What does it mean to have faith?

Faith is a Human Characteristic

•Faith shapes our lives, our choices, our relationships and our commitments.

•Faith is the assent of both our minds and will – It is not just agreeing with the doctrines and teachings of the Church.

•Faith resides deep inside us and reveals itself in who we are and what we do.

What does it mean to have faith?

Faith Is a Gift from God and Our Response•Faith is more than a human quality or virtue. Faith is a gift. It is one of the three theological virtues. •The gift of faith enables us to respond freely to God’s invitation to come to know him and to learn of the deepest mysteries about God, ourselves and human life that we could never come to know on our own.

What does it mean to have faith?

Faith Is Belief in Action

•True faith includes a response to God in whom we believe and to whom we give ourselves.•Faith includes giving a lived expression of our beliefs and values.•Faith grows in and through living our relationships—with God, with others, even with ourselves.•Everything we learn about God, ourselves and the world around us impacts our faith.

Why bother with faith?

Faith Is a Gift from God

‘By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.’ (Ephesians 2:8)

Gratia is the Latin word for the English words ‘grace’ and ‘gift’

Why bother with faith?

Faith and Religion

•People live out their faith in God by belonging to a particular religious tradition.

•People of all religious faiths share 3 common ways of stating and living and celebrating their faith:1.Creed – statement of core beliefs; for example, the Apostle’s Creed2.Code or ethic – principles for moral living or putting their core beliefs into action; for example 10 commandments3.Cult – ways of worshiping or celebrating their faith; for example, the celebration of Mass

Why bother with faith?

Faith

Faith is both a gift of God and a human act by which the believer gives personal adherence to God (who invites his or her response) and freely assents to the whole truth that God has revealed.

God will never force faith upon us, God stirs our hearts to faith and Invites us to respond.

USCCA, 512

Why bother with faith?

Faith and Reason

•The eyes of our heart need to be informed by the sharpness of our minds—by good study and rigorous thinking.•Using our intellect helps to deepen our understanding of the faith of the Church and to see more clearly what Revelation means for everyday life.•We use free will to accept the grace of the Holy Spirit and embrace Revelation’s wisdom for life.

Why bother with faith?

Faith and Reason

‘Faith seeks understanding’ (St. Anselm): 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.

CCC, no. 158

Why bother with faith?

Holy Trinity, Triune God

We believe that there is only one true God, eternal, infinite, unchangeable, incomprehensible and almighty, in three divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Adapted from CCC, no. 202

Faith in Jesus Christ leads to discipleship

The Person of Jesus Christ, the Heart of Christian Faith

• The center and heartbeat of Christian faith is the Person of Jesus Christ.

• Placing Jesus at the center of our lives requires that we believe in hi m and follow ‘the way’ that he showed throughout his public life and made possible by his dying and rising from the dead.

• Our whole lifestyle should be based on the truths and values that Jesus revealed by his entire life.

Faith in Jesus Christ leads to discipleship

Discipleship in the Gospels

•Jesus and Zacchaeus: Luke 19: 1−10•Announcing the Reign of God: Mark 1:14−15•The Greatest Commandment: Mark 12:28−33; Matthew 22:34−40•The Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25−37•The Last Supper: John 13:1—17:36

Faith in Jesus Christ leads to discipleship

We Choose to be Part of the Church, the People of God•We belong to the Body of Christ, the Church.•To grow in faith, we need the grace that comes through the Sacraments, especially through regular participation in Sunday Mass and regular reception of the Eucharist.•We need the support, prayers and good example of other Christians.•We must grow in our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, passed on through Scripture and Tradition.

Living out our Catholic faith

Faith in Christ Involves the Whole Person

Christian faith requires a disciple of Christ to engage one’s hands (all one’s strength), one’s heart (all one’s feelings and desires) and one’s head (all one’s thinking, deciding and judging).

Living out our Catholic faith

Christian Living—Hands, Head and Heart

•Christian faith as a way of the hands: Luke 4:16−30•Christian faith as a way of the heart: Luke 15:11−32•Christian faith as a way of the head: Luke 24:13−33

Christian faith in action

Jesus Invites Us to ‘Come and See’

‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’ (Matthew 18:20)

‘Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:20)

‘They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” ’ (John 1:38−39)