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Faith in God (Mk 11:22)
Charles Whitehead, Chairman of the English National Service Committee for Catholic Charismatic Renewal examines the Charism of Faith and what the Catechism teaches us about it
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People often ask me to explain the Charismatic Renewal. So of course I talk about the essential place of the Holy Spirit in our lives, about the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I try to help them to understand the importance of the charisms. But more and more I find myself talking about faith and fruit. The fruits of the Renewal (John Paul II 15.5.1987) A priest once admitted to me that although he didn’t like the Charismatic Renewal he did like the fruit it produced. He felt uncomfortable with raised hands, enthusiastic praise, and spontaneous prayer. Some individuals had caused problems in his parish. He felt they gave the impression that those who were ‘renewed’ were somehow superior to those who were not - and he had obviously been placed in the second group! But at the same time he was thankful to God for the obvious changes which had resulted from their contact with the Charismatic Renewal. They were now praying again, and reading the Scriptures daily. They were coming regularly to the sacraments, especially to the Eucharist, and giving their time and money with a new generosity. They were concerned for their fellow parishioners, and with the wider issues of justice and peace. Their faith had come alive, and it showed. The fruit was good and it was growing. When those in authority in the Church look at something new like the Charismatic Renewal they look for the fruit - for changed lives. It’s no coincidence that when Pope John Paul II speaks about the Charismatic Renewal he almost always refers to the fruit it has produced in the life of the Church: “The vigour and the fruits of the Renewal certainly testify to the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church during these years following the Second Vatican Council” (15th May 1987). In this case you and I are the fruit of the Renewal, but before the fruit can grow, something else has to be at work in our lives - faith. What is Faith? (Hebrews 11:1-2 ) All over the world people have grown in faith through the Charismatic Renewal. It has been described as a catalyst of new faith. For some it has been their first encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, but for others it has been the means of renewing a weak or ineffective faith. A charismatic experience should always lead to a growth in faith. A lack of faith will limit God and make us ineffective Christians, whereas a dynamic, living faith makes almost anything possible (Eph.3:20). If we are to receive God’s promises, if we are to enter fully into the relationship he wants to have with us, then we must put our hope and trust in him and become people of faith. When we exercise faith we’re not taking a leap into the darkness or jumping off a cliff. What we are doing is putting our trust in what God has revealed to us and said about himself. We are trusting that he will do what he has said he will do. “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith” (Hebrews 11:1-2, New Living Bible). In Hebrews chapter 11 we are reminded of the great examples of faith - Abel, Enoch (“without faith it is impossible to please God” vs6) , Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David - the list goes on. None of these people was perfect, they all had weaknesses and faced difficulties. But each one of them had faith in God and put it into practice. Faith comes to us from God through revelation, but we need to exercise it. Faith - Man’s response to God The Catechism of the Catholic Church is divided into four parts, each one dealing with our life of faith. The first part is entitled “The Profession of Faith”, and looks at the revelation of God through Scripture and Tradition, and at our response in the words of the Creed. Part two is about “The Sacraments of Faith”, and looks at the way in which salvation is made present to us in the prayer and liturgy of the Church as we celebrate “The Christian Mystery”. Part three is how we live “The Life of Faith”, and focuses on the Commandments and the Beatitudes, reminding us that Christianity is all about our right conduct, freely chosen, and lived out in society through God’s law and his grace. Finally part four is about “Prayer in the Life of Faith”, and looks at the call to prayer, the traditions of prayer, and at the importance of the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father) and the seven petitions we find there. All of this not only emphasises the importance of faith if we are to live good and effective Christian lives, but shows us that our faith does not exist in isolation. The community of believers, the Church, holds this revelation of God for all generations, and is required to clearly present it to us in ways we can both understand and receive it. In section 162 the Church reminds us that “faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man”. But we can lose this priceless gift, so “to live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must begthe Lord to increase our faith; it must be working through charity, abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church”. Why? “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation” (section 161). The Life of Faith (Catechism part 3) If we look in a little more detail at living the life of faith in part 3, we find that it begins with a section on “Man’s Vocation - Life in the Spirit”. A quick look at the first three articles in this section shows us that the Church begins by reminding us that our human dignity has its roots in the fact that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. We must treat everyone accordingly. Then we are reminded that the Beatitudes lie at the heart of Jesus’ preaching, and that they teach us the final end to which we are called - the Kingdom of God, participation in the divine nature, and eternal life. The Beatitudes also confront us with decisive choices about earthly goods, and set the standards for their use in accordance with the law of God. We also find ourselves challenged by the fact that we are free to initiate and control our own actions. By free will we shape our own lives, choosing between good and evil - the more we do what is good the freer we become. But this freedom to act brings with it a responsibility for those actions - the exercise of our freedom does not give us the right to say or do whatever we want. When we deviate from God’s law, we violate our own freedom and that of our neighbour as well as rebelling against God. “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal.5:1). If we then jump ahead to the second section we find some fascinating insights into the individual in society, our participation in social life, and the importance of social justice. We are reminded that we need life in society in order to develop in accordance with our nature, and that every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop. Respect for the human person considers the other “another self”, and presupposes respect for the dignity and rights of that person. What a difference it would make if we all lived in accordance with that understanding. Let me encourage you to read about the Life of Faith in the Catechism - it’s very challenging! Living in Faith (Gal.2:20) If we are to live this life of faith we need to keep in mind that the grace of the Holy Spirit confers upon you and me the righteousness of God. We are united by faith and Baptism to the passion and death of Jesus, thereby becoming sharers in his life. Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our calling to be his sons and daughters. Our free will allows us to co-operate with God or to turn away from him, but we are responsible for all our actions. Do we really understand what this means? John tells us that our faith will overcome the world (1 John 5:4), but are we exercising and living in that sort of faith? Have we really understood that it’s by grace we have been saved through faith, not by anything of our own but by a gift from God (Eph.2:5)? Do we accept that “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen” (Heb.11:11)? Can we say with Paul “the life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake” (Gal. 2: 20)? The prophet Daniel reminds us (11:32) that the people who know their God will stand firm and take action. It seems to me that’s what living a life of faith is all about.
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