Week Beginning April 6, 2025
Faith
Saint Paul encourages us to live our lives rooted in faith: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7). Rooted in the rich soil of Christ’s love, our faith grounds and nourishes us. It holds us firm and sustains us as we strive to grow upward toward God and bear His fruit. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that by faith, our intellect apprehends hope and charity. In that order of generation, our faith precedes hope and love.
It is important to note that as a theological virtue, God must first impart faith in our souls before we can fully realize it. Through this supernatural habit, we unite our human intellect to God. Faith shines a new and higher light on our minds that enables us to judge rightly about divine things and to believe what God reveals to us. Embracing this truth, we are compelled to adhere to God and commit to His will. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us:
“Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith ‘man freely commits his entire self to God.’ (DV 5) For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ Living faith ‘work[s] through charity’ (Rom 1:17; Gal 5:6) ” (CCC 1814).
In his treatment on faith, Saint Thomas Aquinas comments that both the material and formal object of faith is the true God and His truths. These truths are summarized in our Articles of Faith, which we reflect upon regularly as we profess our faith through the creeds. We are the subject of faith, which is infused as a supernatural perfection of our intellect. Faith elevates human reason, allowing us to take in the Articles of Faith and to judge them as true without seeing or proving their reality. Saint Bernard says, “I believe though I do not comprehend, and I hold by faith what I cannot grasp with the mind.”
Saint Thomas Aquinas assigns belief as the interior act proper to faith, which ends and rests in God. In faith, we believe in the existence of God, in His trustworthy witness of truth, and in the communion of knowledge that He establishes with us. Faith raises us beyond the intellectual aspect of belief and the emotional aspect of trust by allowing us to hold confidently to the supernatural truth that is unseen and indemonstrable. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Saint Augustine states, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” Believing leads us to see what God sees and know what God knows. “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’” (John 20:29).
Confession or profession constitutes the exterior act proper to faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church details:
“The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: ‘All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.’ (LG 42; cf. DH 14) Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: ‘So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven’ (Mt 10:32-33)” (CCC 1816).
Sins against the interior act of faith include unbelief, heresy, and apostasy. Blasphemy is the sin against the exterior act of faith. To keep our faith alive, we must live it out in conjunction with hope and charity. Saint James warns us, “For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
Faith flourishes when we seek God’s grace and incorporate our faith into everything we do. “Faith, if it is to grow, has to begin ever anew,” remarks Pope Francis. “It needs to be sparked by desire, to take up the challenge of entering into a living and lively relationship with God.” One great way to grow in faith is to take a break from our worldly noise and simply listen to God. “Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
The Gospel According to Mark recounts the healing of a boy with a demon (Mark 9:14-29). After an unsuccessful attempt by the disciples to drive the evil spirits out of the boy, his father approaches Jesus. He asks the Lord if he can do anything to help them. Jesus quickly tells him that everything is possible for those who have faith. The father famously replies, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” We can say this little prayer whenever our faith is tested and whenever we experience a flicker of doubt.
The two gifts of the Holy Spirit that perfect the act of faith are understanding and knowledge. Understanding further perfects faith through insight into the essence of the Articles of Faith. This divine understanding allows us to view God purified of unnecessary earthly imagery and analogies. Knowledge further perfects faith through judgment regarding the truth of created things in view of God. This divine knowledge allows us to mourn the ways that created things could take the place of God with a weak or undeveloped faith.
Through our participation in the virtue of faith, we begin our eternal lives with God’s eternal love. Faith is a special virtue that is only needed in this earthly realm. Once we reach heaven, we experience the beatific vision firsthand.
This week, think about how and when you might struggle with faith. Pope Francis observes: “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, His response is that of an accompanying presence.” How can you remain faithful to God as you work through your difficulties?
Do you completely accept the Word of God, or do you believe that values are personal and people have their own truths? To properly embrace the faith, we obey the divine before the human. We honestly conform to reality, rather than trying to make reality suit our individual whims and fancies.
Consider also how you nurture your faith every day. Are you taking enough time to pray and worship? Do you engage in Bible study, read scripture, join prayer groups, participate in retreats, kneel in adoration, frequent the sacraments, and pursue religious education? Are you keeping your faith alive through social services, love, and good works?
How do you profess your faith to others? Think about how you can use friendship to prepare the way to share the message of Jesus Christ. Are you radiating goodness and joy from the inside, so that your outward signs inspire others? Do you bear witness through the example of how you live? Do you invite others to join you on your faith journey? Pope Francis reminds us, “No one is saved alone. Isolation is not part of our faith.”
Open your soul to receiving the theological virtues, and let your faith save you.
