DAILY REFLECTION THURSDAY, JULY 10 (PART III OF IV) I submit to you something that I have believed for a long time and something the Fathers of the Church wholeheartedly embraced: the problem with faith in God today exists because man has not learned how to love authentically. The crisis of faith is rooted in a crisis of love. Love today is interpreted within the context of a secular individualistic model: it is an emotion – albeit a powerful one – centered on self-gratification and self-satisfaction. When I care more about what makes me happy at the expense of others or when others are exploited, I cannot get to know another person or develop a relationship of trust with him. I cannot believe in him because his happiness is not my main concern. If I love him, it may be because I desperately need him, not because I truly care about him and wish to share fellowship with him. And if I don’t know him but simply know about him, how can I trust him? People today may want to believe in God but they are hesitant to enter a long-term relationship with Him. Certainly they want a relationship with God but only on their own terms, which are usually utilitarian in nature. “I will believe in God only if God helps me. How odd! So, friend, you are putting God to the test? Is this not unfair and presumptuous? What will you gain from this attitude? Is this true faith?” It is ironic because on the day of our baptism, we enter into God’s household and we are given a special key to unlock the faith that opens God’s heart. But we wander around God’s mansion and admire all that we see and hear. So we may know a lot about Him but never really know Him. And the key is either hidden away from our reach or we choose to swallow it up instead of our pride. Thus we believe in the forms of religious expression and embrace them because we know them well; as for God, we really don’t know Him and our love for Him may even be questionable. And if our love for God is questionable, what shall we say about our faith? (to be continued) --- FrDr Stel
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 04:11:12 +0000
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