What is faith? What does it do?

A reflection on faith by Erasmo Passaro

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Faith makes you humble such that you always stand beneath God, and never above him.

It is the sun’s light that shines on the desolate moon of our imperfections and our failures and heals, redeems and transforms them into the radiant light of God’s love and mercy which shines into eternity.

It allows and increases grace by opening our hearts to others and to God’s will, which in turn increases faith.

While faith cannot be fully understood, it gives us an understanding of life and our purpose.

It is the gateway to love, hope and mercy.

Doubt is not the enemy of faith. In contrast to certainty which frequently leads to rigidity, intolerance and self-righteousness, humble doubt deepens faith, and increases our reliance on God.

Faith is not the enemy of reason; she blesses knowledge with wisdom, discernment and humility.

It makes us aware of our smallness which in turn fosters greatness.

It makes us decrease (our ego), and makes the truth and charitable love (not selfish love) for others increase.

It gives us the courage to share our gifts since the only legacy that we leave is what we have given away, not what we have taken.

Works built on faith have a foundation that lasts forever because they are for the greater good and not for the self.

Faith breaks down walls and builds bridges: it teaches us to treat each person with dignity, respect, and unconditional love and to accept plurality and commonality with one another and those who lived before us.

Faith is a paradox; the more you relinquish control to God’s will, the greater control you attain, the more obedience (listening heart) you have, the more freedom you receive.

It allows for reverential awe that puts ourselves in third place, love for God first and love for others second.

It leads to gratitude for the immense gifts and relationships we have been given.

Man was not made for faith (i.e. to prove we own the truth or to show our greatness), faith was made for man/woman to shape us in God’s image, to cultivate the unique gifts we have been given, and to inspire the following: wisdom, understanding, fortitude, reverence, integrity, sincerity, humility, love, hope, peace, patience, kindness and generosity.

Faith makes us accountable by asking each of us life’s important questions and by challenging us to respond to those questions with how we choose to live our life, rather than us asking faith questions about how life was made for us or by using faith to advance and justify our own agenda(s).

Faith is the answer to existential isolation, despair and ennui (loss of meaning/boredom), giving us its anecdote, which is solitude with God in the shadow of his love and mercy, to know who we are, what we were made to be, to understand our motives, reflect on our conscience, know our meaning and purpose and its transcendent nature, to become aware of our interconnectedness, thus leading to union with one another and the Holy Spirit (the love between the Father and the Son) which allows us to live our lives with joy and passion in humble gratitude and awe for all we have been given.

Faith teaches us that no man or woman is an island, and it is only through others that we recognize, cultivate and nurture our unique gifts (our time, talents and treasures), and that these gifts are to be freely given and received (as we have received them without cost), and not taken or hoarded.

Faith allows us to accept our failures and imperfections and makes us free, as we recognize that it is precisely those imperfections that are yoked to our gifts that become a reflection, which we were made to be, of the unique, humble greatness of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ.