To have faith is to have complete confidence and trust in something based on our spiritual convictions rather than concrete proofs. This requires one to submit their intellect and will to God, which is only made possible through His Grace. The concept of faith might still seem profound to many, even when we understand some essence of it. However, we can always turn to Mother Mary to better understand what it means to have faith. She perfectly embodies faith through her response to God’s call and her perseverance till the end as she waited for the complete fulfilment of God’s Word that was spoken to her.
Apart from understanding what it means to have faith, it is important for us to find the excitement that drives us towards living a life of faith. As beautifully encapsulated in CCC 163, “Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision, the goal of our journey here below… So faith is already the beginning of eternal life: When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall one day enjoy.” The experience of a small fragment of eternal life that brings a great multitude of joy into our lives, empowers us to look forward to life beyond that on Earth. This brings about excitement each day as we strive to allow God to work through us differently to touch the hearts of different people whom we interact with.
As a youth, whether we are still in school or in the early stage of working life, we tend to be sucked into the world to live a life deemed acceptable and pleasing to people around us. This makes it difficult for us to live the life we are called to as the beloved children of Light. As a disciple of God, we ought to surrender ourselves as God’s instrument to help others experience His great love. However, it is challenging for some to proclaim God’s love in the setting of the secular world as we are often weighed down by our fears. Our fears of being judged, rejected or not yielding the results that we anticipate. These irrational fears that we possess manifests from our lack of spiritual convictions to trust that it is God working through us and that it is not us doing it through our own capabilities, which are often lacking in many ways. Yet, will we ever be ready? The answer is no, we can never feel ready. Nevertheless, we can always start with spiritual exercises which is similar to on-the-job training as we embark on the work that we need to do, regardless of our level of preparedness. With persistent practice, it enables us to continuously be better instruments of God to allow an increasing amount of His grace to flow through to people around us.
As we attempt to live as children of God, the struggles that await us would often seem daunting, which makes settling for the comfort of ignoring the call more attractive. However, when we neglect the life that we are called to live as children of God, we turn to temporary pleasures that only momentarily ease the pain of emptiness within our hearts. A quote from Pope John Paul II said, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.” His comforting words reassured us that God understands all the pains that we have to endure when we answer His call, but God’s promise of love is sufficient for us. May you be encouraged by this quote to persevere on in living the life of faith.
Melliana