Are Catholics called to have “blind faith” or “reasoned faith”?
What did Jesus mean when He said to Thomas the Apostle, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed”?
Every now and then, I will hear someone say that we Catholics believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ on the basis of “blind faith.” They even quote Jesus’ statement in John 20:29, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed,” to make their point.
But is it true? Did Jesus really call on us to have “blind faith”?
Jesus calls us to trust in Him based on the evidence.
Absolutely not! In his words to the St. Thomas the Apostle, Jesus is calling us to trust in Him without requiring physical, eyewitness evidence the way Thomas did. He was explaining that trust, not sight, is the foundation of our relationship with Him. On the other hand, in speaking to another of apostles, St. Philip, Jesus urged him to have faith because of what Philip had actually seen! Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)
Faith and reason work together.
The Catholic Church teaches that faith and reason are complementary, not contradictory. Rather than irrational, blind belief, Catholic faith is understood as a reasonable, evidence-supported trust in God. As St. Peter wrote, we must “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)
To that end, let me ask you a personal question: Do you ever experience moments in your life when you faith suddenly disappears? When belief in a Supreme Being, unseen spirits, and an afterlife in heaven or hell seems beyond your ability to grasp? Well, dear reader, I must confess that this very thing happens to me from time to time. I’ll wake up in the morning with seemingly no faith at all and have to rebuild the tower of my faith block by block with Our Lord as the Master Builder. The process used to scare me, but In prayer over time, I have learned that the my faith is constructed of solid, irrefutable evidence.
The tower of faith is built with blocks of truth.
Here are my Top 10 Reasons for Faith in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church that He founded:
- The testimony of the four Gospels.
- The Shroud of Turin.
- The Miraculous Tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- The stigmata of Padre Pio on film.
- The Seven Sacraments.
- The lives of the saints and the witness of the martyrs.
- The similarities of near-death experiences (NDEs).
- Eucharistic miracles.
- The presence of evil in the world.
- Miraculous experiences in my own life.
During the next 10 weeks, I will be writing about each of these building blocks of my faith. explaining how they together form the vanguard of my belief in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
How about YOU? What are the building blocks of your faith?
How about YOU? What are your reasons for believing? Please share your thoughts and comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
~ Kathleen
Kathleen, I look forward to reading more about your top 10 reasons! Thank you for sharing your faith journey and inviting us along.
I struggle with some of my Christian friends asking “ where is that in the Bible”. (Solo Scriptura). It has led me to search for the answer. I came across a great resource , The Bible Proves The Teaching Of The Catholic Church, by Brother Peter Dimond. It has greatly increased my confidence when discussing or defending things such as prayer/veneration of or to Saints, Purgatory, Confession, the linage of Peter as Pope, The Eucharist and Mary as The Ark of the Covenant. I look forward to coming articles and sharing the teachings of our faith. I must confess that there are things I take issue with as far as the dilution of Mass. important things have been removed to expedite the sacrifice.