In a continuation of my Growing In Virtue Series, I’m going over the first theological virtue, Faith.
What is the Virtue of Faith?
Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.” For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “work[s] through charity.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1814
According to this definition from the Catechism, we know that Faith is the belief in God and what He has revealed to us. It’s also a commitment, we have to commit ourselves to God, Who we believe in and for Whom we strive to follow His will. In other words, Faith is a relationship with Our Creator.
Faith is the first of the three Theological Virtues, and is also the foundation of the other two. You can’t have real Hope without Faith, and you can’t have real Charity without Faith either.
Why do we need Faith?
St Thomas Aquinas explains that Faith resides in the intellect, because the object of Faith is truth. The ultimate truth is God, and there are the truths that God has revealed to us. As faithful Catholics, we believe these truths are revealed through scripture and traditions. These revealed truths always bring us closer to God, so believing in them is crucial.
Faith is needed for our salvation. Many Protestants like to say that us Catholics believe we earn our salvation, but this has never been Catholic teaching. We can’t just do good deeds and expect to make it to Heaven if we don’t know and believe in God. Salvation is not a matter of simply following rules or checking things off a list. Those acts are important too, but we need a relationship with God, and that requires Faith.
Faith also provides sustanence and purpose for the other virtues. Prudence is something we strive for so we can guide our actions to please God. Justice provides order in the world that God created. Fortitude is what we need to remain faithful in harsh times. Temperance brings us away from worldly goods to focus on spiritual goods. Hope brings to mind what we are striving for. Charity is our Faith in action for the greater Glory of God. Faith is involved in every other virtue, and helps us strive more in each one of them.
Faith and Reason
It may seem contrary to what we are told in today’s world, but Faith does not contradict Reason. In fact, the virtue of Faith requires Reason to reach it’s full potential, since Faith and Reason are actually complimentary. Faith allows us to know things that cannot be observed, while reason helps us understand Faith more deeply.
Faith without Reason will turn into superstition, which Catholics need to avoid. Superstition causes people to see punishment and danger around every corner. They may believe that God is punishing them when there are rational explanations for bad things happening, or they may believe the devil caused some explainable medical condition. Superstition also causes people to attribute supernatural powers to objects or formulaic actions, such as believing that a medal itself grants graces rather than God working through a medal. In many ways, superstition can make faithful Catholics like pagans, and superstition is expressly forbidden in the Catechism.
Reason without Faith leads to Nihilism, or the belief that all values or morals are baseless. Nihilists are often pessimistic, believing that there is no purpose for life and no purpose for striving toward any good. Since morals are often tied to religion, whether Catholic or otherwise, they often are rejected by Nihilists along with the rest of religion.
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 St John Paul II in Fides et Ratio
How do we get more Faith?
Faith is a theological virtue, and this means that we receive this virtue from God. God infuses Faith into our hearts, so that we may grow closer to Him. We can strengthen our Faith through doing works for God and through actions such as prayer. As we take actions to unite ourselves closer to God and His will, God wants to encourage this and increases our Faith to help us.
Sacraments are a way that God infuses more Faith into our hearts. Frequently receiving the Eucharist will increase your Faith by leaps and bounds. Confession removes the sins that keep you from being faithful and holds you back. When you receive the sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit infuses Faith abundantly into your heart, amongst the many other gifts from the Holy Spirit. And when you’re Baptized, whether as a small infant or an adult, you are marked as a Christian, allowing you to make steps toward deeper and stronger Faith.
Learning more about the teachings of the Church will also increase your Faith. There’s a reason Christ gave us the Catholic Church when He made Peter the first Pope. He wanted something to guide people to Him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives wonderful insights on what the Church teaches and why. This source and writings from the saints are very helpful. But of course the most helpful thing to read is Scripture. Reading the Bible is so important in our lives as Catholics, and will increase our Faith incredibly.
Frequent prayer is needed to increase your Faith. Prayer is a cooperation with the Holy Spirit, calling you to prayer to speak to God. When we decide not to pray, we are refusing this call from the Holy Spirit, and in turn are choosing not have an increase in Faith. Prayer is a conversation with God, and since Faith is your relationship with, you need to talk to Him! You cannot expect a relationship to grow without communication.
There are several structured prayers that can help increase your Faith, one of them is right here:
Act of Faith
O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that your Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Concluding Remarks
Faith, the first theological virtue, is abundantly important for a true relationship with Our Lord, and required for our salvation. Faith is infused into our hearts by God, so that we may believe in His revealed truth. It’s important for us to strengthen our Faith, and allow God to infuse more Faith into our hearts. Frequently receiving the sacraments and prayer are the best ways to do this. So start praying now!