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.
A good number of times we may have heard someone say he feels his faith is weak. For so many people, faith is a kind o feeling that comes and goes. But this is not the real meaning of faith. So, what is faith?
In English (as well as in Latin), the term "faith" has two basic meanings. (It is important to clarify this point at the start because there are languages--such as Chinese--where these two meanings are expressed in different terms.)
- On one hand, we can take "faith" as the CONTENT of our belief. In this sense, it is "objective", i.e., it is not in the person believing but outside him. When we study the Creed, the Commandments, the Sacraments, and Prayer, we are studying faith in its objective sense.
- On the other, we can take "faith" as either the ACT by which we believe, or the VIRTUE that makes it possible for us to make an act of faith. It is this second meaning that we will dwell on in this class.
In common language, faith has several meanings, ranging from opinion to conviction. When we speak of faith, we are talking of a kind of knowledge. [Click here for notes on "How do you know?"]
Faith is believing the things another person tells us because we trust the authority and trustworthiness of that person. When that person happens to be God, we speak of faith in God, or supernatural faith.
How is faith related to hope? The Letter to the Hebrews teaches us that "faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that are not seen” (Heb 11:1).
Earlier, we said that the second meaning of faith is two-fold: when we speak of faith we could be referring to the act of faith, or we could be referring to the virtue that makes it possible for us to make an act of faith. Since virtues are known through their acts (that's what Aristotle and St Thomas tell us), before taking a look at supernatural faith let us briefly examine what the act of faith is.
The act of faith is a firm, voluntary, and supernatural assent to the truths revealed by God, based on the authority of God himself. (see St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II q2 a9)
The act of faith is an assent. The dictionary says that "to assent" is "to agree" or "to concur". Assent is the mind's acceptance of a proposition that is put before it. The assent or concurrence is easy when the evidence is directly observable, or also when the evidence can be arrived at through reasoning (if you have not read "How do you know", do read it now before proceeding.) It hardly requires the will to command the mind to assent. But in the case of evidence provided by another, the mind (or intellect) cannot accept the proposition unless the will moves it to do so. The will has to move the intellect to trust the word of the other person. Now, the object of faith (the proposition put to us) is a supernatural truth. In order to accept it, the will has to be moved and the mind has to be enlightened to accept that the witness (Jesus Christ) indeed has access to that truth. The impulse cannot be merely human. It has to be supernatural as well. The source of faith is God.
As laid out in the table above, the object of faith is God. When we are asked what we believe, we say, "I believe God and everything else that He says."
Furthermore, if we are asked why we believe, we say, "I believe because God said so, and what he says is trustworthy." Theological language puts it this way: the internal motive of faith is the authority of God who reveals (cf Romans 10:17; Mat thew 11:25; I Thessalonians 2:13).
Properties of the Act of Faith
The properties of the act of faith are as follows:
- it is supernatural in its object, its motive and its source or principle, as we have seen above (cf John 6:29; Ephesians 2:8).
- it is voluntary and free, because it requires the action of the intellect and the will (freedom is informed and intelligent choice, not a blind throw of dice) (cf Mark 16:14, 16 ff; John 3:18).
- it is infallible, since it is based on the authority of God who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
- it must be firm, that is, it must exclude any doubt (cf Eph 4:14).
The virtue of faith is that supernatural habit which makes the act of faith possible. The supernatural virtues capacitate the natural powers to perform acts beyond their natural ability and are infused together with sanctifying grace. The supernatural virtues grow in the measure that sanctifying grace grows.
The First Vatican Council defined faith as “a supernatural virtue” by which, “with the inspiration and help of God’s grace, we believe that what he has revealed is true, not because its intrinsic truth is seen with the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God who reveals it, of God who can neither deceive nor be deceived.”
Unlike the human virtues, supernatural virtues do not increase by repetition of acts. (This is why human virtues are also called "acquired" virtues while supernatural virtues are called "infused" virtues.) Since it is a supernatural virtue, faith does not increase by repetition of acts. Nevertheless, through repeated acts of faith:
- one acquires a natural habit of removing the obstacles to the growth of faith;
- one merits an increase in sanctifying grace when in the state of grace and, on this account, an increase in the accompanying virtue of faith;
- the supernatural habit of faith increases indirectly by repetition of acts.
The same applies to the virtues of hope and of charity, which will be studied later. Among the means to make faith grow, we can mention:
- asking God to increase it, as the Apostles begged the Lord: “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5);
- reading the Sacred Scriptures;
- receiving instruction on the truths of faith;
- practicing it in one’s words and life; and
- doing apostolate.
Can faith be lost? Can it disappear?
Faith is lost through an act of infidelity, or formal heresy, which is always a mortal sin. It is only in this manner that faith can be lost. It is not possible to lose it “accidentally,” without one’s own guilt, or with only a slight guilt.
Faith is not lost when the loss of grace is caused by mortal sins against other virtues. Faith inheres in the intellect, which is not necessarily separated from God by mortal sin. But the will does break away from God, and thus charity is always lost with grace. Nevertheless, when grace is lost, faith becomes devoid of its end, since it no longer leads to the love of God. Charity is like the soul of all the virtues, and when charity is lost through grave sin, faith becomes soul-less. It becomes a dead faith.
