JMJ
Faith is a central theme of the Gospel and of our lives as Catholics. Yet, its importance in the life of a Christian is something that often gets overlooked, forgotten, or, as I would argue, misunderstood. Faith isn’t just a general, underlying belief that God exists. That’s definitely part of it, but the invitation of faith extends even further. The invitation of faith, that many of us struggle to say yes to, is that of a radical confidence in God.
We’ve created a pretty great life for ourselves in today’s world. It’s a comfortable life filled with things like online shopping that delivers in two days or less, streaming services that allow us to binge watch tv shows and movies, apps that will deliver any fast food we desire, and instant answers to any question we could possibly ask thanks to the Internet. Some look at these so-called “advances” in our world today and think, “Wow, look at us go. We’ve come a long way.” Which is true - our society has come a really long way in a short amount of time. We now live in a world of instant gratification, and for someone whose main goal in life is to be happy, that’s a pretty great world to live in. However, as Catholics, we have the goal of getting to Heaven and bringing as many people as we can with us. Of course we want to be happy, but our holiness has to come first. As much good as these technological advances can be, they also bring some new challenges to someone who is striving for sainthood.
Our world has never been this loud. The comfortability of the modern world has brought upon us this idea or feeling that we are self-sufficient. If we want or need something, we just find the right app or show or online store to get what we need. Add to that this idea of the “American Dream”, where anything is possible if only we work hard enough, stay focused, and be what we need to be, and it’s no wonder why we carry this weight around on our shoulders thinking that if we don’t get it right, we’ll fail and miss out on what could have been. We’ve forgotten what it’s like when what we want or need is beyond our own abilities.
Here’s the truth: The weight of having to figure it all out on our own is never something that God asked us to carry on our shoulders. He has a plan for each of our lives, and a way to make something even more beautiful out of the ashes when we mess up His plan. We don’t have to map out our own lives or find the source of our own joy. God has extended an invitation of faith to each one of us, and it is in saying yes to this radical faith that we find the radical joy that we all desire and are made for.
The quiet, cunning changes we’ve gone through as a society have greatly affected our faith. Instead of turning to God with our problems, we turn to the things that bring us mind-numbing comfort so we don’t have to face the hard things. We’ve become a society that can function so well on our own, we’ve forgotten how much we need God. We’ve forgotten our faith. Why would we need to believe that the Lord will provide for us if we can already provide everything for ourselves?
Some of the most joyful, faith filled people I’ve met are the ones who have very little by the world’s standards. And while there are most definitely basics that everyone should have access to (shelter, food, etc), once things go beyond the scope of what’s necessary to take care of our physical needs, we run the risk of being distracted by all the extra things. We start to find joy in the material items we have rather than the Lord. Then we get depressed when they don’t fill the hole in our hearts that only God can fill, but most of us continue under the illusion that we just need more to be happy. I’m going to argue the opposite: we need less. Less distractions, less creativity-stifling gadgets and gizmos, less self-reliance. The less we can do for ourselves, the more we get to see God work in our lives.
I’ve talked with many people who are homeless, who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, who can’t afford the medication they need, and so on. Something I’ve heard more from them than anyone else is, “The Lord will provide.” I’ve also seen a lot of those people’s faith be rewarded by God supplying exactly what it is they needed. We have so many things in our world today that we’ve stopped asking God to provide for us. We’ve stopped bringing to Him what we need, and by extension, we’ve forgotten what it’s like to have faith that He not only is able to do those things, but that He wants to do those things and that He will do those things.
It’s in those moments where we have nothing left of ourselves and have no choice but to give everything to God where we see Him work the most. There’s something very transformative about the way God is able to work in our lives when we let go of our agendas and give Him permission to do whatever He wants. God is a gentleman - He doesn’t force His way in our lives without our permission. He waits to be invited in. The abandonment to Him is what He’s waiting for. It’s what He can do the most with. It takes faith to enter into such abandonment, because if we don’t believe He can or will do it, why would we give it over to Him? But He’s there, arms open, waiting for us to say yes. Waiting for us to invite Him in. Waiting to show us just what He can do in the life of somebody who has faith in Him.
In the story of the hemorrhaging woman from Mark 5, which I’ll write more about in the weeks to come, Jesus tells her at the very end of their interaction, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease.” It was her faith that made her whole, that healed her of her disease. We live in a world that is plagued with the disease of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. A radical, childlike, and confident faith is the antidote for this. Those striving for holiness and sainthood are called to completely trust that He will provide for our every need. We are called to have a childlike confidence in Who God is and who we are as His Children. He invites us to have a “Cor Fidei”, which literally means “Heart of Faith”. This does not mean that our hearts should have a “part” made of faith - rather, it should be its very substance. It should be central to who we are as a person. It should guide everything we do, what we believe, and how we respond to the things we see and face in this world. This kind of faith won’t make sense to many, and that’s okay. Take courage. We aren’t made for this world. We are made for Him Who loves us beyond comprehension.
Stay close to Him and have faith!
-Brandy
 | A guest post by
|