Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

Luke 17:5-10

Friends, in our Gospel Jesus tells us that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea. What is being communicated here is something simple: faith is power. When our lives are aligned to God we become conduits of enormous power.

Attachments block us and break this flow. An attachment is anything that you convince yourself you cannot live without. This idea is central to the spirituality of Ignatius of Loyola. What are the attachments that block the divine power from flowing through us? Wealth, pleasure, honor, power.

Look at the one that we hold up as the model of power. Notice please how comfortable he looks; notice how many “nice things” he has around him. And remark how popular he is, how everyone is singing his praises. And notice how successful he is, what a brilliant career he’s had!

Love what Jesus loved on the cross, and despise what he despised, said Thomas Aquinas. That is the key to a spiritually successful life, and to the unleashing of divine power.