Thankful Faith

Oh you Little-Faiths

I remember Fr. Frank Niehause, Director of St Joseph’s Orphanage, coming to our classroom one morning. His personality was always so positive, warm and loving that it out-spoke his words. What he said in casual conversation influenced me more than what he said in his Sunday sermons. On that morning we were surprised to see him in our classroom. He began by teasing Sister Mary Alben about her annoyance with left-handers like himself. Perhaps it was his gentle way of telling her to back off. Then he began to talk to us about the amazing stuff we hear about from the Bible and traditional stories of the Church. Then with an honesty that drove deep into my heart, he said, “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that all this stuff is true, isn’t it. It’s hard to believe it really happened.” I don’t recall the rest of his talk, but he gave me the grace to struggle with my faith and doubt.

Jesus teasingly nicknamed his followers “the Little-faiths.” I can relate to that. Often my prayer is, “Lord I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.” The call to thanksgiving is one way He answers that prayer. When we give thanks, we are declaring that God has done something for us. It is an exercise of faith. The proverb goes “Thank God for small favors.” If my faith is small, let me give thanks for the little things in my life. Our days are filled with thousands of “little things”; enough to keep us busy thanking God all the day long. Just like physical exercise, this spiritual exercise will strengthen our faith. Soon it will be no trouble at all “to believe that all this stuff is true.”