"...the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all..."

Today's Gospel from Mark chapter 4 is all about faith. Jesus taught the crowds only in parables.  Here we meet two parables together in which Jesus uses the image of seeds and sowing, growing, blossoming and harvest.

We know that an increase in faith is a gift we can pray for (for ourselves and others).  We can also work at it ourselves, to be faithful, growing in the virtue and deepening our own faith through our love and service to Our Lord and other people.

As with other virtues, once we start to practice our faith more, it grows!  This is true both in the 'doing'  - of going to Mass and Confession, making time to pray and listen for Our Lord's voice and action in our life, as well as in the  - 'being' - of taking to heart Jesus' words in the Gospels and allowing His Holy Spirit to change us from within, to become available and teachable for whatever He is calling us to be for Him in our lives.

In the parables we can see Jesus simply explaining to the crowds which are the 'successful' seeds that, though tiny and seemingly unpromising, will bear the most fruit.

As we ponder today's Gospel, let's offer our hearts again to Him, asking Jesus to increase our faith and 'help our unbelief' to that we can step out and never look back on our journey.

The first reading for Mass today has the encouraging challenge:

"... we are the sort who keep faithful until our souls are saved."