Can one choose which doctrines to believe?
A Catholic accepts everything that Jesus Christ has revealed and teaches through His Church. Whoever consciously denies any one of the truths of faith taught by the Church, though still believing in the others, no longer believes with supernatural faith. Denying even one truth implies denying that God cannot deceive nor be deceived or that the Church infallibly transmits these truths. Such is the position of the fundamentalist and the Christian liberal.
- A fundamentalist holds that what the Bible asserts is true, identifies the propositions that he personally considers to be asserted, and accepts them as true.
- A Christian liberal holds that some less important things asserted in the Bible are not true, establishes personally acceptable criteria for distinguishing important propositions from unimportant ones, and believes some things the Bible says while disbelieving others.
Theology is “faith seeking understanding.” After a person has accepted God’s Revelation, human reason should make an effort to go deeper in understanding the truths of faith. Thus, two fundamental attitudes follow:
- Man receives divine Revelation with humility.
- Man tries to cultivate and illuminate his faith.
And two obligations result:
- To preserve one’s faith, and avoid sins against it.
- To propagate the true faith.
JUST HOW NECESSARY IS FAITH?
In order to understand how faith is necessary for salvation, we should distinguish two types of necessity.
- There is necessity as a means when something is absolutely needed as an indispensable means to attain a certain end; for example, the eye is absolutely necessary for seeing, and sanctifying grace is absolutely necessary for eternal life.
- There is necessity by precept when something is required because of a command of the legitimate authority. Ignorance or moral impossibility usually excuses from this necessity, but there is no excuse for something that is necessary as a means. Thus, the reception of the Eucharist is necessary by precept to attain eternal life.
Faith is Necessary as a Means
The virtue of faith (habitual faith) is necessary as a means for all men: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).
The act of faith (actual and explicit faith) is necessary as a means for all adults with the use of reason.
This act of faith must implicitly extend to all revealed truths, even if the believer does not actually know all of them. Besides, one must explicitly believe with supernatural faith that God exists and that he rewards good deeds and punishes evil ones (cf Hebrews 11:6). It is held as probable opinion that explicit faith in Christ the Redeemer and in the Blessed Trinity is also necessary.
Faith Is Necessary by Precept
The Internal Act of Faith
There is a divine precept requiring an internal act of faith about all the chief articles of faith. This is done, for example, in praying the usual prayers.
Therefore, one must know and believe the truths contained in the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Sacraments that are necessary for all (Baptism, Penance, and Holy Eucharist).
These acts of faith must be done:
- When one comes to know these truths for the first time,
- When the Church proposes a new dogmatic definition,
- Several times during one’s life,
- Probably, when death is imminent.
- Besides, one must make an act of faith when it is required for the fulfillment of a certain obligation, as in the reception of the sacraments. And also when one suffers a serious temptation against faith that can only be overcome by an act of faith.
However, what we have been discussing is the bare and strictly necessary minimum. Besides, each Christian should endeavor to acquire a good knowledge of his faith, both of dogma and morals. It should be as complete as possible, and in keeping with the knowledge acquired in other fields as time passes. Moreover, there is an obligation to manifest and defend it.
External Profession of Faith
There is a divine precept of externally confessing one’s faith, since the Church founded by Christ is visible, and its worship is also visible (cf Mt 10:32-33). On the other hand, it will be an irreverence towards God to conceal the faith for a trivial reason. Besides, the external manifestation of faith also helps to strengthen it internally.
As to the extent of the external act of faith, this precept has positive and negative aspects. It is never licit to deny the faith; neither directly, through formal heresy or apostasy, nor indirectly, through some external action which in the circumstances of that moment is understood as a denial of the faith (cf Matthew 10:32-33; II Maccabees 6:18-31).
The positive aspect obliges us to manifest our faith:
- When it is required by the honor due to God. This would happen when the public authority questions us about our faith, or when somebody attempts to force us to deny the faith by words or by deeds.
- When the spiritual welfare of our neighbor requires it; for example, if keeping silent would cause scandal (cf Romans 10:9 ff; Matthew 10:32 ff).
- Church law demands an act of faith also on some occasions, as in Baptism or in receiving a heretic or a schismatic into the Church, in the induction of some ecclesiastical offices, and for Theology professors.
- Concealing the faith can be lawful in some circumstances and sometimes it can even be necessary (cf Matthew 7:6).
HOW DOES ONE SIN AGAINST FAITH?
One sins against faith by omission by failing to make an act of faith when it is necessary, or by neglecting the obligation of knowing the truths of faith.
There are two types of sins against faith by commission: by excess and by defect.
- Sins of excess against faith are:
- i. Rash credulity, by which one believes as revealed by God things that are not (cf 1 Jn 4:1).
- ii. Superstition, which will be studied under the virtue of religion, to which it is also opposed.
