“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew

Thank heaven no one demands that Catholics believe the Bible literally or I’d have a hard time clinging to even the “mustard seed” of faith that I possess. We can read passages like this quote from Matthew figuratively and try to discern Jesus’ underlying lesson without expecting Mt. Everest to change locations.

Faith demands a surrender that strong-willed, highly educated people like me often find difficult including acceptance of truths that cannot be fully explained in rational terms and trusting in the mercy and love of a God we cannot prove with absolute certainty exists.

Yet conversely, I believe because NOT believing seems even less logical. So I pray “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

As if to affirm the instinct to believe, God sends us personal reminders of the power of faith, often when we need them most.

Years ago, I adopted my son from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity understanding that we would get no information about his background and there were no guarantees about health, intelligence etc.. It was the closest thing to a pure act of faith I would ever make.

Mountains may not have moved but a mountain in my heart did. Today my son is a wonderful young man.

I think of other examples. As I sit in my Omaha home writing this, I know that eventually thousands of people all over the world will read these words, illogical as that might seem. Hey! I’m no theologian. I teach journalism at a medium-sized university in the Midwest.

What began as an in-house “mustard seed” to promote spirituality during Lent now miraculously touches lives worldwide 365 days a year.

Do I hear a mountain moving?