The Mustard seed

Friends in Christ,

today Our Lord speaks of the little mustard seed that becomes a great tree; and of yeast, which though barely seen, can transform the whole mass of dough. He is speaking of the big effects of a Christian life through seeming small actions.

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In the year 404AD there lived a holy monk called Telemachus. He was a hermit of the desert, a man of prayer, but at one point he felt compelled to go to Rome. There, the gladiator games were continuing – the source of blood-lust and evil in which people reveled. The Catholic faith was by this time, legal, but it was evident that many were still pagan.

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When Telemachus saw the horror of the gladiator games, men fighting each other and killing each other to the roar of the crowd – he was horrified. He jumped from his seat right into the arena, and stood between the gladiators. He was tossed aside, but he went back again, and then a sword appeared and he was dead.

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But there was a hush. the enormous crowd was silent. A holy man was dead. something happened that day in Rome, for there were never any gladiator games any more.

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Jesus speaks today of the tiny mustard seed and the yeast, which by themselves seem insignificant, but which can produce a great effect. This is how he wants our life to be. He wants us, by doing what is right daily, standing for the faith, choosing good over evil in a hundred little ways – like Telemachus – St. Telemachus – Our Lord wants us to be the catalyst for good in our own circles of influence. And we do this by daily prayer, and choosing the path of holiness at every step.

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We don’t know where each step will lead us, but in this way, the Lord will be able to make great use of us to build up the kingdom of God.