Nurturing Faith

Gospel Reflection for July 31, 2023

“He proposed another parable to them. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’ He spoke to them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.’” (Mt. 13:31-33 NABRE)

Today’s Gospel teaches us that God can do amazing things in our lives even with only the smallest amount of faith. Yet, like a tiny mustard seed, any amount of faith must be cared for and nourished so that it can begin to grow and flourish. We must allow the seed of faith within us to develop more and more each and every day.

Whereas plants require varying degrees of water, sunlight, and time and effort to sustain them, faith likewise requires other forms of attention and upkeep. Our faith will not grow or deepen unless we actively put time and effort into our relationship with God.

Just as with any of our other goals in life, hard work is required to foster our faith.

So what can we do? We must nourish our faith by reading the Word of God and by learning about the Lord. We must live our lives in a state of constant prayer and communion with God. Throughout our daily lives we should strive to always talk to the Lord and offer up everything to Him, whether it be our work, sufferings, heartaches, or joys. When we form an intimate relationship with our Lord and God, our faith will naturally flourish and grow.

We may accidentally forget to nurture our plants from time to time, and we may even grow so distracted with life that our plants wither away and die. The same will happen to our faith, if we do not look after it.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where you’re starting or how much faith you’re trying to work with! No matter where each of us is on our journey, may we all put in the time and effort to nurture our faith, and our relationship with God, so that it grows abundantly.