Awakening the Faith

In one of her messages at Medjugorje, Mary said, "It is necessary to awaken the faith, for it is a gift from God." In the Gospel of Mark, we read, "All things can be done for the one who believes."(Mk 9:22 Fr. Richard Beyer writes, "Faith, is not, of course, something tangible that can be taken like medicine. It is, rather, an attitude of trusting and believing. And yet even our ability to believe is a gift from God; no matter how much faith we have, we never reach the point of being self-sufficient. Faith cannot be stored away like money in the bank; growing in faith is a constant process of renewing daily our trust in Christ." (Medjugorje Day by Day, July 29). Certainly, two pillars in our Marist pantheon, Fr. Champagnat and Brother Florentius, were men of such faith. For Father Champagnat to plow ahead with opposition from his fellow clergy, with constant debt, and disappointment after disappointment, it took an enormous amount of faith and trust, which grew with each test he faced to accomplish what he did. Brother Florentius began Central Catholic High School on total faith, establishing a school for boys in the midst of the Depression, with no building and no money. Today, the worldwide Marist Brothers and increasing number of lay people embracing our Marist Spirituality, and the success of Central Catholic High School as it celebrates 75 marvelous years of education bear witness to the truth that faith, unlocked and fortified by prayer invites the Lord to fill in what is missing and help us conquer the unconquerable.
It is with this attitude that I leave for Medjugorje today to join 50,000 Youth from around the world for the annual YOUTH FESTIVAL, bringing all Daily Bread "followers" to Mary in this grace-filled setting. While traveling, it will not be possible to e-mail every day, but I hope, once there, to keep these reflections on line as much as is feasible. Please keep us in your prayers.
Bro. Rene