# The Lack of Faith
*2018-07-12*

> Bill Young reflects on a mysterious warm cloth, the Gospel’s teaching on faith, and a French laywoman’s insights, inviting listeners to deepen their trust in God.

## A Warm Cloth and a Shared Experience

A few weeks ago at our third annual congress, I received a cloth that seemed to radiate warmth when I touched it. I later passed the cloth to several other couples at a retreat, and each reported feeling the same heat. Even my doctor, a Catholic who grew up in the Bronx and studied at St. John’s University, sensed the warmth. This shared experience reminded me that the Lord is inviting us to place our faith in Him.

## Scriptural Foundations: Faith and Healing

The Gospel reading that came to mind was the story of the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak. He turned, said that power had gone out of Him, and then told the woman that her faith had healed her. A few Sundays earlier, we heard the passage where Jesus says He could do few miracles in His hometown because of the people’s lack of faith. Both passages show that faith is the key that unlocks God’s grace.

## Reading from *The Lack of Faith*

I turned to a French laywoman, Varnible Madeline, whose book *The Lack of Faith* (page 114) discusses how faith, not miracles, is the essential ingredient for God’s action. She writes that faith must be accompanied by God’s will; He will not grant us miracles that contradict His commandments. Madeline, raised in an atheist family, became a mystic devoted to the poor—a personal miracle of conversion that underscores the power of faith.

## Prayer and Psalm 43

We opened with a prayer and read Psalm 43:

“Defend me, O God, and plead my cause against the deceitful and cunning. Rescue me, O God, my stronghold. Send forth your light and truth, that they may guide me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. I will give thanks on the harp, O God, my Redeemer.”

This psalm reminds us that even when we feel rejected or oppressed, we can place our hope in God’s light.

## Living Out Faith in Community

Faith is not a private feeling; it thrives in community. Whether through family, parish groups, the Legion of Mary, or other Catholic associations, we must support one another against the secular pressures that seek to erode our belief. As the Gospel shows, even Jesus faced doubt among His own people, yet He persisted. Likewise, we are called to persevere, trusting that God’s love sustains us.

*Faith, even as small as a mustard seed, opens the way for God’s miracles in our lives.*