Today’s liturgy recalls two essential aspects of Christian life, which are faith and service. Without faith, it is impossible to please God or to be saved. One must constantly pray for the faith. We find an example of such a prayer in today’s Gospel. The apostles asked Christ: Increase our faith. His union with the Father in prayer, they felt that by their own strength they were unable to comprehend God’s mysteries or fulfill the vocation they had been given. Lord, increase our faith – this is one of the simplest, but also the most important prayers of the Church. Meanwhile, many Christians, when asking God for health or for the successful settlement of difficult matters, forget about faith, treating it as something obvious, once gained forever. The gift of faith that we received at the Baptism we must constantly multiply. If we had the faith like a mustard seed, it would move mountains and replant mighty old trees, that is, it would do what seems humanly impossible.
The faith is invisible. It cannot be seen or measured. There is also no spiritual ammeter that would measure its intensity. We recognize the faith by fruits. That is why Jesus combines the doctrine of faith with the encouragement to develop the attitude of a servant who is guided by selfless love. St. Catherine of Siena expressed this truth very well: “Love is like a maid who washes dirty dishes in the kitchen.”