man on earth is the one who bends his knees and prays.” He who prays without ceasing unites prayer to good works and good works to prayer. Shalom!