the missing ingredient is radical faith

(and radical dogs)

St. Roch

“You will have what your faith expects!” (Matthew 9:29)

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Countless people have expressed the belief that the time of healing, wonders, and miracles is long gone. I beg to differ. In the name of explaining that perspective, please allow me to introduce you to St. Roch:

Saint Roch (Rocco in Italian) was born in 1295 to a rich family in Montpellier, France. Tradition says Roch was born with a birthmark of a red cross on his chest. He joined the Franciscan Order and distributed his fortune among the poor.

This was during the time of the plague so St. Roch set about going from town to town to help the people he encountered — fully healing many of them simply by making the Sign of the Cross over them.

Eventually, however, Roch was infected so he retreated to a cave to not endanger others.

It was there that a dog showed up every day with food for Rocco. The dog would lick the saint’s sores. One day, the dog’s owner followed his canine and found St. Roch completely healed from the dog’s efforts.

The statue of St. Roch at my local church.

So, I ask you: Why could Rocco miraculously heal people in the 13th century but most folks today can’t even fight off a head cold?

My theory: radical faith — or the lack thereof.

After all, in John 14:12, Jesus told us:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”

Roch surely read this passage and his mustard seed faith turned it into reality. He trusted so deeply in God’s promises that he was able to activate his inherent healing powers.

He eventually became the patron saint of those suffering from infectious diseases — and the patron saint of dogs.

I’ve heard it said that “radical faith leads to radical outcomes.” Since I’ve been called radical for most of my life, I’ll happily adopt that term.

If we occupy radical faith, we can do greater works than Jesus did when he was here — and not just healing. Over time, however, we’ve gotten too smart [sic] for our own good, too self-conscious to declare such strong belief.

Well, I’m not embarrassed to aim for the kind of faith that enables me to miraculously help others on a regular basis. Easier said than done, of course, but I can think of no greater goal to pursue in my life.

Who’s with me?

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