The Holy Scripture, in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1, says that “faith is the guarantee of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen”. Faith is a gift from God, a supernatural virtue infused by Him in us, which assures us of the goods to come, such as the promise of eternal life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and in everything He has told us and revealed, and the Holy Church proposes us to believe, because He is the truth itself. By faith, “man freely gives himself entirely to God.” Therefore, the faithful seek to know and do His will. “The just will live by faith” (Rm 1:17). Living faith “acts through charity” (Gal 5:6). (CIC. 1814).
The Bible and the Church about what faith is
From this perspective, the Church says that “faith is, firstly, a personal adherence of man to God; it is, at the same time and inseparably, the free assent to every truth that God has revealed” (CIC 150). This is because “faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to him, bringing, at the same time, an overabundant light to man in search of the ultimate meaning of his life” (CIC 26). In this way, it is not enough to say that we have faith, but we need to respond, concretely, with our lives to what God has revealed to us, his.
With this, so that man can enter into intimacy with God, in a personal experience, the Lord himself wanted to “reveal himself to man and give him the grace to be able to accept this revelation in faith. However, the proofs of the existence of God can dispose to faith and help to see that faith is not opposed to human reason.” (CIC. 35). For as the author explained: “faith and reason (fides et ratio) constitute, as it were, the two wings by which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”
What does it mean to be a person of faith?
The letter to the Hebrews, in chapter 11, after highlighting what it is, also provides instructions on what it means to be a person of faith.
“It is by faith that we understand that the worlds were organized by a Word of God. That is why the visible world does not have its origin in manifest things” (Heb 11:3). A is one who believes in the existence of God, who created all visible and invisible things, and that He is the organizer of all creation.
“It was by faith that Enoch was taken up (…). Before he was, however, he received the testimony that he was pleasing to God. Now, without faith it is impossible to be pleasing to Him” (Heb 11:5-6). A person of faith is pleasing to God, however, one must believe not because of the possible benefits to be received, but simply because of what God is.
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The Bible gives several examples of faith
“It was by faith that Noah, divinely warned of what had not yet been seen, took the oracle seriously and built an ark to save his family” (Heb 11:7). Being a person of faith means listening to God and putting into practice what seems impossible to human eyes. Just like, we need to trust in God’s announcement, which is directed to us daily.
“It was by faith that Abraham, responding to the call, obeyed and set out for a land that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out without knowing where he was going” (Heb 11:8). Only those who believe, trust. The person of faith obeys and responds to God, even without having human and material security, because, as, it is necessary to walk in faith towards the heavenly homeland, which is heaven.
“It was by faith that Sarah, despite her advanced age, was able to have descendants, because she considered the author of the promise faithful” (Heb 11:11). Faith makes us persevere in things, which may take time, but never fail, because for God nothing is impossible.
Is it possible to be a person of faith
“It was by faith that Moses (…) left Egypt, without fear of the wrath of the king, and resisted as if he saw the invisible. It was by faith that they crossed the land, as if it were dry land” (HB 11,24.27.29). A person of faith believes in the ordinary and extraordinary, which leads to a glimpse of what cannot be seen. Since “it was also by faith that the walls of Jericho fell, after a siege of seven days” (HB 11,30).
Finally, in , the initiator and perfecter of faith, Jesus Christ, is the example par excellence of a person of faith, and it is in Him that we find the fullness of what we must believe and accomplish. Thus, it is through the obedience of faith to Christ that we are able to give answers to God. Even without seeing, we believe, because Jesus himself says: “Blessed are those who believe without having seen” (John 20:29).