A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[181] Isa 35:1-10 Ps 85:9ab+10, 11-12, 13-14 Luke 5:17-26

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

Does faith come from strength, or does strength come from faith?  It’s something like, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”  I don’t really know the answer to either of these questions, but I think it does emphasize that having more of one means there will be more of the other.  So when we find something that gives us more strength, it allows us to have more faith in God.  In today’s gospel, both the paralytic and the men trying to get him into Jesus’ presence had tremendous amounts of faith.  They wouldn’t have climbed up on the roof and lowered their friend through it if they didn’t believe that Jesus could heal him, so they were sound in their faith of Jesus.  Jesus gave the paralyzed man more strength, and he went away glorifying God in a way most of us today couldn’t even grasp.  Those in the presence of Jesus’ healing were also given tremendous amounts of faith, for they were witness to a miracle.  In this way, they were given strength to go out and glorify God as well.

So where do we find our strength?  Where do we find our faith?  I draw my strength from the people I surround myself with.  My friends are people I choose for their character, and I care about them all more than I care about myself.  I also have a strong family background that allows me to be firm in my faith.  We all face challenges in our own ways, and there are days when I don’t feel as though I am strong enough to go on.  But I turn to the people around me, who remind me that sometimes my worries are insignificant to the bigger picture, and that I can draw strength from the all-powerful God that I believe in.  My faith can give me the drive that I lost, and make sure my priorities are more in line where I need them to be.

Strength and faith go hand in hand.  One doesn’t exist without the other, and God can be the source for both.