(Mark 9)
We tend to think of faith as acceptance of Church teaching. The old "Act of Faith" proclaimed: "O my God, I believe that thou art one God in three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." This way of understanding faith is valid and necessary. But first and foremost, faith is a relationship with God. It is placing our trust in Him or, for us Christians, in his Son, Jesus Christ. When Teyve in the musical Fiddler on the Roof carries on his continual conversation with God, he is demonstrating this primary kind of faith.
In the gospel today the father of the boy possessed by a demon expresses the quality of faith most of us share. "I do believe," he tells Jesus, "help my unbelief." Like that desperate man, we have an incipient relationship with Jesus. But it is not strong because we have not nurtured it with prayer. Somehow we must develop our imperfect faith.
To allow our faith to reach full stature we want to pray constantly. Formal prayers are fine. The rosary requires significant time and offers more mysteries now to contemplate. At a minimum, we can say grace, especially with the family present. Above all, we need to offer the perfect prayer of Christ's Eucharist. We also might converse with Christ as our friend. We can thank him for His goodness, tell him that we love him, and request his help with temptation. Doing so, we move our faith to maturity in love.
