The word "faith" (Greek pistis, Latin fides)is has two meanings, one objective and the other subjective. Objectively speaking, "faith" refers to the things one believes in. In such case, everything that we study in these classes are part of the Faith. When we say "the Faith", we are referring to these contents or objects of our belief.
The word "faith" has another meaning, the subjective one. (By "subjective" we mean that it is found in the subject or person believing, not in the truths believed.) In this second sense, it refers to the habit or virtue by which one accepts the truths or realities revealed by God. This is what we are going to discuss in this lesson.
In both cases, faith has nothing to do with feelings. Feelings come and go, they rise and they fall.
1.1 Human Faith
In the first introductory lesson ("How do you know?"), we have discussed the meaning of faith. We first described what human faith is, and we have seen how important it is for daily life. This is because faith means accepting the word of someone even if we ourselves have not personally witnessed the fact that he is speaking of. We believe what our parents tell us about ourselves, we believe what our teachers teach us, bosses have to believe the reports of their subordinates, businessmen believe the word of their clients and vice versa.... Without human faith, we would not be able to live life to the full, because we would be constantly trying to prove what other people tell us. We would not learn much, if we based our knowledge simply on what we personally observe.
1.2 Supernatural Faith
In the previous lesson, we have learned that God also has spoken to man. As in the case of human faith, we are free to accept or reject what God has said. Faith is the acceptance of God's Word, that comes to us through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as preserved and taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Point no. 25 of the Compendium asks:
How does man respond to God who reveals himself?
And it replies:
Sustained by divine grace, we respond to God with the obedience of faith, which means the full surrender of ourselves to God and the acceptance of his truth insofar as it is guaranteed by the One who is Truth itself.
(See also points 142-143 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)
Supernatural faith is one of the three virtues that are called "theological". The other two are hope and charity. Why are faith, hope and charity called "theological"? The word "theological" comes from the Greek Theos ("God") and logos ("account", "reason", "word"--among others). There are basically three reasons why these three virtues are called "theological"--it is because they have God for their
Faith is the response of man to God who reveals. It is the supernatural virtue that enables man by enlightening his intellect and aiding his will to give firm assent to everything that God has revealed, not on account of its intrinsic evidence but because of the authority of God who reveals and who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
2.1 It is a gift.
Reason does not suffice to enable one to know supernatural truths: the gift of faith is necessary. When Peter professed that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus told him that he did not know this through human reasoning. St Matthew (16:17) narrates:
17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Dei Verbum (no 5), quoted in point 153 of the CCC, declared:
Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth'.
2.2 It is a human act, not contrary to human freedom.
Faith is a human act. Every human act requires that the person knows what he is doing and wants to do it. Every human act requires knowledge and will.
Because faith is a kind of knowledge, it requires the person to know, though he may not fully grasp what is revealed to him. Knowing means accepting, and acceptance requires a willingness to accept, it requires the consent of the will.
And what is freedom? The CCC, in no. 1731, teaches us:
Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life.
Hence, because faith is a human act, an act that requires intellect and will, it is an act that requires freedom.
The CCC (no. 160) says:
To be human, "man's response to God by faith must be free, and... therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act."[DH 10; cf. CIC, can. 748 # 2] "God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus."[DH 11] Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. "For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom... grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself."[DH 11; cf. Jn 18:37; 12:32]
2.3 It is not contrary to reason. Faith & Science.
Is there an opposition between faith and science?
Aristotle once said that in order to learn, one must believe, one must have faith. Many of the things we learn come not from direct experience, but through another--teachers, writers, experts in their respective fields. Though they may err, or may not tell the truth, we trust them nevertheless. But in the case of supernatural faith we are talking about God, who neither deceives nor can be deceived.
There can therefore be no contradiction between faith and science. Two reasons:
The CCCC no. 29 teaches us:
Though faith is above reason, there can never be a contradiction between faith and science because both originate in God. It is God himself who gives to us the light both of reason and of faith.
Science that opposes faith is false. There can never be an affirmation which is true on a supernatural plane and erroneous on a human one. Likewise, a natural truth can never oppose a supernatural one.
The Second Vatican Council's documentGaudium et Spes teaches us:
Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are.
2.4 Supernatural
The truths that God reveals exceed man’s capabilities; therefore, man needs the grace of God to believe. It is most reasonable to ask for the gift of faith.
It is futile to try to prove the faith because it is above the natural finite intellect. However, one can prove that anything that goes against the truth is false.
