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Virtue of Faith |
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The theological virtue of faith is a supernatural gift by which God raises up human persons to participate in his own life. Before man can have faith, he must be given the virtue of faith as a gift by God; before he can respond to Divine Revelation, he must receive a new capacity by which to respond. To “have faith” means to accept the gift of faith God has freely given. The supernatural character of faith corresponds to the supernatural character of Divine Revelation and of life lived in its light. It is not enough for man to respond to God only according to a natural understanding of God and the world. From the beginning, God planned and acted to draw human beings into his inner life – ultimately, to full and eternal intimacy with him through what we call the beatific vision. This clearly is possible only by a divine, not human, action not demanded by human nature. Supernatural life is comprised of an array of supernatural gifts and the free human response to them. The principal gift is sanctifying grace, by which man is freed from sin, transformed and elevated to the status of an adopted child of God, and made capable of meriting eternal life. Charity (which in its perfection defines the holiness of heaven itself) and hope are among the other gifts. Faith has its specific character as the foundation and starting point for all the other gifts. God wishes to give the gift of faith to all human beings from the very beginning of their lives. Thus the Church calls attention to the grave obligation of Catholic parents to baptize their children soon after birth. Moreover, recognition of the fact that God wishes all to receive and respond to his gift of faith ought to motivate members of the Church to participate zealously in the work of evangelization.
See: Divine Revelation; Evangelization; Faith, Act of; Faith of the Church; Grace; Infant Baptism; Knowledge of God; Theological Virtues. |
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