Power of Faith..

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I was listening to EWTN’s shortwave broadcasts tonight, and heard a host discussing the roll of faith in the work of God in our lives…

He referenced the episode where Jesus is going with a man to see his sick and dying daughter, when a very sick woman touches his cloak. He stops, turns and demands to know who touched him. He then declares that her faith has saved her. He then goes on an raises the mans daughter from the dead…

The host then went on and made the point that with faith, all things are possible.

Two questions:
  1. Is this, as simply stated, Catholic Doctrine? and
  2. Does this mean that all I needed was unquestioning faith and my father would not have died of hearf failure?
Clint
 
Jesus said, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matt 17:20) Elsewhere Jesus said, “All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

Does this mean, if we have unquestioning faith, then we always get what we want? No. Not all of Jesus’ prayers were answered as he wanted (see Matt 26:39-44). And, not all of St. Paul’s prayers were answered as he wanted (see 2 Cor 12:7-9). Why not? Because not everything we might want is in accord with the will of our wise and loving heavenly Father.
 
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RCEllis:
The host then went on and made the point that with faith, all things are possible.

Two questions:
  1. Is this, as simply stated, Catholic Doctrine? and
  2. Does this mean that all I needed was unquestioning faith and my father would not have died of hearf failure?
Clint
Click to expand...
Clint,

There is more than one “type” of faith described in the Bible. Others may list more than two, but I focus on two.
  1. The faith that leads to salvation.
  2. The faith that leads to miracles.
  3. This faith is a gift from God - given to all who believe - that enables us to know, love and serve God - to respond to His loving call. This is a more universal faith.
  4. This faith is also a gift from God (as are all graces) - but is the gift of faith Jesus was referencing when He said “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…” mountains or trees would be moved.
This second faith is the faith of miracles, and comes to us as a gift from God when we just know - beyond any doubt - that He is going to act in a specific way. I believe this is the faith this “host” was talking about.

Please do not confuse the two. The first is a grace that all believers receive that leads us toward God. The second is a grace of a sure knowledge of the action of God on our behalf for a specific thing.

What they have in common is that they are both graces that give us confidence in the Hand of God for our sakes. One is very common, the other more rare. Look at 1 Corinthians 12. Paul puts this “type 2” faith in with healing, miracles, knowledge, prophecy.

I hope that helps.
 
Since childhood I have understood that there had to be some distinction in how faith worked. For example, I don’t blame any lack of faith in myself for my father’s death. But I grew up Catholic…

Of course there are some among our separated brothers, who would blame my lack of faith for my father’s death. After all, Jesus is pretty unequivical about the mustard seed thing.

I’ll have to look up your citations. (I started to reply to your message before I got that far )

Clint
 
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