The Mystery of the Incarnation
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Sunset marks the beginning of the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Tonight, we
light *all* the candles! At the Easter Vigil, as the deacon enters the
Church carryi...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
synthesis
I've realized that until now I mistakenly regarded Faith, Hope and Trust as steps, or phases of a process. Now I think of the transition/transformation as more of a deepening understanding. How could I move beyond Faith? Silly! This relationship is not only the source of my life, it's what sustains it. Plants grow up out of soil, but they remain rooted in it. They are continually nourished by it. And their ability to grow up is dependent on how deeply they are rooted. If faith were merely an agreement with a fact, it would be static, shallow and abstract. Faith is an organic relationship, the ability to know God - life Himself. When we know God and understand that our Source is good, we have certainty about the goodness of our future - this is called Hope. How am I doing?
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2 comments:
You're doing well. You are correct that we are not talking about moving from faith to hope to trust. Christian maturity, which can only come through experience, is what is happening. After all, hope is but the extension of faith into the future. Trust, which is borne from poverty, is nothing but trust in the One in whom we have faith. All of this is mediated to us through experience and by witnesses.
It seems every day that I am struck by some new dimension of faith, as Fr. Giussani defines it -- the recognition of a Presence in the present. It's precisely what you were asking for in your other post!
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