Our Gospel states: “I have not found so great faith in Israel.” Throughout the Gospels this lack of faith is something which is constantly being pointed our by the Lord. If the Lord were to be present within our midst would our faith be found sufficient?
We must understand that faith is a gift which comes to us from God which is infused into our soul. As the Catechism puts it: “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 coverts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.”
We must each give a response to God for the gift of faith that we have received. We must be found willing to cooperate with God’s grace in order that faith may be found manifest within us. If we receive and cooperate in this grace we must also live this faith by putting it into action in our daily life. Our faith in God is something deeper then stating that we have faith that our car will make the trip from point A to point B. To have faith in God is to entrust oneself entirely to Him. As is summed up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature.”
An important aspect of the gift of faith is perseverance. Therefore, people give into despair and lose their trust in God. They find something which may seem to be more appealing and instead decide to chase after it instead of continuing to turn towards God. Saint Paul warns of the in 1st Timothy: “Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made a shipwreck of their faith.” To make a shipwreck of our faith is to state that we have turned towards empty promises instead of turning towards the light which is brought forth by staying close to Christ.
It is Ephesians which refers to faith as being a shield. We know that a shield protects one from the attack of others and thus the shield of faith protects us from the many assaults of the devil. It is God who gives us this shield, but we must desire to use it instead of so easily tossing it to the side when we are in the midst of battle. In the midst of evil, suffering, injustice, or death we cannot allow ourself to be shaken to the point that we loose faith. Instead we must hold firm and take up this shield for our protection.
Throughout scripture we are given many accounts of individuals who had to live a rough life with many obstacles placed in their way, but were still able to persevere in their faith. Daniel was burned alive and we can’t forget about Job who had to endure a lot. Even in our Gospel Christ looks upon the centurion and states: “Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee.”
We are each called to have faith throughout the whole course of our life no matter what may come our way. Obstacles will continue to give rise, but we are given everything that we need to overcome them and remain with God always. May the virtue of faith always be found at work within us.
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