Faith: A Tale of Fires and Seeds

Dear Family in Christ, 

This Sunday, Holy Mother Church turns our attention to something mentioned often, but seldom understood: Faith. We call ourselves ‘people of Faith, and we recognize that Faith is necessary for salvation, but what is Faith?

The Catechism defines Faith as ‘the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that He has said and revealed to us’ by which ‘man freely commits his entire self to God.’ (CCC 1814)  St. Paul exhorts Timothy ‘rekindle’ or ‘fan into flame’ the gift that is within you… in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.’ In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the Apostles’ request for Him to ‘increase our faith’ by saying that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could uproot trees.

 What does it mean to live a life of Faith? It would seem that Our Blessed Lord prefers to offer us not only definitions to be memorized, but images and mysteries to be lived. Two such images arise from our readings: a flame, and a seed. 

You can’t have a blazing fire without first a flame, and you can’t grow a mustard tree without a mustard seed. However, simply being given a flame or a spark mean it will grow into a fire, nor does being given a seed  necessitate that you will have a tree. If they are to grow into what they are intended to become, these gifts must be cultivated, nourished, protected, strengthened, and used. 

Here we come to the issue at hand: without the supernatural virtue of Faith, we cannot become saints. This is the Grace of God won by Jesus on the Cross and poured into our hearts through the Sacraments. However, simply being given this gift does not automatically imply that we will become saints. We all know people who have received the Sacraments, but have abandoned the Faith. The gift of Faith, like a seed or a flame, must be cultivated, nourished, protected, strengthened, and put to use. 

God has given us everything we need to become saints- without His gift, the seed, the flame of Faith, all of our best efforts would fail. But just being given this gift is not enough- because God has also given us freedom; freedom either to waste the gift, or to fan it into flame. 

God love you, 

Father Daniel