Youcat commented through CCC. Question n. 21 – Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 21 - Part I. Faith what is it?

(Youcat answer) Faith is knowledge and trust. It has seven characteristics: Faith is a sheer gift of God, which we receive when we fervently ask for it. Faith is the supernatural power that is absolutely necessary if we are to attain salvation. Faith requires the free will and clear understanding of a person when he accepts the divine invitation. Faith is absolutely certain, because Jesus guarantees it. Faith is incomplete unless it leads to active love. Faith grows when we listen more and more carefully to God’s Word and enter a lively exchange with him in prayer. Faith gives us even now a foretaste of the joy of heaven.       

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 153) When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come "from flesh and blood", but from "my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17; cf. Gal 1:15; Mt 11:25). Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth'" (DV 5; cf. DS 377; 3010).   

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Many people say that to believe is not enough for them; they want to know. The word “believe”, however, has two completely different meanings. If a parachutist asks the clerk at the airport, “Is the parachute packed safely?” and the other man answers casually, “Hmm, I believe so”, then that will not be enough for him; he would like to know it for sure. But if he has asked a friend to pack the parachute, then the friend will answer the same question by saying, “Yes, I did it personally. You can trust me!” And to that the parachutist will reply, “Yes, I believe you.” This belief is much more than knowing; it means assurance. And that is the kind of belief that prompted Abraham to travel to the Promised Land; that is the faith that caused the martyrs to stand fast till death; that is the faith that still today upholds Christians in persecution. A faith that encompasses the whole person.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 183) Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself affirms: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). (CCC 184) "Faith is a foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to come" (St. Thomas Aquinas. Comp. Theol. 1, 2).      

(This question: Faith what is it? is continued)