29th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle C, YearI)

Community Word:Jesus Christ inspires us to have unwavering faith.

Theme:We have unwavering faith when we meditate on God’s word and persevere in prayer.

Promise:“The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever.” (Ps 121:8)

Reflection:
Our faith journey starts with our conviction that God exists.It leads us to our quest to know Him more and more, while building up our confidence that we can depend on Him at all times. We begin to believe that He knows and loves us better than ourselves, which makes us commit to an intimate relationship with Him. We start to entirely entrust ourselves, our love ones, and even our future to Him. Prompted by the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews which says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb 10:23), we take a big risk in assuming that our loving God is indeed trustworthy.

The process of possessing a mature faith may last a lifetime. At every step, our belief in our Sovereign God will be challenged. Sometime, we may wonder if we can survive the turmoil, uncertainties, and difficulties in life and still make it to the end. But along the way, we learn to live the meaning of how to “live by faith and not by sight,” (cf. 2 Cor 5:7). We do need genuine faith to be courageous to set out in the realm of uncertainty, place of hope in His promises and lean into the future He has designed for us. Our comfort and consolation comes from Scriptures and the Sacraments that keep us grounded and bring us contentment at the end of each day.

Real faith is built upon God’s word. Daily scripture readings help us get a clearer view of our powerful God. Deeper meditation on His word makes us understand His will, to surrender to it and commit to act on it. This allows us to focus on the Lord through our prayers, trusting that He will provide what we are asking for in accord to His will and time. This is what our theme tells us – We have unwavering faith when we meditate on God’s word and persevere in prayer. Unwavering faith is believing in God’s promise that He is working to bring solution to whatever struggles we are undergoing. We get rid of doubts and fears when we lift our burdens to the Lord in fervent prayer. And we have the assurance that answers will always come in the best way for us.

When we dwell continuously on the messages of Christ, He provides us vital information that we need to get us to our next destination. They are like heavenly “GPS” (global positioning system) which remind us that God knows our every step and He is there to keep us along the trail of Truth. He lays out guides of faith so that we can calculate carefully and choose our steps towards the goal. We continue to hear Him speak to us through His Spirit, His Word and His Church. The power of the Holy Spirit manifests in us so that we always prevail over any trials and challenges. With unwavering faith, we will never run out of God’s goodness and blessings to come in our life.

There may be times when we will doubt that God is working in our life. There may be times when we will be disobedient and rely on our own plans to work, and turn back to Him as a last resort. But even in those instances, one thing is sure, the Lord is watching over us constantly, so we can put our faith in His promise, “The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever,”(Ps 121:8). God will forever be faithful even if we are not.

Prayer:
Dear God, please increase my faith and help me to trust in You at all times so that I may live a victorious life. Let Your Holy Spirit empower me to possess a heart of unwavering faith in all of my life’s situations. May my exercise of faith become my testimony to others and give me the reason to always praise and glorify Your Holy Name. Amen.

Reflection Guide Questions:
1. What difficulties have you experience that made you lose your confidence in God? Share how you overcame your doubt.

2. When faced with trials that test your faith, what is your immediate course of action? Do you turn to God’s word and seek Him in prayer?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
October 20, 2019 (Sun) – Ex 17:8-3/Ps 12:1-8/2Tm 3:14-4:2/Lk 18:1-8
October 21, 2019 (Mon) – Rom 4:20-25/Lk 1:69-75/Lk 12:13-21
October 22, 2019 (Tue) – Rom 5:12, 15, 17-19, 20, 21/Ps 40:7-10, 17/Lk 12:35-38
October 23, 2019 (Wed) – Rom 6:12-18/Ps 124:1-8/Lk 12:39-48
October 24, 2019 (Thu) – Rom 6:19-23/Ps 1:1-4, 6/lk 12:49-53
October 25, 2019 (Fri) – Rom 7:18-25/Ps 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94/Lk 12:54-59
October 26, 2019 (Sat) – Rom 8:1-11/Ps 24:1-6/Lk 13:1-9

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”