DAILY HOMILIES #virtue

Even though most of the people who approached Jesus for healing got instantaneous healing, this man’s case just happened to be different. I believe this particular story is in the Bible so that we would know that sometimes, God could choose to work things out for us in stages. Yes, there are times we get instant answers, but could it be the case that right now, God may be blessing you little by little without you even noticing it?

No matter how we try to escape death, it follows us like our shadow. The more we run from it, the more it sticks to us. Today, the Book of Wisdom teaches us that the death cure is not in trying to avoid death but in living a virtuous life: “The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment will ever touch them… they are at peace.”

St. Joseph is a kind of Abraham; he believed the message of the Angel and agreed to be the earthly father of Jesus Christ, this way giving credence to the prophecy of Nathan which we read about in today’s first reading. An offspring from the house of David whose house shall be established forever.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one tiny and often insignificant step. It is not the size of the first step that matters but the direction to which that step is pointed.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus describes the kingdom of God as a mustard seed that appears to be the smallest of all seeds but eventually becomes the biggest of all shrubs. A good character begins with little habitual acts. To become the person of your dreams, you have to start with very few acts of goodness and holiness.

Being timid is trying to hide the gifts and talents that God has deposited in you. It is a form of spiritual coldness or slothfulness. It is keeping quiet when you should raise your voice for God out of fear of what people would do to you.