Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.

The a-ha moment, when the light comes on and we have a sudden understanding of something we’ve struggled with.

Our first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, recounts the benefits derived from being faithful. This was faith as perceived by the old Israel —“ salvation for faithful Israel and destruction for their faithless enemies.

This is an ancient faith, and a simple faith. We have faith, those without faith are destroyed, all is good.

The psalmist seems very confident in this promise when he sings:

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, recounts Israel’s history, but in light of the faith necessary to grasp the Gospel.

Abraham was a stranger in a strange land. He lived in tents. He had no promise regarding the destruction of his enemies, only a promise that an old man and a sterile wife would have descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, the sands of the seashore.

The writer tells us:

…for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

Brothers and Sisters,

If Jesus were among us today in human form He would very well tell us to divest of our stocks and bonds, sell our houses, give the proceeds away, and focus on the only asset worth having —“ faith in God.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven

Jesus then talks about the servants who are prepared. Peter questions Him:

—Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?—

To which Jesus replies:

—Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward?—

The prudent servant is the servant who lives by faith, faith like Abraham had, in that trustworthy promise.

The key is, the Lord’s words are meant for everyone. Everyone is invited to partake, to be a prudent servant.

My friends,

We are all unsure of our eternal place. What will happen to me?

In our hearts we long for eternal life with God.

Consider the song —Knocking of Heaven’s Door.— Personally, I like the Polish translation of the song, because the words are particularly directed toward God. Here’s a rough translation:

I stand in the corner, near Your gates.
Please Lord, open them for me.

Let me in today, although I am far away.
I am waiting for your pity
I pound on your gates O Lord.
Do not let it be Your will that I stand outside.

We desire heaven —“ God’s love, a love that is all consuming, the complete love of the Father for His children. That love is a love that fills us so completely that no word could possibly describe it.

The desire for that eternal love lives in everyone’s heart.

It lives in the heart of the faithful, prepared servant;
The heart of the abusive servant;
The heart of the unprepared servant; and
In the heart of the servant who is ignorant of his Master’s will.

Jesus’ expectation is the same and His standard is the only one that counts. It is against His standard that all servants will be judged.

So, my friends, we have a choice.

We cannot claim ignorance of our Master’s will —“ that excuse won’t help us.

That leaves us with the choice of being abusive, unprepared, or prepared.

Brothers and sisters,

The desire for God’s love lives in our hearts.

If we acknowledge that desire, we will knock, He will open.

Be prepared by doing His will now and always.

…and what is His will:

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Simply, be prepared, put your faith in His promise, a trustworthy promise. Listen, and live the Gospel message. It is the gold standard against which each of our actions will be judged.

—O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.—

Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman brings lack of faith full circle.

In our first reading from Numbers, Israel responded to the Canaanites out of fear. The Israelites, with God marching with them, forgot the most important lesson of all —“ faith in God is paramount. Faith in God is stronger than any obstacle.

The Israelite scouts went into the land of Canaan, a people without faith in the true God, and came back afraid. They were not just afraid, but they encouraged fear in the people.

But the men who had gone up with [Caleb] said,
—We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us.—
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel
about the land they had scouted, saying,
—The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants.
And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants
we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.—

Those men certainly sinned against God, and lost trust in Him. Perhaps the sin they committed, their lack of trust, would have fallen on them alone. But no, they couldn’t leave it at that. Misery loves company.

So their sin spread:

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries,
and even in the night the people wailed.

Today, we would attribute the Israelites response to human weakness.

Human weakness and human self-confidence are both sinful. Consider Caleb’s statement:

Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said,
—We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so.—

Ahem, who can do so?

We can do it or we are afraid and can do nothing.

The psalmist got it right when he said:

They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.

The Canaanite woman stands in stark contract. She has no standing in Israel, a member of the race cast out by Israel, people still without faith in the true God.

Yet she persisted. Despite all the obstacles, bitterness, and suffering of her people, she persisted in faith —“ a faith that produced results beyond human understanding.

Brothers and sisters,

Today we commemorate the Fourteen Holy Helpers. These were people of faith. They were bishops, soldiers, abbots, virgins, and all but one were martyrs.

They had faith.

The people of Bavaria developed a strong devotion to these saints and their intercession. Their faith told them that by prayer, and by trusting in the Lord’s bountiful mercy, these saints’ intercession for the people’s needs would be heard.

[1] St. Christopher and [2] St. Giles against plague, [3] St. Denis, against headaches, [4] St. Blaise, against ills of the throat, [5] St. Elmo, patron of abdominal maladies [6] St. Barbara, against fever, [7] St. Vitus, against epilepsy, [8] St. Pantaleon, patron of physicians, [9] St. Cyriacus, recourse in time of temptations, especially at the hour of death; [10] St. Catherine for protection against a sudden, unprovided death; [11] St. Eustace, patron of all kinds of difficulties, especially family troubles. Sts. [12] George and [13] Erasmus, are invoked for the health and protection of animals. [14] St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron of safe childbirth.

The Church, through Her witness proclaims the power of faith.

The Church’s saints, by their example, witness to the power of faith lived.

The Church doesn’t just make its proclamation to the un-listening world, to the anonymous masses of people out there. She makes that proclamation to us.

Have faith, trust in God, God is stronger than human weakness, be like that Canaanite woman. When you cry out, like the Canaanite woman,

—Lord, help me.—

…trust that He will actually provide what you need.