I think that most of us, at one time or another pray that our faith may be strengthened. Very often this is during a time of crisis or trial, and we are not at peace. At some level, we know that we are in God’s hands, every one of us, and yet we have doubts, and fears, and anxiety. Our enemy knows every one of our weaknesses intimately and will use these in a full onslaught designed to destroy our hope and to create doubt in what we know to be true so that it doesn’t always feel like we know it. This is his most powerful tactic because once our hope is compromised, we can feel separated from God, and we are therefore vulnerable. Our fears and emotions are used to override our reason and intellect, and the resulting chaos is ripe for evil to do its work.
There is a difference between what I will call emotional knowledge (things we casually believe, but which we allow to be subject to all of the range of emotions, including the negative ones because we don’t quite trust in them completely), and intellectual knowledge (these things we know to be true, based on experience, learning, and evidence which we see as relatively immutable). We are all subject to both of these forms of knowledge or belief, but our goal for those things that are truly important is to have them on the more concrete footing of intellectual knowledge. Now, I want to be careful here, I am not saying that all things can be explained, proven, or believed in solely through our human intellect. No, for the most important of our beliefs, there is also faith required. Faith, however, is not directly equatable to emotion (even though we will sometimes feel great emotion during our expression of our faith). Still, it is more than that, more than just strong feelings, it is a mix of knowledge passed on, the evidence we continue to accumulate throughout our lives, and then the humility and trust to allow room for those pieces of evidence that do not have the capacity to prove through conventional means. True faith and intellect are not at all at odds.
We know that as human beings our capacity to explain or test for evidence of things we cannot readily explain is rather limited. We also know that the evidence for God’s existence and loving interaction with humanity is frankly overwhelming, and yet our belief can be one of the first casualties in terms of trusting in His loving plan when we are truly pressed. We ask God to give us faith to get through these times, and we sometimes even chastise ourselves for not having sufficient faith to sustain us. What I think we miss (at least I know I have, and probably will continue to at times – I am a work in progress) is that our faith is in part predicated on trust, as well as grace. We know that we can have only limited trust in ourselves because our abilities are so finite. Anything we feel in terms of true control of our lives is largely an illusion. I actually believe we instinctually trust in God more than we realize or will admit to at a more conscious level, because to do that would require us to quantify that trust and stop being so intellectually lazy. I say that I believe in God, but if that is so, then why when the chips are down, do I worry so incessantly? I suspect that perhaps it’s because when all those negative emotions come flooding in, I have not done my intellectual due diligence to make my belief less vulnerable, in other words, moved them from emotional to intellectual intelligence. Saint Padre Pio told us to “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers”. This is probably the best summation of what our life philosophy should be, but it is still easier said than done. The only way to shift our belief from emotional to intellectual knowledge is to gain intimacy with what we believe. With intimacy comes a secure foundation. The rooted knowledge we will hold to be true, no matter what life throws at us. A knowledge that we reflexively hold to be unshakeable at our very core. We gain this kind of intimacy through building a strong relationship, and through experience. We build our relationship through time spent in solitude and prayer, through receiving the Sacraments, and in communion with others who believe (our brothers and sisters in our family in Christ), and the experience can be gained through study and reflection of who God is through the written word and healthy discourse.
I have never been disappointed with any of my time spent learning about God – even when looking into the toughest of questions. One of the most amazing aspects of our faith is the solidity of its history and theology. True, there have been imperfect people involved in our history, but that is the human condition. God, however, is unchanging in what he wants for us. There is no such thing as a topic within our faith that cannot be discussed/explained, as much as our faculties will allow us. Nothing is off the table. There is no need to fear anything we might find. As we peel back the layers and learn more about who it is we want to place our faith in, the more we will gain in reasons to trust, and ultimately whom our faith is always secure in – our loving God.
The Deacons Bench 