A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew: Chapter 17:14-20: 14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from hence to yonder place,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”[c]
Dear friend, what is your level of will power? Are you able to maintin a healthy diet, eating and drinking in moderation? If you decided to lose some weight, could you set a plan in motion and see it through until you have reached your desired weight goal? When it comes to money, do you have the will power to keep your financial situation in order? When it comes time to choose right from wrong are you ever stumped in deciding?
It’s important to work on building your will power in all areas of your life especially in the area of doing what is right from wrong. Right and wrong, so often people are confused with what is right and what is wrong. What’s going on in our world doesn’t make things easier either. We read about and sometimes witness people and establishments, who should be trusted, do horribly wrong things justifying their actions. So, how can we know for sure how to judge right from wrong?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church writes:
CCC 1730: God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”
CCC 1834: The human virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and the will that govern our acts, order our passions, and guide our conduct in accordance with reason and faith. They can be grouped around the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
A healthy and righteous will power can be achieved if we have absolute faith in the power of God and believe and follow His Word.
Referring to Matthew’s Gospel, we can relate to the disciples because we too do not always have the faith that Jesus says we have. The kind of faith to help us do wondrous things in our lives and in other people’s lives. So don’t focus on the disciples but focus on what Jesus is telling them because it’s all about Jesus – believe Him – do what He preaches.
To achieve the Kingdom of Heaven we must be in full control of our will power and decide to do what is right and just in the eyes of God it’s not always easy but having faith, even as small “as a grain of mustard seed”, can and will help you build up your will power to achieve all the things that God would desire for your life. Believe that God is behind you every step of the way; keep that thought as you go about your day and you will achieve greatness becoming a righteous subject of God almighty.
Prayer:
Almighty God and Father, help us to have the faith you will for our lives; faith to achieve all things, especially when it comes to strengthening our will power to do right from wrong. We desperately want to believe in the words of Jesus that if we have true faith nothing is impossible. Help us, oh Lord!
We ask this in your Son’s name, Jesus Christ. Amen
May God be with you and may He continue to protect you and yours!
Peace, love and joy in Christ Jesus our Savior!
Marie Antoinette
ALL LIVES MATTER, FROM CONCEPTION ON!
His Righteousness 