What is Faith?


“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know Himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” ~Pope John Paul II, “Fides et Ratio” (“Faith and Reason”) 1998 AD

To discuss Catholicism, one first as to consider the more basic idea of faith – what it means to believe.

Faith is our response to what God reveals. It is a surrendering of ourselves, to allow God to permeate our life, our entire being, so that we may be transformed and become holy – sharing Christ’s life by allowing him to work in us and through us.

As St. Paul notes in the letter to the Galatians – “It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

Faith is the foundation of Christian life by which we open ourselves to our Creator and enter into relationship with Him.

Man is created by God – to be a part of His life, to be filled with His presence. Humans, by their very nature, seek for something beyond themselves. Every culture throughout history has sought ultimate truth and almost all of them developed a Creator, a Supreme Being. Indeed, religious expression has been so universal that one might well call man a religious being. Humanity has reflected this desire by their prayers, sacrifices, meditations, rituals, and so forth. Even Plato and Aristotle – the giants of ancient philosophy – came to the conclusion that there must be a transcendent supreme being , and they did it through reason alone.

Man’s nature has been darkened by sin. No one can watch the news today without knowing that darkness clouds our vision. Due to this, our reason can only come to know God through a limited vision using His creation. (Thus why so many of the expressions of religious belief worshipped nature gods.)

However, God loves us – He wants to be in communion with us, so He chose to reveal Himself and His plan of salvation to us. He did this first, gradually, to His chosen people as seen in the Old Testament. When He felt the world was ready, in the fullness of time, we were granted a complete revelation in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus came to us – fully God and fully human – to reveal not only who God (our loving Father) is, but to remind us what it truly means to be human.

“I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)

So, faith is our response to the revelation of God. It is an act of intellect and will – choosing to surrender ourselves completely. It is also a call to action – if we do not follow through on the surrender, we cannot claim to have faith. If we truly believe in God, then our thoughts, words, and actions should reflect that belief, flowing from our faith. What we do will reflect what we believe.

As we hear in the letter of St. James – “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith, of itself, if it does not have works is dead.” (Jas 2:14-17)

Faith is a gift of grace from God – He calls to us, and by that call, He gives us the ability and grace to respond. It is a free choice! God does not force belief upon us. (Men can try, but it denies the very nature of faith.) God gives us the opportunity, we must make the choice.

According to Pope Paul VI – “The root reason for human dignity lies in man's call to communion with God. From the very circumstance of his origin man is already invited to converse with God. For man would not exist were he not created by Gods love and constantly preserved by it; and he cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and devotes himself to His Creator.” “Gaudium et Spes” (“Joy and Hope”) 1965 AD

Faith is a free choice. It is not a one-time thing either. Faith is a journey – it is an ongoing process of conversion, learning, and turning away from sin.

Are faith and reason compatible?

St. Augustine, an early Church father, defined theology (the study or science of God) as “faith seeking understanding.” Faith nudges us to look, study, seek God, who He is, what His plan is, what His truths are. Asking honest questions is not doubting! If sometimes His revelation is difficult to understand or hard to live, or is counter-cultural, it does not mean we give up. We cling to faith in what God has revealed to us, but we ponder it, we ask questions, we seek to understand it.

A child of four does not understand that 8x8=64. This does not mean it is not true; it simply means it is beyond his reason at this time. As he grows in understanding, the truth will become clearer. There are so many complex truths out there – are they any less true because we do not understand them? No. So too the truth of God – we accept His revelations in faith and then pursue understanding.

Faith and reason should support and build upon one another.

You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
~St. Augustine, “Confessiones” (“Confessions”) 397 AD