- Sins of defect against faith are:
- i. Infidelity is the culpable lack of faith in an unbaptized person due to his rejection or contempt of it (cf Mark 16:16). It is not sinful to be a pagan if one has not received a sufficient explanation of the faith. But we should keep in mind that all men are bound to seek the faith inasmuch as they have the obligation of seeking the truth and of embracing it once they have found it.
- ii. Heresy is the sin of a Christian who rejects the faith by stubbornly denying some revealed truth.
- iii. Apostasy, an extreme form of heresy, is the complete rejection of Christian belief after having accepted it freely.
- iv. Equivalent to apostasy is the position of Catholics who have fallen into indifferentism (“all religions are equally good”), pantheism, skepticism, agnosticism, Marxian or non-Marxian materialism, and any form of atheism.
- v. Schism is the voluntary separation from the Church by stubborn disobedience to the hierarchy. In itself it is a sin against charity, not against faith, but it usually involves a sin of heresy as well.
- vi. Doubting the faith consists in voluntarily admitting or entertaining doubts against some aspect of the content of the faith. This can be done either by positively questioning the faith or by failing to reject the doubts that may come to one’s mind. It may happen, however, that one may have questions regarding one's faith. This is a good occasion to seek out the answers to those questions, because they are God's invitation to know Him more.
- Heresy is a mortal sin ex toto genere suo, that is, it does not admit slight matter. Heretics incur ecclesiastical penalties ranging from excommunication to refusal of Church burial.
- Material heresy, that is, an involuntary error in the faith, is not a sin. This can easily be the case of people brought up in a heretical sect.
- Any person who positively doubts the faith—by doubting some truth known to be taught by the Church—commits a sin of heresy; such doubt destroys the formal reason of faith. A person who has negative doubts, that is, who suspends his or her assent to some article of faith, is not a heretic, since there is no obstinacy or stubbornness. However, that person has to strive to overcome the temptations, otherwise a sin would be committed. The sin would be venial or mortal depending on how proximate the danger of losing one’s faith is.
CAN ONE ENDANGER HIS FAITH?
- Dealings with Infidels and Heretics
- Three general norms can be established for dealings with infidels and heretics (cf Tit 3:10). The first applies to ordinary dealings. The other two apply to communicatio in sacris, the participation in sacred things, especially the sacraments.
- Generally speaking, dealing with infidels and heretics in ordinary life is lawful. It would be illicit in cases entailing a danger for the faith; for example, if there is a danger of falling into indifferentism. On the other hand, such dealings are highly advisable when there is no danger and there is the possibility of drawing them closer to the faith. This apostolate is called ad fidem propagandam, “for the propagation of the faith.”
- It is generally licit, and at times even advisable, to allow non-Catholics to deal with Catholics in the religious sphere, and to welcome them to Catholic rites. But, logically, they cannot take an active part in the worship, and even less receive the sacraments. Among other reasons, they lack the dispositions needed to receive them fruitfully. This would only be possible in very exceptional cases, when there is good faith and the required dispositions are present. The Church has specified these cases in the Code of Canon Law, canon 844, paragraphs 3 and 4.
- Generally speaking, it is not licit for Catholics to participate in non-Catholic religious ceremonies. It is never licit to participate in their sacraments. One of the very few exceptions would be, under some circumstances, the Eastern Orthodox Churches.#25 On the other hand, material or passive participation may be licit with sufficient cause, as in attending a wedding of non-Catholics contracted before a non-Catholic minister.
- Schools with no Catholic spirit
- Parents have the duty of sending their children to schools that will best help them in their task of giving Christian education to their children. Attending schools with no Christian spirit can be a serious danger for the faith. It is never lawful if there is no way of counteracting the danger. This would be relatively easy if the school is truly nonsectarian, that is, has a respectful attitude towards the religious beliefs of its students, or whose instruction is even oriented towards natural religion. It would be much more difficult, on the other hand, if it is positively anti-Catholic or anti-religious.
- The means to counteract these dangers are, on the one hand, vigilance as to the influence on the student of books, classmates, and professors. And on the other hand, and more importantly, the education in the faith of the children outside the school, and the frequent reception of the sacraments.
- But, as always, the best defense is to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Whenever possible, parents should promote schools where they have control over the education of their children, both in the faith and in other matters. We should keep in mind that parents have the duty of bringing up and educating their children, and the right of being respected and assisted in the fulfillment of that duty. Parents delegate part of this task in the school, and are entitled to receive help from the State for its proper fulfillment.
- Dangerous Readings
- It is not lawful to read publications that pose a danger for the faith. The closer the danger, the more illicit it is. In judging the danger in a concrete case, one must keep in mind that men usually tend to underestimate it. Therefore, especial care and vigilance must be exercised.
- Mixed Marriages
- Marrying a non-Catholic usually constitutes a danger to the faith. For this reason, the Church has always discouraged mixed marriages, even to the extent of putting obstacles to their celebration. Nevertheless, she tolerates them when some specific conditions are met. These are basically the commitment to have the children baptized and brought up in the Catholic religion, and that the non-Catholic spouse will not object to the other’s practicing the Catholic religion.
- Man’s Internal Dangers
- Aside from the above-mentioned external dangers, there are other internal dangers. These are basically, pride and immorality.