Friday, May 14, 2010

A simple answer

A few times recently I have been asked, “Why do you believe, Steve? Have you ever questioned your faith?”

Have I ever questioned my faith? Yes. But not so much any more. I’ll leave it at that.

Why do I believe? That question is not easy to answer. I do know that faith is a gift from God and that ultimately my personal faith flows from my acceptance of this gift.

However, this is not what I was asked. I was asked what human reasons make me able to accept this gift from God.

Over the last few years I have thought about the question much. I can come up with many reasons that make it reasonable to believe, but one reason does stand out above all others. And I have to admit the simplicity of it surprises me. When I have been faithful to living the Gospel I have found peace and happiness; when I have not been faithful I have lacked that peace. In short, faithfulness to living the Gospel is my path to the greatest peace and happiness. This is the greatest human support for my faith.

A very ordinary example can help show what I mean. Like all of us, I am occasionally unjustly condemned or criticized by someone. I then have the choice of how to respond to this criticism: I can either forgive the person or I can hold on to resentment. However, when I choose to move toward forgiveness (living the Gospel) I experience peace; but when I choose to move away from forgiveness (not living the Gospel) I lose that peace. Living the Gospel brings peace.

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reaffirm my conviction that living the Gospel brings peace and joy. Jesus invites his disciples to ask anything in his name, and then he assures them that they will receive what they ask, “so that your joy may be full.” Jesus is repeating the promise he made earlier in his discourse, “All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete.” (Jn 15:11)

Faith in Jesus gives us believers the joy that the world cannot give nor take away. This faith, our path to deepest joy, is the greatest gift God has given us.

So when I’m asked why I believe, the best I can do is to witness to the peace and joy my faith brings to my life. I think my answer gives some a new perspective to view faith. I hope so.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".