Lord, Increase Our Faith

“Lord, increase our faith.”

This was the prayer from the Gospel reading. And maybe it’s our prayer too. Especially when life feels heavy, when people frustrate us, or when God seems distant. Sometimes, we just want more faith. Not just to believe that God exists, but to trust Him deeply, to follow Him wholeheartedly, and to live in a way that shows we really do belong to Him.

But how does that kind of faith grow?

Fr Dom shared a simple but striking story to help us think about this. A man enters heaven and is shown three cabinets. The first is filled with ears, symbolising those who listened to God’s Word but never acted on it. The second is filled with tongues, representing those who spoke about God but didn’t live His truth. The third is filled with hearts, people who were full of emotion and enthusiasm but struggled to show real love to everyone.

It’s a sobering image. Because it’s not enough to just hear, speak, or feel. Faith must move us to live differently.

In Luke 17:1–4, Jesus speaks directly about the way we live. He warns us not to be the cause of someone else’s sin. He urges us to forgive, even if someone wrongs us seven times a day. And He reminds us to be like servants, doing what we’ve been asked, not for recognition or praise, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

That sounds tough. But when we start to live like that, something changes. We stop taking offence so easily. We stop needing credit for every little thing. We begin to care more about who we serve, and less about how others see us.

That’s the kind of faith that grows. Not the faith of loud words or emotional highs, but the steady, daily choice to love, to forgive, and to stay faithful even when it’s hard.

Faith is not just about saying “I believe in God.” It’s about asking, “How can I live in a way that shows it?” It’s about saying sorry when we mess up. About forgiving when we’ve been hurt. About showing kindness to people who are difficult. About being grateful for the little things, even on the hard days.

And maybe that’s the answer to the question we started with. How do we increase our faith?

We live it. Bit by bit. Step by step. Day by day. (BV)