2.6 Ecclesial
"Why is faith a personal act, and at the same time ecclesial?" the Compendium of the Catechism asks (no. 30). Then it replies as follows:
Faith is a personal act insofar as it is the free response of the human person to God who reveals himself. But at the same time it is an ecclesial act which expresses itself in the proclamation, “We believe”. It is in fact the Church that believes: and thus by the grace of the Holy Spirit precedes, engenders and nourishes the faith of each Christian For this reason the Church is Mother and Teacher.
To believe is an act of a believer as a believer, as a member of the Church.
St Cyprian (De unit. 6: PL 4, 519) says:
No one can have God as his father who does not have the Church as his mother.
There are many ways towards God. God leads each one through a different path. If we were to analyze, however, the different logical steps to the faith, we could distinguish four stages. It should be noted that God can dispense of these steps, and in one single act of overpowering grace, the person may suddenly discover himself believing.
A. Speculative credibility judgment: "This is believable." "It is reasonable to believe this."
God made a series of signs available. These are motives for belief, facts that show that it is reasonable to believe. These motives of credibility are:
1. Motives external to man
a. Motives extrinsic to [i.e., not part of] revealed truth itself
b. Motives intrinsic to [i.e., part of] revealed truth itself
2. Motives internal to man
a. Common to all: the admirable satisfaction of human aspirations towards justice, sanctity and God. The Catholic Faith fulfils and surpasses all the honest and noble aspirations of man’s intelligence and will
b. Individual: the personal experience of profound peace which the world cannot give (cf John 14:27)
These show that to believe is by no means the fruit of blind impulse.
B. Speculative practical credendum judgment: "This has to be believed." "This must be believed."
The Latin word "credendum" means "[it] must be believed".
C. Practical-practical credendum judgment: "I have to believe this." "I want to believe this."
Here the will decides and it commands the intellect to open itself to the object to be believed. "I have to believe this here and now." This step requires the help of supernatural grace. Hence, the act of faith cannot simply be a consequence of human reasoning, since it leads to a supernatural action.
D. The act of faith: "I believe this."
This is the intellect's final assent and acceptance. It is the act of faith.
As we said above, can be taken in two senses: the virtue by which we believe, and the contents of our belief. We have seen that our growth in the virtue of faith comes from God's infusion of it into our soul.
How about the contents of our belief? Can we do anything to make these grow? Yes. Among others, we can do the following:
Theology is the science of the Faith.
The best theologians were all saints.
If we didn't believe the things our parents told us about themselves, about our family history, about our own selves, they will be most displeased and feel hurt. Similarly, if we did not have faith in God, we could not please Him. We would offend him. The CCC (no. 161) teaches us:
Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.
Can faith alone save us?
This was the claim of Martin Luther: faith alone (sola fide) is enough for salvation. But it is clear from Sacred Scripture that aside from believing, man has to act according to his belief as well. Note, for example, the following passages:
21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (Matthew 7:21)
46 Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46)
6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:
7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. (Romans 2:6-8)
13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. (Romans 2:13)
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (I Corinthians 13:2)
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God.
24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
(James 2:14-24)
Some people, however, will quote Ephesians 2:8-9, which says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The answer to this is simply to continue reading all the way to verse 10, which calls for good works. It says:
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The CCC (no. 1816) teaches us:
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....
A Christian’s entire life should be a manifestation of his faith. Every aspect of his life should be illuminated by faith and should show his faith. Consider the following passages of Scripture:
The just man lives by faith. (Hebrews 2:4)
Faith works through charity. (Galatians 5:6)
Faith without works is dead. (James 2 : 20-26)
Proof of genuine faith is a strong unity of life in work, family, social life. Examples:
St Josemaria taught that we cannot set our faith aside in our professional activity (The Way 353). The Second Vatican Council said that the greatest error of our time is the separation of faith and life. When we give in to actions contrary to our faith, these actions weaken faith and place us in danger of losing it.
We should not only try to preserve the Faith. We have to spread it (Cf Matthew 5:15) (CCC 166). We have an obligation to shape the whole of society with Christianity’s teachings and spirit, because these teachings are based on the true nature of man.
Mary is the model of Faith put into practice. The CCC (nos. 148 and 149) tells us:
The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word."[Luke 1:37-38; cf Genesis 18:14] Elizabeth greeted her: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."[Luke 1:45] It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed [cf Luke 1:48].
Throughout her life and until her last ordeal[cf Luke 2:35] when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary's faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfilment of God's word. And so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.