III: The Attributes of an Apostle - Faith

Jesus said to his apostles: "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21 NRSV)

If those of you who have been reading the series on bringing back the "lost sheep" have been wondering how St. Francis de Sales could possibly have brought as many as 60,000 sheep back to the Catholic fold, the answer lies here - in faith. This faith is not faith in our own abilities to make the impossible possible, but faith in God's ability to do so. This is never needed as much as in bringing lost souls back home.

Mark tells the story of a rich young man who once went to Jesus with the question of how to attain eternal life (Mark 10:17-27). Jesus shrugged and said to him: "You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

The young man replied, with sincere righteousness, "All these I do. What else do I need to do?"

I imagine Jesus looked at him for a long moment, studying him, before softly saying to the young man: "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor. Then come, follow me."

At that the young man's face fell because he had great wealth and was unable to part with it. As he walked away Jesus said to his disciples words that have become very famous: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

"If that is the case," the disciples wanted to know, "then who can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

All things are possible with God, and if we trust that He will help us to bring back those who are lost to Him, He certainly will. The greater the trust the more people we will be able to bring to Him. Francis de Sales stands as a testimony to that fact. So does the Holy Spirit Interactive ministry.