Discussion Questions

First Reading

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4

F1. Can you relate to this reading from Habakkuk? This writer could no longer endure violence, abuse and oppression everywhere in the world. What about you? Where do the challenges of discipleship come from for you?

F2. Habakkuk speaks of misery and violence. What helps you survive the misery in your life? In a tough situation can your faith sustain you? Do you need to exercise your faith in lesser matters in order to be ready?

Second Reading

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

S1. According to Paul, what did God give us instead of the “spirit of cowardice?” How can we “stir into flames” the power of love and self-control? Can love overcome cowardice and be a weapon for Christians?

S2.Discuss authoritarianism, empathy and openness. Are they signs of strength or weakness? Of love or cowardice?

Gospel

Luke 17:5-10

G1. Is quantity an issue when it comes to faith? Would an infinitely small amount of faith (a mustard seed’s-worth) fulfill what Jesus promised to the apostles?

G2. Do you know people, as Pope Francis suggests here, who, with incredibly strong faith, have moved mountains, or as this reading suggests, “uprooted mulberry trees”? Who are they? What have they accomplished? Can your faith help you do the kinds of things they did? Can it help you overcome obstacles?

The mustard seed is very small, but Jesus says that it is enough to have a faith like this, small, but true, sincere to do things that are humanly impossible, unthinkable. And it is true! We all know people who are simple, humble, but with an incredibly strong faith, who truly move mountains!

Pope Francis, Angelus Message, October 6, 2013

Anne Osdieck

**From Saint Louis University