Archdiocese of Washington: Year of Faith series
Written by:
Dominican Brothers of the Province of St. Joseph
The Archdiocese of Washington, DC is hosting daily reflections on its Facebook page for the Year of Faith. Have you missed them? Today we are starting the next weekly series on hope. Please visit our page and “like” us, so you can follow along with the rest of the series. Here is the roundup of the previous week’s reflections.
Theme: Faith.
1. What is faith?
When God comes in power and reveals Himself to us—we listen. Faith means putting our entire selves at God’s disposal, our minds and hearts. But faith isn’t an exercise of our ordinary human powers. Grace comes before faith and prompts it. Grace runs along with our minds and hearts, elevating them from within to reach up to Him. Grace makes our faith perfect. Faith is a gift. “What do you have that you have not received?” We are saved by grace through faith. Faith makes us pleasing to God.
Do you want to grow in faith? Ask for it.
2. What does it mean to have a crisis of faith?
It is common to talk about crises within the Church. One crisis that pervades our times is a crisis of faith. Faith reminds us that it takes more than our eyes to see. Faith teaches us to look for the cause, rather than the effect – the source rather than the solution. By faith we can know the Truth. By faith we can truly see.
Does your faith make you see the world differently?
3. How are faith and understanding related?
The relationship between faith and understanding reminds us that faith is neither blind nor ignorant. How does this work? Through faith, the mind is wed to God. Although faith is shrouded in darkness, God gives us real understanding in faith. The gift of understanding is a gift of the Holy Spirit and helps us to know the Truth more deeply than our eyes can see. God gives us this ability to “see within.” He allows us to have an intuitive understanding.
Which divine mysteries does the Lord want you to understand more deeply?
4. How can we help those who do not have faith?
Ultimately, faith is God’s grace working in us to understand and believe things far beyond our natural abilities. We cannot simply argue someone into believing unless God works in their heart. Still, God can work through us to present the truths of the faith to others and remove confusion or misunderstandings about them. We should try our best to present the truths of the faith clearly to others, but even more we should lift up those who do not believe in our prayers, asking God to give them the grace of faith.
Take a moment and pray for someone who doesn’t have the Catholic faith.
5. How can we grow in faith?
Faith lifts us beyond our human nature to believe in supernatural truths, but it does not contradict that human nature. We see this clearly in the Virgin Mary. By faith she believed that “nothing was impossible for God” as was able to assent with her whole will to His plan. But her faith did not simply replace her reason, as we read how she “pondered all these things in her heart.” Following her example we can seek to more perfectly understand the truths of our faith and assent to them, even when it seems beyond our natural understanding.
Having trouble with something? Pray a “Hail Mary.” Ask for our Mother’s intercession.
Please don’t forget to visit our Facebook page and “like” it to follow this week’s daily reflections on the theme “hope.”