Patience, love, self-control, and steadfast love are the themes of today's readings.

Increase our faith!" It was the plea of the apostles then, and it's been the plea of Christians ever since, including the people who make their weekly pilgrimage to church.

We might agree that love is more than a feeling. It’s more than romance. It’s more than a ring on a finger or what money can buy.

In the gospel Jesus tells a story about not looking for a reward for doing what you are expected to do. For some, though, even getting the minimum of what's owed them can be a struggle.

It may seem hard to wait--in prayer, meditation, or simple awareness. Yet Habakkuk promises that God "will not disappoint."

God commands us to love, and God's expectation is that we will follow that command. It is what we are obliged to do. No matter what the circumstances, our job is to love.

Doubt in your faith is different from a lack of faith.

With faith in God's promises, we ask forgiveness for those times we have not let those promises be fulfilled in us.

Why do you let me see ruin? Habakkuk's cry of "How long, O Lord" has been on the lips of faithful people for ages. The psalms are full of similar outcries.

I am determined not to place limits to trust and to extend it to all things . . . . You will be my strength, O my God, you will be my guide, my director, my counsel, my patience, my knowledge, my peace, my justice, and my prudence.