“To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who his Truth itself” (CCC 144)
Faith is not a means to something further. It is not what we do in order to get into heaven. Mutual perfect faith would be heaven! Faith is its own end. To have faith is already to have come alive. “your faith has saved you” (Lk 18:42) is the way Jesus put it to the blind man. (Richard Rohr, What the Mystics Know)
The two quotes above remind us that faith as an act a submission to something greater than we are but also a movement of joy where we are fulfilled in our desire to be loved. As we remember the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, we are challenged to look with the eyes of faith into the world. In submitting to the greater we choose to work and journey towards that which is beyond our ability to understand or to even dream, it allows us to begin to see and act in the mercy and love of God. Living in faith means that we move away from the debilitating fear that often separates us from the other and drives a wedge between compassion and goodness in the community of love.
To be alive in faith, as Fr. Richard Rohr points out, is to be in a mutual and loving relationship. Fear and hopelessness deadens the heart while faith and love enliven and grow the capacity to love and be loved by the other.
A few years ago a teen came and complained that her mother did not love her and etc…(I will let you fill in the blank)….We had a wonderful and long conversation. It was difficult and hard to hear the words of hurt and anger because they conveyed the fear of not being loved. As we closed our conversation I asked her to do three things, the first was to pray for her mother at least three times a day, simply asking God to bless her. The second was to share one word with her mother at least three times a day: thank you. The third was a simple examination of conscience each evening looking not just at her faults but especially for the blessings received that day.
A couple of months after this conversation when we had a chance to chat again, the young lady was much happier. The relationship was better…not perfect…but better. The most remarkable thing she conveyed was that it wasn’t just her mother that she saw differently but her whole family and even her friends and teachers. To become alive in faith changed her perspective on the world.
When we look beyond ourselves into the eyes of God’s love with faith our world will change because we begin to know the graciousness and generosity of God’s mercy and love. Seeking to enter into his desire that we be united and joined in the unity of his love in and through faith.
God Bless
Fr. Mark