Dear brothers and sisters, in the gospel of Luke 17: 5-6, when the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith, he replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. A similar verse is seen in Mark 11: 23 when Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” What the Lord is saying in both these verses is, just believe and it will be done for you. 

A mountain could refer to a block, a bondage, an obstacle. If you find mountains, blocks, obstacles, our normal human tendency is to worry about it, or cry or go around telling people about it asking people for help. But Jesus says when you see a mountain, a bondage or an obstacle, speak to the mountain or the obstacle or the windstorm. When Jesus encountered a storm, he didn’t call out to the Heavenly Father saying there is a storm. Jesus directly spoke to the storm. Similarly, he commanded to the devil, get out and they obeyed. When Jesus visited Peter, he rebuked the fever directly and it left Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus commanded to the spirit, or the storm or the mountain directly. That’s what we are directed to do. In the name of Jesus, we command to the mountain or obstacle, to move away with belief in our hearts.

A few years back a pregnant woman encountered complications. She was pregnant after many years of praying and was happy that she was blessed. But when she had these complications, she feared a miscarriage and refused to give a testimony. I asked her not to wait but believe in the Lord and testify. But she refused to testify and decided to wait and she was given a verse Isaiah 41:10 to repeat. fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. After a few days she called me again and said that the doctor had suggested an abortion as there were serious complications. I asked her to hold on and gave her another verse Joshua 1:9. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

She repeated these verses several times a day and after a few days, she called again saying that the doctor had suggested considering medical options due to serious complications. She mentioned that she had heard arguments suggesting that the Catechism of the Catholic Church might allow for extreme measures in life-threatening situations. I reminded her that the Church upholds the sanctity of life in all circumstances. While the Church teaches the principle of double effect in cases where a treatment to save the mother’s life unintentionally risks the child’s life, it does not endorse direct actions that intentionally harm the unborn. I encouraged her to focus on prayer and seek guidance that respects both her life and that of her unborn child.

I kept giving her hope and every time she was disturbed, she would call, and I would calm her. Soon her time of delivery came, and she delivered a baby who was baptised in Ramsgate. Few months later she called again, and was upset that she even thought of aborting her baby. When the baby is in the womb, we think we are getting rid of something in our bodies. That’s not the case. We are getting rid of an actual baby. So, when she called I gave her another Bible verse and she was consoled.

In this incident, this lady faced a huge mountain. Till the last minute, there was a mountain but the lady somehow believed and continued. But when God’s time came, all the mountains disappeared. This is exactly what Jesus said. In life, there will be mountains before us. But don’t run away. The mountains may not disappear immediately. Believe in the Lord Jesus and it will move away.

This was also true of the women who went to Jesus’ tomb. While on their way, they were talking among themselves about how they would roll the stone covering the tomb. They knew they needed men to roll the stone and were discussing it. But they kept moving ahead, even in that doubt. They didn’t stop their journey; they didn’t run asking people for help. When they reached the tomb, the stone was already rolled away and there was an angel sitting on it and the stone that was blocking them became the pulpit for good news. So, the stone that is blocking you today, will be the stone you stand on tomorrow to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. 

Dear brothers and sisters, just proceed with faith. Don’t cry about mountains when they are far away. Don’t stop your journey. Move on. Jesus said in Mark 11:22 – Have faith in God. Before we can command the mountain, we need to have faith in Christ. We are part of the resurrected body of Christ. We believe and then we command to the mountain and it will be moved.

Transcribed by Roseline Fernandes