But what does it mean to say I’m not the one who needs him when I *feel *like I need him and I have been crying out to him in prayer to help me? That makes him sound like the parent who tells the fallen child, “Stop crying, you’re not hurt.” (Though, in this case, if a voice from the sky actually said that, I’d be fine.)
Jesus once explained to his disciples that the reason they could not cast out a particular demon was “because of their little faith.” I do not believe that we are entirely passive when it comes to having faith. Yes, it is a gift, but no to the idea that we cannot exercise faith and grow in faith. Every time we make a decision based on faith, we exercise our faith and it can grow.
What it means is that you are already walking the path of virtue. You don’t need him to speak to you to do this. You have exercised your faith. You had no proof but you did it anyway based on faith. But there are other who have no faith in him yet. They are caught in sin and they need his immediate attention.But what does it mean to say I’m not the one who needs him when I *feel *like I need him and I have been crying out to him in prayer to help me? That makes him sound like the parent who tells the fallen child, “Stop crying, you’re not hurt.” (Though, in this case, if a voice from the sky actually said that, I’d be fine.)
Is your faith getting weaker or is it just that the difficulties of life and the immediacy of our mortality as we grow older is putting you to the test. Persevere. Your faith will grow! Persevere.No. Point is I have been exercising - choosing based on faith. It’s getting weaker. Last hope left is that he will come for me when it has fallen away altogether. Hence the real spirit of this thread, I think.
We’ll see.
I’ve been looking and praying. If I don’t know and love Christ, if he has not entered into me and given me a faithful heart, how is that my fault? He is the giver of such gifts. I’m not sure how praying my heart out counts as “denying” him. ?
Honestly, I’d be fine with the kind of signs Jonah got.
Somehow you misinterpreted what I meant . Of course your actions and works are meritorious. But they will never merit Faith in Jesus, this is a Gift, merited by Jesus Himself and He gives it freely to those who come to Him in humility and contrite. Your actions are not pointless. Please reflect more closely on the statements made.
Christ gave you the gift of free will. It is up to you to choose how to live you life. You are responsible for how you live your life, not God. You are responsible for developing your faith, not God. Faith is a journey that we have to work hard at, it is not easy. You seem to want God to do all the work for you. Perhaps you ought to take some responsibility and work on living the Gospel as Christ called us to, that is how faith is developed.
Did you even read the rest of the thread? If so, you could not help but notice how many times I have said that no, I do not want proof. What I want, and hope for, and ask for is faith.
Agreed. You’re spending too much time thinking about yourself. Self-examination can be good, but just like anything else it can also be sinful if taken to extremes.
Continue to ask for it, and when the time is right God will certainly give it to you. On His schedule, not yours. And in His own way, not necessarily exactly as the CCC describes it. Perhaps God is making you wait so that you’ll appreciate the gift more once you receive it? Who really knows?Did you even read the rest of the thread? If so, you could not help but notice how many times I have said that no, I do not want proof. What I want, and hope for, and ask for is faith.
Faith is a gift. Your description here seems at odds with that of the CCC (153, etc.). Before we can exercise our faith, the heart and mind must be moved by the Holy Spirit as the interior helps of faith. It is a supernatural virtue infused by Him. The HS opens the eyes of the mind and ‘makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.’ The will is moved by grace, only then can the intellect assent to it. In 156 the CCC goes on to describe signs and miracles as motives of credibilty which help the believer to know that their faith is no blind impulse of the mind. And in 157 we are told that this movement of grace gives a light of certainty surpassing any offered by natural reason.
I want THAT.
So what you want is God to give you your faith on a plate?Faith is a gift. Your description here seems at odds with that of the CCC (153, etc.). Before we can exercise our faith, the heart and mind must be moved by the Holy Spirit as the interior helps of faith. It is a supernatural virtue infused by Him. The HS opens the eyes of the mind and ‘makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.’ The will is moved by grace, only then can the intellect assent to it. In 156 the CCC goes on to describe signs and miracles as motives of credibilty which help the believer to know that their faith is no blind impulse of the mind. And in 157 we are told that this movement of grace gives a light of certainty surpassing any offered by natural reason.
I want THAT.
1.Is praying for help not a demonstration of my responsibility?
Maybe you’re thinking too much about yourself? About what you want, about what is best for you? You seem to be viewing faith as something that you want, for yourself, as a sort of reward for your endeavour.
Interestingly enough, not really. To my thinking the value of having faith is the ability to spread it to others. We are on a sinking ship, and the most valuable thing I can imagine doing with the time that remains is to give faith to the others that they will be rescued at the end. If I could be given immense faith, but was doomed never to be believed (like Cassandra), I could not bear it. Similarly, if I were given the gift of convincing others of the truths of faith, but did not have it myself, I would feel like a deceiver, and also would not want it.
But you can do that. Try to live out your life as Jesus taught us to (which is a tall order, but we must try) and others will see that and you will change the lives of some people. That is what faith is, trusting in Our Lord (even though we have many doubts) and trying to live our lives as Jesus would want us to. Faith isn’t rocket science and you don’t need a ‘mystical’ experience in order to understand it. Faith is a mystery, the more we over-think it the more obstacles we place in our way.
lol, not even close. I was leaning more toward the early Augustine or Francis.