In the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, in the scene ‘Leap of Faith’, Indiana’s last hope to save his dad, is to drink of the water from the Holy Grail. On his path towards the Holy Grail, he discovers that there is a deep chasm on his path, and he must cross it. No one knows that there is an invisible bridge that crosses over the deep chasm. The clue, to get to the Holy Grail, is to take a leap of faith. Therefore, Indiana takes a leap of faith into the valley, and lands on the invisible bridge, and crosses over to the other side.

Faith, in real life, is obscure, just like in the above fictional movie. Faith is stepping into the unknown, but to step into the unknown, you must first let go of what you already know. We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7, NRSV). St Anselm of Canterbury declares, “faith seeking understanding”, however, St John of the Cross, in his book ‘Ascent to Mount Carmel’, states that to have faith one must void one’s soul of understanding.

St John of the Cross, looks at understanding as an opposite spectrum of faith. However, for St Anslem of Canterbury, faith is pursuing understanding. If faith could be understood, it wouldn’t be faith, because faith is obscure, void of all understanding. Therefore, to seek understanding is to let go of faith. Faith cannot seek understanding, just like the east cannot walk hand in hand with the west. They lie further apart and cannot be merged. St Anselm of Canterbury’s statement on faith needs to be studied further to understand its true theological meaning, for in its simplicity it may be easily misunderstood.

What then is faith? Something that can never be understood. Do we have words to express it? If faith is something that cannot be understood, how then can anyone describe it completely? “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). What do we hope for and whom do we long to see? It’s Jesus Christ. Therefore, our faith is only in Jesus Christ, because in Him alone lies our assurance of hope.

Faith can be subjective, and therefore, the object of your faith becomes the source of your assurance. For instance, if your faith is in the politicians or on the weather forecast, you can be assured that politicians may not keep their promises and the weather forecast may be unpredictable. Likewise, if a person has no faith, he is an atheist. Therefore, no faith or faith in anything, other than Jesus Christ, is futile. Our pursuit is for God and God alone, therefore we are people of faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Our goal is to please God, and to do so, we need faith. How do we acquire this faith? So, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Our faith comes from the word of Christ. When we obey God’s word, we are walking in faith.

Faith, due to its obscurity, can be ironical to our understanding, or in other words, can be confusing to our understanding. Its confusing due to the very fact you are trying to understand that which cannot be understood. The source of our confusion is not faith but our understanding. To know God, you need faith, not understanding. If you think you understand you have missed it all. Faith is simply trusting God for who He is. Its trusting God simply when you do not understand.

This faith in God, that is indescribable, is a virtue which we develop. It is also a gift from God and as a gift, we do not develop this kind of faith but only receive it by grace. Faith is a gift and faith is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Gifts are freely given by God, and fruits are borne, developed as in virtue.

Like the apostles, our constant prayer must be “Lord, increase our faith”.  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you (Lk 17:5-6). A mustard seed is a tiny seed, yet, it has the potential to grow into a huge tree. Faith works in a similar way. It begins like a tiny seed but has the potential to grow enormously.

The potential of a tree to grow depends on the soil it is planted on, the weather, its exposure to sunlight, the fertilisers used, and the water source. In the right conditions, it will grow and flourish; in the wrong conditions, it will wither away. Likewise, our faith needs to be planted in the word of God. It needs the community of faith to remain planted. It needs to be infilled and guided by the light of the Holy Spirit. It needs to be cleansed by the water of baptism. It needs the sacraments to be a source of eternal life-giving grace.

Faith is obscure, and because of this obscurity, it is a source of enormous blessing. When Thomas, the apostle, doubted, Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). We live in a time of obscurity and a time of great mercy and grace. It is our privilege to profess our faith. Our salvation depends on our faith in Jesus Christ. Let us with confidence profess our faith in this act of faith prayer.

Act of Faith

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that your Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths the Holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen.

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