Reflection for Saturday August 8 Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest: Matthew 17:14-20

Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? 

How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

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Reflection:

Jesus tells us today: “Nothing will be impossible for us” (Matthew 17:20). In the midst of our many doubts, fears, and struggles, Jesus gently whispers to our hearts that nothing is impossible for those who place their faith in Him. When we trust in God, we discover that what seems impossible to us is never impossible for Him.

Faith is something we should all strive to have and nurture. But can we all truly have faith? Isn’t faith only for a select few? No. Jesus has already given each of us the gift of faith. When we were baptized, this precious gift was planted within us, and Jesus desires that, as we grow, our faith would grow with us.

But sometimes, this does not happen. As we grow older, we can become so preoccupied with our responsibilities, ambitions, problems, and the cares of this world that we gradually neglect our faith. What was once alive in our hearts can slowly become dormant. Who is to blame when our faith is neglected? Our parents? The people in the Church? Or perhaps we should also ask ourselves: Have we done our part to nurture the gift of faith that God has entrusted to us?

Yet all is not lost. There is still hope. God never abandons us, and He never stops calling us back to Himself. Even when our faith has grown weak or dormant, we can always turn to Jesus and ask Him to awaken and renew it within us.

All we need to do is open our hearts to Him and humbly ask Him to rekindle the gift of faith that He so generously gave us at our Baptism. Let us return to prayer. Let us listen again to His Word. Let us draw closer to Him in the Sacraments. Let us allow His grace to work within us so that our faith may once again become alive, strong, and fruitful.

Lest we forget, faith is essential in our journey through this world. Without faith, we can easily lose our direction and purpose. We may become overwhelmed by our problems, discouraged by our failures, and frightened by the uncertainties of tomorrow. But when our faith is alive, we can face our struggles with hope, endure our trials with courage, and continue walking even when we cannot see what lies ahead.

Faith does not mean that we will never experience difficulties. Rather, faith assures us that we will never face those difficulties alone. Jesus walks with us. He strengthens us when we are weak, carries us when we are weary, and reminds us that no situation is beyond His power.

Let us therefore not allow the noise and distractions of this world to silence our faith. Let us not allow disappointment to extinguish our hope or suffering to separate us from God. Instead, let us place everything in the hands of Jesus and trust Him even when we do not understand His plans.— Marino J. Dasmarinas