386. What is the virtue of faith?
(Comp 386) Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and all that
he has revealed to us and that the Church proposes for our belief because God
is Truth itself. By faith the human person freely commits himself to God.
Therefore, the believer seeks to know and do the will of God because “faith
works through charity” (Galatians 5:6).
“In brief”
(CCC 1842) By faith, we believe in
God and believe all that he has revealed to us and that Holy Church proposes
for our belief.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1814)
Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that
he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief,
because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self
to God" (DV 5). For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's
will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s]
through charity" (Rom 1:17; Gal 5:6). (CCC 1815)
The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it (Cf. Council of
Trent (1547): DS 1545). But "faith apart from works is dead" (Jas
2:26): when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the
believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.
Reflection
(CCC 1816) The disciple of Christ
must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently
bear witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to
confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst
the persecutions which the Church never lacks" (LG 42; cf. DH 14). Service
of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So every one who
acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in
heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who
is in heaven" (Mt 10:32-33).
No comments:
Post a Comment