Monday 13 November 2023

Today is Monday 13 November, the feast of Saint Stanislas Kostka SJ, in the 32nd week of Ordinary time.

The Kyiv Chamber Choir sing the Credo: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”


(Lyrics currently unavailable)

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 17:1-6

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, “I repent”, you must forgive.’

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.

Jesus uses a powerful image to make an important point today: the disciples, as future leaders of the Church, have a solemn responsibility to keep safe the ‘little ones’. How does this passage speak to me today?

Jesus underlines the high expectations of all disciples. We might feel our own inadequacies. Aware of my own limitations, what do I hear Jesus saying to me?

As I listen again to Jesus’ teaching, I notice that in the work of a disciple there is a balance between maintaining good order and showing mercy . . .

When it comes to faith, sometimes all I need is sufficient faith – or trust – to take the next small step . . . Today, what is the invitation to me of the mustard seed? I can pray: Lord, increase my faith.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.