I’ve had the privilege, the good fortune to be involved here at Mercy Home for well over 30 years now and literally have seen thousands of children over the years entrusted to our care.

If there is one common denominator that brings the children from the various communities to Mercy Home it’s because in one way or another they’ve experienced trauma in their lives.

Now, when I say trauma at the heart of it trust has been violated in their lives.

Trust.

You know, we talk about love all the time. Love seems to be kind of the keystone, the center -but I don’t believe that. And that’s something that the children have taught me over the past 30 years or more. Love is not the foundation of life, trust is.

If you’re able to trust, then you have the capacity to love. But you have to be able to trust first.

The gospel today, in a very subtle way asks each of us: ‘Do you trust?’ Do you trust in God? Do you trust in yourself? Do you trust in others? Do you trust in life? If you trust, great things can be done.

And that’s what I’ve noticed with our young people over time here. They come and they live with us. We offer them a home. We give them a good education. We give them therapy. We give them all the things that any young person deserves in life. That’s what we do for them. And that broken trust begins to heal. They’re able to begin to trust in themselves in others and God and life.

The gospel asks us very subtly, but very truly: ‘Do you trust?’ Do you trust in the word of God? That says, in my father’s house there are many dwelling places. Created for you because I love you. That I have made a place for each and every one of you. If you trust in the word of the Lord, as we hear in the gospel today then we know that we’re loved and great things can happen in our lives.