The prophet Habakkuk looks upon violence, injustice and the apparent triumph of evil. He asks God:
“Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent?”
It is a question believers have asked in every age.
Why does God permit error to spread?
Why do the wicked prosper?
Why does He not act immediately?
God answers:
“The vision awaits its appointed time… If it seems slow, wait for it.”
God is never late. His providence is never defeated. What appears to us as delay is not indifference. He sees the whole of history, while we see only one moment.
Therefore, the Lord says:
“The righteous shall live by his faith.”
Faith means holding fast to God when we cannot yet see the outcome. It is not a vague optimism. It is the firm assent of the mind to God’s truth because God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has spoken.
In the Gospel, the disciples cannot cast out the demon. Our Lord rebukes their lack of faith:
“O faithless and twisted generation.”
He tells them that faith like a grain of mustard seed can move mountains.
Christ is not promising that every passing wish will be granted. He is teaching that supernatural faith, joined to God’s will, conquers obstacles which human strength cannot overcome.
Remember Our Lord’s warning that certain demons are driven out only by prayer and fasting.
Faith must therefore be armed.
Prayer joins the soul to God.
Fasting weakens the rebellion of the flesh.
Faith gives both their power and direction.
This is the pattern we see in Saint Dominic.
He lived at a time when grave errors were leading souls away from the Catholic faith. He did not answer falsehood with violence, flattery or compromise. He answered with truth, prayer and penance.
He studied the doctrine of the Church so that he could preach clearly.
He spent long hours in prayer so that his words might come from God.
He embraced poverty and mortification so that his life would not contradict his preaching.
Dominic understood that error is not overcome by clever arguments alone. The preacher must first be converted by the truth he proclaims.
That lesson is urgently needed today.
We lament the decline of faith, confusion in society and the loss of souls. Yet do we pray for their conversion? Do we practise penance? Do we know our faith well enough to defend it? Do our lives make Catholic truth believable?
Before we attempt to move the mountains around us, we must allow grace to move the mountain within us: our pride, our tepidity and our attachment to sin.
At this Mass, the sacrifice of Christ is made present upon the altar. Here is the source of Saint Dominic’s strength and of every true renewal of the Church.
Let us ask him for three gifts:
a mind formed by Catholic truth,
a heart persevering in prayer,
and a life strengthened by penance.
For the righteous live by faith—and faith that truly lives must pray, sacrifice and bear witness to Jesus Christ.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 