FAITH AND CHARITY
"Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God."
That is a statement of faith. Scriptures reminds us that the
devil said something similar to that and he trembles. This
faith with an accompanying fear is not the Catholic Faith. Our
beliefs should not be based on fear of God though it can begin with
it but, definitely, it must not remain that way, otherwise it would
simply be like the faith of the devil.
Peter, also, said something similar, yet Christ called him
"Blessed." His blessedness did not come from his words but
from the disposition of heart. He said it out of love for
Christ. The devil said you are the Christ, but what have we to
do with you. Peter said you are the Christ and I am ready to
go with you even to death.
Our faith must be one that worketh by Charity. Paul said: "If
I had all faith but have no charity, I am nothing."
We must have faith with charity. If we
have love, we surely have faith. If we have faith, we do not
necessarily have charity.
Christ's exhortation for all Christians is not
so much to have faith as to have love or charity; except you
have to have faith before you can have charity. "Love God and
neighbor." Maybe our religion must not be called Catholic
faith but Catholic love. Robert Bellarmine describes charity
as that with which no one is lost and without which no one is saved.
(
10-19-10)
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