{"id":19361,"date":"2022-03-17T09:08:16","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T14:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=19361"},"modified":"2022-03-17T10:21:53","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T15:21:53","slug":"how-can-i-keep-the-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/how-can-i-keep-the-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can I Keep the Faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Faith is a gift. You didn\u2019t earn it. You didn\u2019t discover it on your own. It was given to you in what we call a \u201cgrace\u201d, something beyond our physical nature . . . something from God. You were given the seed of Faith in Baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This grace brings \u201ca knowledge of things unseen.\u201d By faith \u201cwe understand that the universe was created by God\u2019s word . . . what is seen was made by what is unseen.\u201d Hebrews 11:1\u00163<\/a>. But this is just the beginning. Faith also tells us that God became a human being in Jesus Christ. Christ is the visible appearance of God with us. The man, Jesus, speaks what God wants us to know about his plan for human\u0016kind. Namely, that we be joined to God by our participation in the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how can we be sure of this \u201cknowledge\u201d? How do we know it\u2019s true? (Scientific knowledge can be proven by our reason (2+2=4). But science does not exhaust all that is real. Some very real things can be known only by faith.) Can science prove your mother\u2019s love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahh . . . here is where we get to the essence of faith. We know it\u2019s true because \u201cwe believe\u201d the one who reveals it . . . God. Faith gives us the ability to surrender to a truth I cannot see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should I surrender to something that can\u2019t be proven scientifically?? Because I\u2019ve been GIVEN that power in the gift of Faith. The old theological phrase said the things of faith are, \u201crevealed by God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived because of who He is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another word to describe what we\u2019re talking about is Trust. Who do you trust? Someone you know to be truthful, right? Someone who exhibits goodness toward others. A friend, a parent, teacher, priest. Can we put God in that category? Faith says \u201cYes!\u201d \u201cLook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But here\u2019s the problem. We\u2019re human beings. We forget things, we take things for granted. (Angels don\u2019t!) We get distracted or taken up with the everyday stuff of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we can grow distant to the love of friend or family. And so we need to be reminded of the important things, the lifegiving things. Don\u2019t you feel a need to sit for dinner with your family? What happens? We speak to each other, we share our thoughts and feelings. We experience communion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should it be any different with God who made us and loves us? A God, who Jesus says to call \u201cFather\u201d. This is the wisdom of the Commandments and the teaching of the Church, \u201cRemember to keep holy the Lord\u2019s Day\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Catholics keep this commandment by going to Mass on Sundays. There we meet the Lord as He speaks to us in the gospel and gives us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear friends, I can\u2019t stress enough how important it is to come to mass. Of all the things we can do to keep our faith alive, it is this. Jesus Himself tells us, \u201cUnless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you.\u201d John 6:52<\/a> And at the Last Supper he commands us to \u201cDo this in memory of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will coming to mass help me to \u201ckeep my faith\u201d? Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n