Daily Catholic Lectio
Monday, 13 November 2023
Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 1:1-7. Luke 17:1-6.
Expression of faith
Jesus’ teachings on discipleship fall into two categories: first, a disciple as an individual; second, a disciple as a community member. Today’s gospel reading presents us with Jesus’ teaching on the community life of a disciple.
Fundamentally, the community of disciples must be bound by faith. When the disciples asked Jesus, ‘increase our faith,’ he did not give them a formula. Rather, he taught them the effect of having faith the size of a mustard seed. Jesus instructed them on the impact of faith. Faith has to be cultivated by each individual. External agents can’t raise us in faith.
What is faith? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines faith as “an act of response by the human person to the revealing God” (cf. n. 142). The Bible defines faith as “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (cf. Heb 11:1). James instructs that faith must be accompanied by works (cf. Jas 2:26).
Faith is not what we profess at the Sunday Masses. It is not mere adherence to a doctrine. Rather, it is to accept Jesus as the Son of God and love and serve everyone as brother and sister. This faith builds a community of disciples.
A community that is built on faith may have two obstacles: (a) the obstacle of scandal; (b) the obstacle of indifference and unforgiveness.
Paul, exhorting the Church in Corinth concerning the food offered to idols, advises that the person who lacks faith must not stumble (cf. 1 Cor 8:12).
Jesus warns that anyone who stumbles the little ones will have hard punishment. In the Gospel of Matthew, ‘the little ones’ refers to ‘the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, strangers, the sick, and the imprisoned’ (cf. Mt 25:31-46), while in Luke the expression points to the community of disciples who were small in number (cf. Lk 12:32). The lesson is not to stumble little ones into sin.
The disciples must be ready to correct each other’s mistakes and to forgive the erring. When a community is built on faith, this becomes easy. We are indifferent to other people’s mistakes because of our lack of responsibility, and we become unforgiving because of our lack of generosity.
Hence, growing in faith, supporting the weak, and correcting and forgiving others are the lessons from the gospel reading.
The first reading, which is taken from Wisdom of Solomon, points out three obstacles to the path of wisdom: ‘plotting evil,’ ‘living in sin,’ and ‘having senseless counsels.’ If we want wisdom to guide our lives, we must have an apt disposition, and if we wish to live our commitment to love, we must have a faith disposition.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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