FAITH: A COVENENTAL GIFT...

All of us who believe Jesus as the savior and redeemer can raise with one voice echoing that Jesus is truly Son of God. Well, it is very nice and easy for us to utter that Jesus is our Lord. But, let me ask you what exactly is FAITH? Off late I have experienced how difficult it is/was to define what Faith is. However, the probable answers could be Faith is what I believe, Faith is what the Church teaches, Faith as what my fore-fathers believed  and handed down to us etc.,  

I would like to give an explanation about what faith is. Faith is first and foremost a gift of God, as we learn from our catechism. When it is a gift, it is free and benevolent. Now you might ask me a question saying, do we deserve this gift? My answer would be No. We do not deserve the gift of Faith. Because we have no reasons to take on our credit for the gift of faith. In fact we have lost the loving relationship with God as existed between God our first parents before the original sin. Yet, the wonderful thing about our God is that he never abandoned us. He never let us go to the dust. Because he created us in his own image and likeness. Which means God is deeply in love with you and me. Hence, he cannot but save us from our peril. To this eternal endeavour he had to send his only son to be one among us and be put to death. Thus he paid his own blood as a ransome for our salvation. The Bible gives us many accounts of the individuals who kept faith in God despite the danger posing under their nose.

This reminds me of the faith of Abraham, Moses and Mary who were called forth by God and responded to Him faithfully. We know the result of their faith in God. One has become the father of the faith for the generations and the other led the Israelite to the promised land and Mary was privileged to be the Mother of the saviour. 

One who believes faith as the gift of God then will surely bound to know that he/she is called to go forth where people are crying for need and for God; just like Abraham for the generations, Moses to the captive Isralites and Mary to the Elizabeth who was in need. Like wise, you are being formed to serve the people waiting for you. Now the question could be who are those people waiting for you...?  This could be the mission and the charism that we are entrusted with. Therefore, our faith never demands the service rather commands our disposition, availability and accountability. 

St James reminds us in his letter that faith without works makes no meaning. Therefore, Faith is also thanking God for the gifts received. If we thank God for the simple things that we have, I am sure God will give us more and more to be grateful to Him more. Because God likes to be blessed by his creatures. This we can witness where in the Gospels ten lepers get healed on the way but only one leper returns to Jesus in gratitude. Therefore, if we practice our faith then, we will not be in the list of those ungrateful lepers. Jesus asks, where are the nine lepers?

Great things happen when God mixes with us, great and beautiful and wonderful things. Faith is like a rudder that directs the captain of the ship to sail over the ocean of life that encounters waves of difficulties, struggles, and deep ice burgs of temptations and unwanted desires in the course of life’s journey. It is through faith we will be able to sail the ocean of our life safely in spite of umpteen number of troubles that come on our way. For when Jesus is our Friend who can stand against us. Therefore, dear friends Faith is like ice cube, either you use it if not you lose it. Faith as a gift of God reminds us time again that we cannot reach God through our intellect. Only through the rudder of our faith we will be able to sail our life of faith. Faith reminds us that God calls us despite knowing our weaknesses. Because he first loved and formed us as his beloved. Only through Holy Spirit we learn to live in faith. Because it is the spirit that teaches us everything. Thus dear friends we are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ. Because faith reveals to us what is Truth, what is Righteousness and Gospel Peace. Thus we are justified by our faith. 

Dear friends I am sure you will now agree with my statement that faith is the gift of our Covenental God. So, faith is generous, gratuitous and benevolent gift of our covenental God. So, since faith is a gift we need to nurture it and treasure it while accepting and believing all the sacraments as the external means of internal grace. We can never forget the fact that Faith is God’s initiative to save his lost sheep in the wilderness and in sin. Our task is to respond to the precious and generous gift of faith and express our gratitude while part taking in the sacraments. That’s how we in turn give our positive appreciation for the unconditional initiative of God. For this, there are individual and collective moments of prayer and adoration in the catholic services where we thank God and engage in dail 

Faith beyond boarders...

ouge with him and thus we enter into a covenental relationship with him. Therefore, faith metaphorically speaking is like a rudder that directs first the captain of the ship and then all the passengers in the ship.

Dear friend, I would like to conclude by quoting the scripture that we no longer go by our sight rather go by our faith. (2 Corinthians 5: 7) Because, We look at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2: Corinthians 4:16-18)

Br Naresh Neelam, SDB