“Amen, I say to 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” (Matthew 17:20).

The verse echoed through my heart as I stared out at the towering mountains quickly passing by my passenger seat window. And there, in the quiet of my heart, I thought, Yeah, right.

Because have you ever seen a mountain move? Have you ever seen the sick be healed? Have you ever seen the crippled walk? My thoughts made me slink back in shame. Even though I profess with my tongue the greatness of the Lord, when it comes right down to these unexplainable miracles, doubt fills my troubled mind.

In a very real way, I connected so deeply with those questioning Jesus in today’s Gospel. I felt their doubt echo through the very core of me. Because I know what their apprehension feels like. I carry it so deeply in my heart. And it aches.

It aches with a longing to find the freedom to believe.

Faith is a gift. And so often I feel as though it is one that is still waiting for me to unwrap . . . if only I could find it! Faith, while we receive it first at Baptism, requires us to embrace it and to make a conscious decision to believe through our doubts.

So if you also feel the weight of doubt clinging to your soul, may you pray for an increase of the gift of faith. Maybe someday we will all feel that mustard seed springing up from within us. Maybe someday we’ll finally have the faith to move those mountains.

[bctt tweet="Faith is a gift. // @iambritcal" username="blessedisshe__"]

Read Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's sermon in 2012 about this parable (scroll to June 17).

Brittany Calavitta is an enthusiastic advocate for a good book, strong coffee, and a hopeful heart. After battling years of infertility, she and her husband welcomed their first child on September 11, 2016. You can find out more about her here.