The intensity and integrity with which a man preserves the precious gift of faith in his soul reflect the true measure of his charity.
Newsroom (04/02/2026, Gaudium Press) The Gospel of Luke (17:5-10) could well be summarized in the gentle rebuke of the Divine Master contained in the verse that gives this article its title…
And as an expression of what occurs in souls with regard to the gift of faith, the metaphor of the mustard seed inserts us into the mysteries of natural life itself, a reflection of the supernatural. What, then, is life? How can it be explained? What is the gift of faith? How can it be increased, since the Apostles themselves ask the Master: ‘Increase our faith!’ (Lk 17:5)?
Moved by the enigma of life, the human mind ponders now on the tiny grass seeds that give rise to the paradisiacal British grass carpets, now on those of the sequoia – comparable to tomatoes in size, but from which will sprout the giant conifers that amaze humanity – seeking to understand the mysteries they hold, without, however, finding a fully satisfactory answer.
This mystery becomes even more compelling when it comes to animal nature… How does a small egg give rise to a graceful and agile hummingbird – in its genus, a living iridescent jewel – or the majestic and fierce eagle, the only bird capable of staring at the sun with the naked eye.
However, it is in human beings themselves – described by St. Thomas as a microcosm – that this investigation reaches its climax and greatest complexity, for they can also receive another form of life, infinitely superior to the natural one: the supernatural life of grace, created participation in the uncreated life of God.
The entire edifice of supernatural life in man is founded on faith, the first of the virtues, that “habit of the mind by which eternal life begins in us, causing the intellect to adhere to what it does not see”. Thus, the Letter to the Hebrews affirms that faith is ‘the guarantee of the goods that are hoped for, the proof of realities that cannot be seen’ (11:1).
That is why St. Paul very paternally and eloquently, insists to Timothy: ‘I urge you to rekindle the gift of God that you have received through the laying on of my hands’ and ‘Guard the precious deposit [of faith], with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us’ (2 Tim 1:6, 14). In other words, this gift is so precious that every effort and vigilance to preserve it and make it grow means nothing at all in comparison with the eternal reward of which it is a pledge.
It is thus by the intensity and integrity with which man guards the precious gift of faith in his soul that his charity towards God and his neighbour can be measured; it is also through this gift that he will perform the greatest acts of heroism for the Lord, always considering himself a ‘useless servant,’ seeking no other reward than to serve Him; it is also through this gift that he will say to the mulberry tree or the mountains: ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ (Lk 17:6), and they will obey him.
By Fr. João Carlos Gomes Barroso, EP
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm with files from Heralds of the Gospel Magazine No. 286, October 2025.
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