What is faith? We speak of the Christian faith, the light of faith, the unity of faith, the mystery of faith, a particular Catholic might have strong faith, weak faith, lukewarm faith, devout faith, improperly formed faith. What is faith?
Well, the next question in the rite of acceptance gives some insight.
“What are you asking from the Church” They answer “faith.” And then the priest asks them, “Why? Why do you want faith? What does faith offer you?” And the answer is “eternal life”.
Throughout the RCIA program, the candidates study the catechism, and participate in the Church’s liturgy, and begin to engage in service and the life of the parish because through the Christian faith they are led to eternal life.
That’s why the Church exists. We’re not a social club, a place to go on Sundays because you have nothing better to do. The Church exists to proclaim, to grow in faith, to spread the faith, to celebrate the faith. Because faith enables us to obtain something that nothing else in the world can provide. Eternal life.
Written in bold letters above our sanctuary, what does it say? He who believes in the Son of God, in other words, he who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God, has, eternal life.
Faith is part of God’s remedy for our mortality. “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins,” says the Lord Himself in John’s Gospel. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life.
The importance of faith is evident by the Lord’s own teaching. Because that act of the will to believe leads us to conform our lives with the author of Truth who is life itself. I am the way, the truth, and the life. So believe it, follow it, live it.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
The answer to that question certainly has consequences doesn’t it? Through faith we turn toward the Lord and seek to walk in his ways. The righteous shall live by faith, and walk by faith.
Last week I shared how during Ordinary Time, we seek to grow in the ordinary dimensions of the Christian life. How might we grow in faith?
Well, the same way our catechumens in the RCIA will grow in faith as they prepare for Easter. Study, scripture, prayer, liturgical worship, service, and repentance from Sin.
How Study help you to grow in faith? Memorizing the 10 commandments, studying what the catechism says about them, can certainly help you to walk by them. How can you follow them if you don’t know them? But also, study can help you explain the faith to non-believers with greater clarity. Non-believers are often seeking understanding. Why do you Catholics believe what you believe? And study helps us explain with knowledge and understanding rooted in the Word of God.
Scripture grows faith. We need something going in our eyes and ears and hearts besides the garbage on television and the internet. We need the light of God to illuminate our lives. Scripture is God’s Word given to us, for us. It’s meant to be read, understood, taught, and lived. How can you live it, if you don’t read it?
Prayer builds faith. Prayer is not an option if you want faith. Life without prayer is a sad, dry weary endless desert. Without prayer we grow exhausted and happy. The Lord says faith in him causes a fountain of refreshment to bubble up from within us. Prayer is to go to that well-spring and drink.
Liturgical worship builds faith. In Lent this year, our new auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost will be offering a retreat here at St. Ignatius, on Saturday March 18. Bishop Woost is a trained liturgist, and a liturgical and sacramental theologian. No doubt the Bishop will help us to enter more deeply into the mystery of God through the liturgy of the Church.
Prayer is like breathing. Personal prayer is like inhaling, liturgical, corporate prayer is like exhaling. We need both if we hope to breath, and we need to breath if we want to live. But prayer also sustains us through our trials, helping us to keep our eyes focused on Christ and to know God’s presence with us. Whether you are going through an illness or a family drama or an economic crisis or a temptation that you thought you overcame many years ago, prayer is needed to keep your eyes fixed on Christ.
Service builds faith. Faith without works is dead, st. james’ letter says bluntly. To grow in faith is to grow in our willingness to engage in works, charitable works, self-less works, sacrificial works. Have you ever been disappointed when you engaged in a selfless act? No.
And finally, repentance of sins is indispensable for faith. Over and over, the scriptures show the enemies of Jesus, the pharisees, scribes, and saducees, as faithless due to their unwillingness to acknowledge and repent of their sins.
Moment of honesty here folks. I sat in the confessional for an hour last saturday with zero confessions. I don’t know what’s going on here? I don’t know if you don’t believe in the power of the Sacrament? I don’t know if someone told you that confession is not important and a vital dimension of the Catholic faith? If we need to change the confessional schedule or hire another priest to come in for confessions, we can do that, if it will help.
But, Faith cannot grow if there are unacknowledged, unrepented sins. Unrepentance is a terrible terrible thing that can exclude us from eternal life. Have faith that Jesus is waiting for you, as Pope Francis has said, waiting for you in the confessional. Go to confession at least three or four times a year, or as soon as possible, if a mortal sin has been committed.
Faith. It is the source of our unity. It transforms us into fishers of men. It is a light that guides us in darkness. It leads us to the font of God’s everlasting mercy. It’s leads to eternal life. In the words of the Apostles in St. Luke’s Gospel, “Lord, increase our faith” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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