5 little words—easy to say, but hard to live by, “Jesus, I trust in You.” How often do we make this prayer of trust and then take it right back? How often do we feel God speaking to us but become overcome with doubt? What should our response be when God speaks to us? “To respond to God means to believe Him” (YouCat, 20). It means to believe Him as He reveals Himself to us, and to believe Him as He leads us through the joys and sorrows of this life. It is a response of faith, the same response Mary had when she responded, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38). It is the same response as the faith that caused the martyrs to give their lives for what they believed, the same response that even today upholds Christians in every circumstance, not least of all those facing persecution. The response of faith is a response of love.
Faith is composed of both knowledge and trust (YouCat, 21). We believe because we know the One who speaks to us, and because we know Him, we trust Him. Faith is not a blind or silly response to God’s revelation of Himself. It is reasonable to believe. St. Thomas Aquinas said, “I would not believe if I did not realize that it is reasonable to believe.”
Anyone who wants to believe needs a heart that is ready to listen (YouCat, 20). Faith comes from what is heard. When we hear the Good News of the Gospel, we are shaken within ourselves, realizing that the visible world around us is not all there is. There is more to life, and we are driven to search for the Truth. Gradually, grace impels us to speak to God in confidence and to approach Him in freedom. “For, ‘everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? …So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ” (Romans 10:13-17). In this verse, “ St. Paul stresses the need to spread the gospel. Unless missionaries are sent and Christ is proclaimed, the world cannot call upon its Savior (CCC 875)” (The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Revised Standard Version Second Edition, p 271). This is the work of the New Evangelization.
Each of us are called to be missionaries and proclaim Christ according to our state in life. “The new evangelization that can make the twenty-first century a springtime of the gospel is a task for the entire People of God, but will depend in a decisive way on the lay faithful being fully aware of their baptismal vocation and their responsibility for bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to their culture and society.” (Blessed Pope John Paul II, Springtime of Evangelization, 1988). We are called to listen and to deepen our faith, and then to go out and share our love and joy with others. “Faith is incomplete unless it leads to active love” (YouCat, 21). “Because we have experienced the love of Christ, we want to share it. The gifts God has given to us are not gifts for ourselves… Faith makes our hearts abound with a love-filled desire to bring all people to Jesus’ Gospel and to the table of the Eucharist” (US Bishops, Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, November 1965). Having been brought into communion with Christ, we bring Him to others, that they too may experience His love and faithfulness.
The deeper our trust in Jesus, the deeper our witness to Him, and the deeper our proclamation of Him. Let us pray for a deepening of our faith, and that others may embrace this gift offered to them in every moment. We have nothing to fear when we place all our trust in Him by means of a living faith. “Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul.” (Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary, 1777)
Written by Kristen
