THE LIFE OF MIRACLES

"If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore, 'Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea,' and it would obey you." —Luke 17:6

The Lord commands us to:

correct our brothers and sisters when they sin (Lk 17:3),
repent of our own sins before we correct others (Mt 7:5),
forgive those who repent of their sins — no matter how many times they sin (Lk 17:3-4),
forgive those who do not repent and who continue to wrong us (see Lk 23:34), and
forgive and love our enemies (Mt 5:44), as Jesus does.

It is obviously impossible to obey these commands of Jesus. Correcting others is a dangerous business. People usually don't like to be corrected. Repenting of sin is humanly impossible, for sin blinds us to our sins. Also, as Alexander Pope said: "To err is human; to forgive is divine."

Jesus is calling us to do the impossible and to live the life of miracles — miracles of confrontation, reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness, freedom, holiness, and love. To receive these miraculous graces, we need faith. So let us pray with the apostles: "Increase our faith" (Lk 17:5). By faith, we will conquer kingdoms, obtain God's promises (Heb 11:33), and live the life of miracles.

Prayer: Father, after I receive several miracles of forgiveness, may I see several miracles of healing.

Promise: "The Spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says." —Wis 1:7

Praise: When Thomas decided to forgive, his blood pressure went down.