28th Week in Ordinary Time : Saturday 21st October 2023

Sometimes we tend to think that God’s blessing granted to us is based on the merits of our good deeds and observances of the Laws we make.

In the Letter to the Romans, St Paul mentions that God’s promise to Abraham that he and his descendants would be heirs of the world was given through the righteousness of Abraham’s faith in his right relationship with God.

Abraham’s faith in God’s promise of a son with Sarah did not waver as he grew older. This declaration of righteousness was totally God’s gift, not a reward.

We, too, like Abraham, can grow to be a friend of God, loved and accepted before Him. As we believe in God, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead and granted us the forgiveness of sins through His resurrection from the dead, like Abraham, we are heirs of the world. The indwelling of the Spirit is granted to us moment by moment and all our life long to help us to live in hope, even at times, hope against all hope.

However, at times we can also yield to the temptation and fall into the devil’s trap, giving up our faith out of cowardice or disbelief. Jesus warns His disciples, each of us, about blaspheming the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. It is about the ongoing hardening of our hearts and persistent rejection of the Holy Spirit who is trying to bring us to repentance of sin and renew our belief and faith in Christ.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.