Faith: The Response to God's Love - Week 5

Basic Reading Assignment:

Relevant Paragraphs from the Catechism:

Man's Response to God

142 By his Revelation, "the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company." The adequate response to this invitation is faith.

Faith

1814 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." 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."

The Characteristics of Faith

Faith is a grace

153 When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come "from flesh and blood", but from "my Father who is in heaven". Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. "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.'"

Faith is a human act

154 Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason. Even in human relations it is not contrary to our dignity to believe what other persons tell us about themselves and their intentions, or to trust their promises (for example, when a man and a woman marry) to share a communion of life with one another. If this is so, still less is it contrary to our dignity to "yield by faith the full submission of. . . intellect and will to God who reveals", and to share in an interior communion with him.

155 In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate with divine grace: "Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace."

Faith and understanding

156 What moves us to believe is not the fact that revealed truths appear as true and intelligible in the light of our natural reason: we believe "because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived". So "that the submission of our faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit." Thus the miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church's growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability "are the most certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all"; they are "motives of credibility" (motiva credibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is "by no means a blind impulse of the mind".

157 Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. To be sure, revealed truths can seem obscure to human reason and experience, but "the certainty that the divine light gives is greater than that which the light of natural reason gives." "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."

158 "Faith seeks understanding": it is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith, and to understand better what He has revealed; a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set afire by love. The grace of faith opens "the eyes of your hearts" to a lively understanding of the contents of Revelation: that is, of the totality of God's plan and the mysteries of faith, of their connection with each other and with Christ, the center of the revealed mystery. "The same Holy Spirit constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood." In the words of St. Augustine, "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe."

159 Faith and science: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "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."

The freedom of faith

160 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." "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." 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."

The Language of Faith

170 We do not believe in formulas, but in those realities they express, which faith allows us to touch. "The believer's act [of faith] does not terminate in the propositions, but in the realities [which they express]." All the same, we do approach these realities with the help of formulations of the faith which permit us to express the faith and to hand it on, to celebrate it in community, to assimilate and live on it more and more.

171 The Church, "the pillar and bulwark of the truth", faithfully guards "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints". She guards the memory of Christ's words; it is she who from generation to generation hands on the apostles' confession of faith. As a mother who teaches her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and the life of faith.

Relevant Scripture Passages

From the Gospel of John

1: Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode'mus, a ruler of the Jews. 2: This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." 3: Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4: Nicode'mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5: Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7: Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.' 8: The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit." 9: Nicode'mus said to him, "How can this be?" 10: Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? 11: Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. 12: If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13: No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15: that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." 16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:1-16)

From the Letter to the Hebrews

1: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2: For by it the men of old received divine approval. 3: By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. 4: By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. 5: By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. 6: And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7: By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. 8: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9: By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10: For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11: By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12: Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13: These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14: For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15: If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16: But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 17: By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18: of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." 19: He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20: By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21: By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22: By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his burial. 23: By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24: By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25: choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26: He considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward. 27: By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king; for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28: By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them. 29: By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30: By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31: By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies. 32: And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets -- 33: who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34: quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35: Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. 36: Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37: They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated -- 38: of whom the world was not worthy -- wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39: And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40: since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Heb 11)

From the St. Paul's Letter to the Romans

1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2: which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3: the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4: and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5: through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6: including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; (Rom 1:1-6)

Relevant Quotations from Church Fathers and Saints

St. John Newman

"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." (Apologia Pro Vita Sua, 5)

St. Anselm

"Faith seeking understanding" (Proslogion)

St. Augustine

"We must therefore in your case try not to make you understand divine things, which is impossible, but to make you desire to understand. This is the work of the pure and guileless love of God, which is seen chiefly in the conduct, and of which we have already said much. This love, inspired by the Holy Spirit, leads to the Son, that is, to the wisdom of God, by which the Father Himself is known. For if wisdom and truth are not sought for with the whole strength of the mind, it cannot possibly be found. But when it is sought as it deserves to be, it cannot withdraw or hide itself from its lovers. Hence its words, which you too are in the habit of repeating, "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (7) "Nothing is hid which shall not be revealed." (8) It is love that asks, love that seeks, love that knocks, love that reveals, love, too, that gives continuance in what is revealed. From this love of wisdom, and this studious inquiry, we are not debarred by the Old Testament, as you always say most falsely, but are exhorted to this with the greatest urgency." (De Moribus Ecclesiae Catholicae, 31)

Advanced Reading Assignment:

Documents from Vatican II

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum

Optional Questions:

What are the three theological virtues?

Who was Abraham and why is he considered the "Father of our faith"?

What does it mean to believe in God?

Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

San Jose Bible Study
Alfredo Nevarez
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