You gotta have faith

Faith based on signs and wonders is human nature: It’s easier to put faith in what we can humanly see, touch, and hear than to believe in a God who is invisible and who usually sounds very silent. There is nothing supernatural about this kind of faith, but God is very supernatural.

What happens to our faith when we pray and pray and pray for God’s intervention and there are no signs indicating that we’ll get what we want?  Our reaction to unanswered prayers is an indicator of how natural or supernatural our spiritual life really is.

Jesus knew that His physical presence was the greatest sign of all, but it would soon be taken away (John 13:31-35).  Don’t we sometimes wish that Jesus would appear in front of us and make Himself audible to our human ears?  We think it would make our faith stronger.

Earlier today, I was watching a scene from the television show, “Young Sheldon”, about a genius pre-teen who, as it turns out, is an avowed atheist.  Sheldon becomes an unlikely ally when a tragedy in the community shakes his mother’s usually strong faith.  Sheldon helps his mother believe there is a creator when he explains how gravity is precisely as strong as it needs to be.  He says one has to wonder what the odds are of that.  She is surprised that he is trying to make her believe in God again, but she still seems abandoned.  Then he says, “there are 5 billion people on this planet and you’re the perfect mom for me”.

Typically, we base our faith on many signs: prayers being answered, love being evidenced, peace and happiness filling our hearts, etc.  But what happens to our faith when we enter the dark night of trials and difficulties?  Do we continue to trust God when we can no longer see or feel signs that He cares?

The kind of faith we need when faith matters most comes from a relationship of trust.  Real trust.  We choose to trust God for who He really is and how much He really cares, rather than on what the evidence seems to say.

To succeed in this, we need supernatural faith.  When we’re united to the divinity of Christ, we join ourselves to His faith.  We then trust Him so much that we don’t need signs.

Remember this the next time you receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  Not only are you consuming His body, but you’re also uniting yourself to His divinity.   And He is uniting Himself to you!  If you truly believe this, of course there will be miracles, but that’s not the greatest gift that He’s sharing with you.

What He wants to give you most of all is HIS ALL.

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No meditations on the rosary tonight—I’m trying to stretch the Lenten project through to Holy Thursday, but I’m way ahead of schedule.  I’ll pick it up again with the Sorrowful mysteries beginning on Monday, March 4.