SFX RCIA 2015/16Precatechumenate

Faith:

Experience & Response

Last week ... God created us to be happy with Him

forever, to share His own divine state. Therefore He gave us a desire that draws

us to Himself, to know Him and love Him. Only in Him will we find the truth and

happiness we are searching for. We are called to share, by knowledge and

love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that man was created and this is the basis of every individual’s personal dignity.

Last week… (contd) We have a single nature made up of body

and soul. An individual’s soul, the spiritual principle in

him, is created immortal by God not biologically “produced” by the parents.

Of all visible creatures, only Man is made in the image and likeness of God and is able to know and love his Creator.

Every path to God is as unique as the individual taking it.

FAITH: From the Greek word “pistis”; Latin “fides”

Usually translated as “belief” or “faith”

FAITH

Dictionary definition:to be of well-founded conviction; to agree with an authority; to trust something on the basis of probability; complete confidence in a person or thing.

This is the meaning of faith in everyday life, usually based on knowledge,

experience and trust.

FAITH

Theological definition:The absolute assent of a human being based on inner certainty which is demonstrated in belief and trust in and love of God as a personal response;belief in the truth of a revealed religion.

In other words…• Faith is knowledge and

trust …in God.

• A Christian’s faith is about his/her relationship with God, a faith in Christ;

• Knowing God through Jesus Christ,

• Trusting his call and his promise…

God• “Every since the

creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.”

Romans 1:20

From the Dictionary of Catholic Theology• The objective, revealed truth believed in (fides

quae)The subjective, personal commitment to God (fides qua)

• Faith is made possible through the Holy Spirit.• Faith is a free, reasonable and total response

through which we confess the truth about the divine self-disclosure definitively made in Christ (Jn. 20:31; Rom. 10:9),obediently commit ourselves (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) and entrust our future to God (Rom. 6:8; Heb. 11:1).

In other words,

Faith is a supernatural gift from God.It joins the whole person to God and involves the assent of the intellect and will. To say “I believe” therefore has a two-fold reference – to the person and to the truth.To obey in faith is to submit to God and His Word.

From Sacred Scripture:

•“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.”Hebrews 11 : 1

In other words…

Faith is real and substantive.Faith is knowing that God is real and you can trust

in God’s promises. You cannot trust someone who isn’t real, nor rely on someone whose promises are not reliable.

This is why faith is talked about as the assurance of things hoped for and as the conviction of things not seen. Both words carry with them a sense of certainty, the use of our reason and rationality.

Jesus Heals the Paralytic• Mark 2: 1 – 12Jesus saw their faith and he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus calms the storm

Mark 4:35 – 41And he said to them, “Why are you afraid?

Have you still no faith?

Faith in our world today…• In Jesus’ teaching

faith is necessary for Him to be alive in the world today.

• “God desires and wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (St Paul in 1Tim2:4)

What faith is not…

Faith is not wishful thinking.Faith is not irrational Faith is not a leap in the dark.

It is a response to the one, real God who has made Himself known to us and called us into the light. “For faith comes from what is heard, and

what is heard comes through the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

Faith is not impersonal. Faith is not a thing that you must muster up.Faith is a personal trust relationship with another person,

God.

Personal

Institutional Communal

The Faith of a Christian• A response in trust, hope and obedience to God’s

love.• Faith is a concept which makes sense of the

relationship between God and human beings on the basis of God’s saving activity through Jesus Christ.

• Indeed, faith is not just an intellectual affirmation of truths; faith is a verb. Faith is a graced response to our self-revealing God.

• This goes for the faith of the church as well as for the faith of the individual who is trying to discern a path through life.

• Faith calls for a response.• Faith is necessary for our salvation.

How does faith work in us?• Faith is transformative; it

must radically affect us, effecting changes in our life.

• By faith, we believe in God and all that God has revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and through the teaching and Apostolic Tradition of the Church.

• It is a belief in God so deep that many have given their lives for it.

Our prayerMy Lord and my God,Take from me everything that distances me from you.My Lord and my God,Give me everything that brings me closer to you.My Lord and my God,May my mind know you,My will serve you,And my heart love you, Amen.

Sharing: Facilitators and Sponsors share about their faith.

• Their journey to faith.• How their faith is growing.• The challenges to their faith.

Journal Reflection

• Try and describe in writing what it is that you are sure of:

• My faith in myself …………….

• My faith in others ………………..

• My faith in God ………………

Some videos

Father Robert Barron• What Christians mean by God• On atheists and philosophy• On what faith is and what faith isn’t • Stephen Fry, Job and sufferingPeter Kreeft Praeger University• On God and Suffering