A young man approached a holy monk with this request: “Please, show me how I can find God.”  “How great is this desire of yours,” asked the saintly man. “More than anything in the world,” came the reply.  The hermit took his visitor down to the shore of a nearby lake and they waded into the water until it was up to their necks.  Then the holy man put his hand on the other’s head and pushed him under water.  The young man struggled desperately, but the monk did not release him until he was about to drown.  When they returned to shore, the monk asked, “Son, when you were under water, what did you want more than anything else in the world?”  “Air!” he said without hesitation.  “Well, then, when you want to find God as much as you then wanted air, you can be certain you will find God.”

In the gospel, the disciples ask Jesus, “Increase our faith.”  How many times have we said something similar?

  • someone loses his job for no good reason;
  • a relationship or marriage falls apart;
  • we – or  someone we love –  are diagnosed with cancer;
  • a spouse, child, or good friend dies suddenly;
  • we can’t seem to find our way out of a problem.

Then we pray also, “Lord, increase my faith.”

In the second reading Timothy is told to “stir into flame the gift that you have.”  The image is one of rekindling slumbering embers into flame.  The gift that the writer mentions is not unique to Timothy.  We share it as well.  GOD HAS GIVEN US THE GIFT OF

  • FAITH (a relationship with God).  Just as a campfire will burn itself out unless it is stoked and tended, faith will weaken and even disappear unless we stir it up through praying, reading the Bible, coming to Church, and reaching out in service to others within and outside the Church.
  • POWER  In Baptism and Confirmation we are given the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is with us always to be our advocate, comforter, guide, and support.
  • LOVE  Because God loves us we can love ourselves and others as Jesus commanded;
  • WISDOM to recognize right from wrong and discover where God wants to lead and guide us.

If we stir up the gifts we have been given, our lives and the lives of those around us will be immeasurably richer.  In the words of Saint Catherine of Siena:  “Be who God wants you to be and you will set the world on FIRE!”