Catechism Corner | Door of Faith

A living encounter with the Risen Christ, is the encounter which gives life a new horizon. This new horizon, the life of communion with God, that is opened up by faith. Therefore, it is God himself who opens the door of faith. St John's gospel adds an essential element to this: the door is not only opened by God but by the Good Shepherd, who is recognized because he comes through the door, and is himself the door (cf. Jn 10:2-10). From this viewpoint, Christ is the Door because he leads us to the full, eternal life that is given by God the Father. Faith commits and involves life precisely because it gives life, a life that will never end. This is why to enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. Faith to be a recovery of the strong connection between faith and life. Faith is not alive today because people no longer realize that it is essential to life; they do not recognize it as a meaningful factor in their own lives.

Faith, to show the world that all this is not just ceremonies and words, but a divine reality, by presenting to mankind the testimony of an ordinary life which is made holy, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and of holy Mary. Sanctifying daily life is possible precisely because of faith, and it means the same as living by faith and having a living faith, with explicit reference to St Paul's teaching in Gal 3:11 – "the just man lives by faith."

In other words, to live, one must have some kind of faith, because one inevitably chooses to give a meaning to one's life. Christianity cannot be limited to deeds; nor can man achieve salvation by human virtue or his own effort. It is clearly stated that the act of belief is not limited to the intellect, to the simple acceptance of a number of truths that have little to do with life; on the contrary, the act of belief is shown in the believer's very life, because faith bestows supernatural life and enables us to think according to "the logic of God" – God's way of reasoning. We then connect everything to Christ and establish a personal relationship with him. You don't have living faith if you aren't giving yourself to Jesus here and now.

When faith is really alive in the soul, one discovers instead that to follow Christ one does not have to step aside from the ordinary pattern of everyday life, and also that the great holiness which God expects of us is to be found here and now in the little things of each day.

The solemn proclamation of the universal call to holiness is seen, then, as a deepening in the faith as a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man's life, since it is born of our encounter with Christ in everyday life. The reduction of the faith to a mere sociological tradition, separating it from real life, goes hand in hand with a reduction of its remit to the sphere of extraordinary, abnormal things. By contrast, accepting the universal call to holiness means giving new life to our own faith in order to open ourselves up to God who is close at hand. Though we do not perceive him with our senses, his existence is far more true than any of the realities which we touch and see. God is here with us, really present, living. He sees and hears us, he guides us, and knows our smallest deeds, our most hidden intentions.

Faith needs to be something alive, because Christ is not a figure from the past, a memory, or a tradition. He is alive today and now. And living by faith means, essentially, being on intimate terms with him, talking to him as a friend, developing a personal relationship with him. This teaching links our faith directly to man's deepest desires. It does not deny or suppress but satisfies the inmost secrets of the heart. Our faith does not ignore anything on this earth that is beautiful, noble, and authentically human.

Practice your faith cheerfully, keeping very close to Jesus Christ. Really love him – but really, really love him! – and you will take part in a great Adventure of Love, because you will be more in love each day. The human heart asks for a real forever. Nietzsche wrote that "all joy wants eternity." But it is doomed to disillusion unless, in the loves of this earth, in the desires of his heart, man can recognize a path leading, like a river to its source, to God's Love, to Christ, the Love of loves.

Men lie when they say 'for ever' about things on earth. The only true, totally true 'for ever' is that which we say with reference to God. This is how you ought to live your life, with a faith that will help you to taste the honey, the sweetness of heaven whenever you think about eternal life which is indeed 'for ever'.

Faith was of something that speaks to life, to people's loves. The universal call to holiness is based on the conviction of God's nearness to our individual lives, where our hopes and desires are. Passionately loving the world is possible by means of faith, by deepening in our faith.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.