This year has been an active year for the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. 

My usual practice of giving the readers of the Catholic News periodic summaries of the faith issues presented and discussed each week on Shepherd's Corner has been unavoidably interrupted. 

For the remainder of July, I shall use my column to cover as much material as possible. I remind the readers of the ‘Think Four Formula' i.e. Knowledge, Formation, Commitment and Mission which is the proper context for responding to catechesis.

There have been a number of positive changes facilitated by the administration of Trinity Communications Network this year. In addition to cable television, Shepherd's Corner is now carried on 102 FM radio and on Internet radio.

Consequently, Shepherd's Corner now reaches a broader audience - an interesting new dimension to the Chat Room segment of the programme. I offer my compliments and gratitude to the TCN leadership.

Our response to God

The last two articles before the study of the Creed itself are entitled: I Believe and We Believe. The two articles cover the issue of how we respond to the revelation of God. The Catechism clarifies two important concepts:
1) Revelation - it means that the invisible God from the fullness of his love addresses his people as friends and moves among them to invite them into his own company. Faith is our response to this initiative of God;
2) Faith – it means that we give our full assent to God the revealer.

I Believe

Sacred Scripture calls our response to God, the obedience of faith. This response is a fundamental reality in the life of a believer. The Catechism gives examples of two believers who lived such obedience: Abraham who was its model and the Virgin Mary who was its embodiment.

By his life Abraham fulfilled the definition of faith found in the Letter to the Hebrews: ‘the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.' (Hebrews, 11, 1)

By her life Mary welcomed the promise brought by the angel because she believed that with God nothing will be impossible. Even when her son died on the cross, Mary never ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God's word.

The Catechism stresses that a person cannot believe without the Holy Spirit. Remember the teaching of Scripture: ‘The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God; No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit; No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.' Therefore, prayer to the Spirit is an absolute requirement for the life of faith and for discerning the call of God's Will for us.     

The characteristics of faith

1) Faith is a grace, a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by God. Before it can be exercised, a person must have the interior helps provided by the Holy Spirit;

2) It is a human act. Trusting in God's truth is not against human reason or human freedom. It is an assent to truth by the command of our will that has been moved by God's grace;

3) While a person who believes authentically believes because of the authority of God who reveals and not because God's truth appears reasonable, it is also true to say that God's actions e.g. the miracles of Christ can provide motives of credibility for faith;

4) Faith is certain because it is based on the word of God who cannot deceive. It is more certain than human knowledge;

5) Faith seeks understanding. Not all revelation is mystery. The believer should want to understand better what God has revealed. Deeper understanding will bring forth a deeper faith;

6) Faith and science. Discrepancies between faith and reason are more apparent than real. Since truth comes from the same source, God, truth cannot contradict truth. Additional study and dialogue are called for to address the apparent discrepancy;

7) Faith and perseverance. Since faith is a free gift, it can be lost. Therefore, we must nourish our faith, work in charity to deepen our faith and ask God to increase our faith.

We Believe

The Catechism stresses that while faith is a deeply personal act, it is not an isolated act. A believer receives faith from others and should hand it on to others through prayer, witness and personal intervention. The ‘I believe' of the Apostles Creed is the faith professed personally by each believer e.g. during Baptism.

The ‘We believe' of the Nicene Creed is the faith of the Church confessed by Bishops at Councils or by believers during the liturgy. Each line of the Creed has been carefully worded to reflect the fullness of the Catholic Tradition.

Nothing should be added to the Creed and nothing in the Creed should be ever excluded. As believers mature in Christ, the ‘I Believe' slowly becomes the ‘We Believe.'

Faith and eternal life

Most people do not think of faith in an ecclesial manner. Usually they think of faith in a personal way related to their own story. The truth is that the faith of the Church precedes the faith of the individual. The Church is our mother.

We receive the gift of faith through the Church. Recall the Rite of Baptism. The minister of Baptism asks the catechumen, ‘What do you ask of God's Church?' The answer is: Faith. Then the minister asks, ‘What does faith offer you?' The answer is: Eternal Life.

The formulas of faith

Formulas of faith are teaching instruments. They help people to remember their faith, to celebrate it in community and internalize it more and more deeply.

The Catholic Church does not require faith in formulas, but in the realities they represent. Similar to prayer forms, the Creeds flow from and reflect the substance of the Catholic Tradition.

The Church teaches us Creeds (the language of faith) to help with the process of understanding and communication. The Church also protects the faith, it guards the memory of Christ and hands on the Faith with a unanimous voice.

Concluding reflection questions

Do we thank God for the gift of Faith? Do we celebrate our Faith joyfully? Do we nourish our Faith? Do we consider handing on our Faith to others as a privileged mission? Are we grateful to the Church for articulating our Faith? Do we work at persevering in the Faith until death?