11 May 2020 - Monday of the 5th week of Easter - Acts 14:5-18, Psalm 115

      In the first reading today from Acts, we hear a story of faith.  Faith that has the power to heal.  Faith that helps us meet our challenges.  Faith that helps us reach out to the our fellow man in love.  Faith that allows us to rejoice in our relationship with God.  Paul is truly present in faith with the lame man that had never walked in his life.  Paul can look at the man and see that his faith will allow him to be healed.  Paul called forth the faith in this lame man, telling him to stand up straight and to walk. The man responded out of his faith and was healed, yet so many in the crowd did not understand what was happening.  Some wanted to give Paul the credit for what he had done, not credit to God or to the faith of the man who was healed. But, in the psalm today it is proclaimed: “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.”  However, so often, we, in our human nature want to be given the credit and the glory.
      Faith is a gift from God. It is only through God’s grace that we have faith.  In an Angelus message in St Peter’s square in 2013, Pope Francis asked the crowd present: “How do we obtain this power (of faith)?” Pope Francis answer this questions by stating: “We obtain (faith) from God in prayer. Prayer is the breath of faith: in a relationship of faith, of love, one can’t omit dialogue, and prayer is the dialogue of the soul with God.” Let us pray today:  Lord, help us in our prayers.  Lord, help us in our faith.