Strong Faith

Friday of the First Week of Advent

Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family

Matthew 9:27-31 – As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. 

(Parent)  Reread this part a few times aloud

Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”

(Parent)  Read this meditation aloud to the family

What an awesome and straightforward question from Jesus to the men He is ready to heal!  “Do you believe that I can do this?”  Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus is healing people we can see two different powers working toward their healing: Jesus’ infinite power, and the power of faith in the sick person.  Jesus can do anything He wants (of course), but often He chooses to use our faith as well when heals our bodies or our souls.

Jesus says, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”  The person full of faith should be happy to know that he or she will have much done for them due to their great faith.  The person who lacks strong faith will be disappointed to know that he or she will receive little due to their little faith.  How strong is our faith?  If we wish to grow in our faith, there are a handful of good ways.  Two very important ones are: 1) to ask God for Faith sincerely in prayer, and 2) to rely on God often in small situations that will build our faith “muscles” so that we can eventually ask with great faith. 

As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)