Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2013
As many are aware of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI inaugurated October 2012-October 2013 as the Year of Faith. There were many reasons why Benedict thought that we needed this year. In the letter opening this year entitled “Porto Fidei” he explains the significance of the Year of Faith and the need that we all have to focus on this virtue. Benedict says, “…in the past it was possible to recognize a unitary cultural matrix, broadly accepted in its appeal to the content of the faith and the values inspired by it, today this no longer seems to be the case in large swathes of society, because of a profound crisis of faith that has affected many people.” These are powerful words indeed. Our Holy Father thinks that a “profound crisis of faith” exists today. Some Catholics no longer believe wholeheartedly in the Catholic Faith. Others, maybe more numerous, think that they believe, but do not have a basic understanding of what Christ taught or what His followers believed for two thousand years.
He was “cut to the heart” in discovering Christian captivesSt. Peter Nolasco was shocked and moved in finding Christians held captive and in danger of losing their faith. Read more about his heroic life and what he did about it on the website of the .
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Faith and Reason
It is critical to the survival of the Faith and people’s salvation that each member of the Church have an adequate knowledge of the tenants of the Faith. In fact, as Benedict says “knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery of God.” Faith by its nature requires that there be an understanding of what is proposed for belief. The individual must then freely choose to submit his or her Will to the beliefs. Nobody can force true faith. God created us as rational creatures and desires us to use our minds to unlock the truths which he proposes to us in Jesus Christ. Blessed John Paul II in his encyclical Fides et Ratio or Faith and Reason tells us in order to reach our call to holiness we must use our reasoning power as well as our faith. He states, “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 (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2).”
Thus, this Year of Faith calls us to grow in our knowledge of tenants of our Catholic Faith. There is a great emphasis this year on knowing and understanding the Nicene Creed which Christians have professed since 381 AD. Also, the Holy See and many dioceses have encouraged the faithful to study the documents of the 2nd Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We can’t profess a faith that we do not know. Faith takes knowledge of who Christ is and making an assent or choice to follow this belief or not.
Do You Know Christ”s Voice?
Do we know what Christ’s voice sounds like? He says to us in the Gospel today, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” Many would profess to believe and “follow” Christ but they do not know what He taught or reject many aspects of Christianity. Naturally, to some degree, this is the fault of the Church itself, which has not taught the Faith and explained it in a way that is relevant to today.
Faith is a relationship similar to marriage. Married couples should share all in common and know each other intimately. As they grow old together going through many joys and sorrows, they gain an amazing knowledge of each other. To see this, we only need to observe an elderly couple and see how they interact. There is a lot of nonverbal communication going on. She knows how he wants his coffee. He gets the paper and places the section she likes next to her chair. These are little things, but they show knowledge and love for each other that is gained with effort and time.
We Are His Flock
We, the sheep of Christ, must know what Jesus would do in different circumstances of life. When moral questions come up in our society do we hear His voice? Faith must make an impact on our lives or it is dead. It is true that Jesus didn’t have to deal with issues like cloning or internet pornography while he was walking the earth. However, he has left us the Holy Spirit and the foundational teachings necessary to make firm moral judgments on these issues. The Church in Her wisdom uses tradition and reason to make sound judgments on modern issues confident in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We believe as Catholics that our faith is profoundly reasonable. Each person can study the Church’s teachings on issues and see the logic. For God has placed his law within our hearts, the Natural Law. All of creation is ordered by the one who cannot deceive or be deceived. Revelation affirms the truths that any sincere person can see in nature.
So this Year of Faith is necessary for all of us. In this time when many are having “a profound crisis of faith”, the Church gives us a time to re-investigate the beauty, truth, and goodness of our Faith. We take this new found knowledge and understanding to prayer growing in a relationship with the Risen Lord. We then begin to hear the voice of the Shepherd. Our life becomes more calm and peaceful since we have security in Him in whom we place all our faith.