The boy in the Gospel story shows all the signs of having an epileptic fit. For people in those days who did not understand the causes of such a problem, it must have been a frightening mystery. Not surprisingly, they thought the victim was in the control of some external power. As in many Gospel stories it is the words of Jesus that are most important. In this case we have a wonderful dialogue. The boy's father cries in desperation: "If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!" "If you can?" is Jesus' retort. "Everything is possible to anyone who has faith." To which the man makes the wonderful reply: "I do have faith. Help my lack of faith!" We can all identify easily with this man. We know that we need a deep trust in God's love for us but, so often, that trust is very weak and sometimes full of doubt. But the Gospel message so often is that it is only when we surrender totally into God's hands that he is able to help us.