Dominica I Passionis - Belief and Unbelief

LESSON: Denying Christ

Every year, as Easter approaches, we are treated to the annual barrage of television programs trying to disprove Christ. We have been treated to numerous so-called documentaries telling us that the “Historical Jesus” did not exist, or He was not divine, or He did not intend to found a religion, etcetera, etcetera.

You may recall back in 2002, the supposed “James ossuary,” which purportedly had the inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” giving definitive proof that Our Lady and St. Joseph had other children than Our Lord, as though it would be impossible for another family to have similar names.

Then, in 2007, we were presented with the so-called “Lost Tomb of Jesus,” which supposedly contained the remains of Our Lord, St. Mary Magdalene, His “wife,” and several of their children, all in an attempt to deny the bodily resurrection of Christ.

All of these annual attempts to deny Christ are simply modern versions of what the Pharisees attempt to do in today’s Gospel; create spurious reasons not to believe in Christ and His teaching.

When it comes to the Pharisees, it’s clear what their motivation was: Our Lord threatened their power and their monopoly on scriptural interpretation. As for the modern doubters, we can only speculate, but as we know, faith in Christ makes demands on us; it is not something to be taken lightly.

Of course, that often leads to the question, “Wouldn’t it be better to leave people in ignorance if knowing about and believing in Jesus Christ places a greater burden on people, especially when it comes to eternal life?”

I think I can say with some certainty that unbelief is a far greater burden. To think that we exist purely by random chance in a cold and indifferent universe, live a life of meaningless suffering, and then die only to become food for worms is, quite frankly, a depressing, hollow, and purposeless way to live.

While faith does impose certain responsibilities upon us, it gives us far more than it demands, so let us take a few moments to consider the beautiful burden of faith.

EXPLANATION: The beautiful burden of faith

Having faith in Christ and His teachings means a total conversion of life, away from the ways of the world, cooperating with grace, to become ever more perfect images of Our Lord, but as I already mentioned, faith gives far more than it demands.

Faith is the foundation of our supernatural life. Just as Baptism opens up all of the other Sacraments to us, so faith opens up all of the other virtues to us. It is the foundation upon which all of the other virtues are built. As the Council of Trent taught, “faith is the beginning, the basis and the root of all justification.”

It is the beginning of justification because it is the mysterious means God uses to initiate us into His own life, to make us know Him as He knows Himself. It is like a telescope that enables us to discover far-off things invisible to the naked eye.

Faith, likewise, is the foundation of the spiritual life. Sanctity is like a vast, lofty building that can only stand on a deep and strong foundation. The deeper and stronger the foundation, the higher the building can rise without the danger of toppling over or crashing to the ground.

Faith is also the root of sanctity. Just as the roots of a plant seek nutrition from the soil to allow the tree to grow, so faith feeds on divine truths giving life to the soul.

Faith unites us to God, making us sharers in His thoughts and His life. This is God’s own knowledge of Himself shared with man. In his work, The Christian Life and Virtues, Msgr. Charles Gay writes, “By it the light of God becomes our light; His wisdom, our wisdom; His knowledge, our knowledge; His Spirit, our spirit; His life, our life.” Faith, then, we can say, becomes a source of light to the mind, strength and comfort to the will, and merit to the entire soul.

Faith illumines our intellect, giving us deeper insight into divine truths; it provides with the deep convictions that strengthen the will; it keeps us focussed on our eternal reward in times of suffering, finally making acts of faith, especially in the face of persecution or ridicule gains great merit for eternal life.

Faith truly is a beautiful burden, calling us to conversion but uniting us intimately with the life and grace of God.

IMPLICATION: Strengthening our faith

If we want to bear this beautiful burden well, especially in the face of so many attacks on our beliefs, then we need to work constantly to strengthen this holy virtue.

Firstly, we need to thank God for this gift frequently, as St. Paul says, “Thanks be to God for this unspeakable gift.” Then, with humble submission, we must make frequent acts of faith, saying with the Apostles, “Increase our faith.” Moreover, we must study our faith, reading good books, and listening to good talks from authoritative sources.

Conversely, we must carefully avoid dangerous writings where the truths of the faith are attacked, ridiculed, or called into question, as well as avoiding talks and videos that would only serve to damage our faith.

We must also avoid intellectual pride, thinking that we know it all or refusing to accept those things that may be beyond our comprehension. When temptations against faith arise, we must reject them immediately. If we are confused about a particular teaching or doctrine, our first reaction must always be firm belief, not rejecting it because we may not understand it but holding it to be true while we search for greater clarity.

We must also live a spirit of faith, seeking to follow Christ, relish His teachings and contemplate His example, making Him the centre of all our thoughts. We must accustom ourselves to see the hand of the Creator in all things, the image of God in all people, and the power of God in every event.

Above all, we must strive to be led by faith, with our judgements based upon the Gospel, not the maxims of the world, our words inspired by the Christian spirit, and our actions animated by the example of Christ.

As Our Lord nourishes us today in the Most Blessed Sacrament, let us pray that He may strengthen and enliven our faith so that we may bear this beautiful burden with love and joy.