Cleanse Your Temple!

With the onset of Advent, I thought it might be a good idea to consider the Theological Virtue of Faith. We need to purify our faith constantly and pray for it's continued increase. As there are many benefits derived from continued pursuit of the the virtue of faith."Faith and hope attain God in so far as we derive from him the knowledge of truth or the acquisition of good; whereas charity attains God himself that it may rest in him, not that something else should come to us from him" St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae, 2-2, 23, 6We have reached a point within the life of the Church that the crisis of faith can no longer be denied. There are those who claim to be Catholic who seem to believe that "serene theology" includes the allowance of adulterers and I feel certain very soon practicing homosexuals to receive holy communion without renouncing and confessing their sin. Because inclusion and feel good or something.This theology is the product of Kantian idealism. Truth is not one. In fact, truth is discovered according to Kant within individual minds. Ruminate on the number of ways in which that principle violates the law of non-contradiction. For the good of our salvation, Jesus Christ revealed to us the objective content of the faith. To be in the image and the likeness of God is to be reasonable. It is the ability to freely seek and come to a knowledge of the truth. It is to have an intellect or a mind ordered to the pursuit of objective truth and a free will ordered to living out the goodness of that truth.  Those are the objective powers of the human soul. They are universal, they are the nature of the human person. Everyone has them. The theological virtues are infused into the soul through the infusion of sanctifying grace and the presence of the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. The theological virtues require the participation of the human soul's capacities if both our reason and our will is to be elevated to a participation in divine faith. Without it we simply do not have the virtue of faith and as a result, neither, are we able to acquire the other two virtues, hope and charity. We remain entirely separated from God. This is the world we find ourselves living in. A world in which separation from God and rejection, even mocking His Son are celebrated as the virtue par excellance! The absence of true faith in the public square is responsible for the absence of holiness in the public square, which is akin to saying that their is little to know true charity in the public square.If we understand the four benefits of a living and true faith we would have the wisdom to see this more clearly. St. Thomas tells us that there are four primary benefits to the divine virtue of faith. It unites the soul to God, introduces eternal life, guides us in the here and now, and helps us to overcome temptations.Faith Unites the Soul To God"I will espouse thee to myself in faith." (Hosea 2:20) As Old Testament revelation is unfolding. The restoration of the soul to union with God through sanctifying grace is a major theme. The soul is united to God first of all through the sacrament of baptism. Baptism begins with a profession of faith. Baptism is the doorway to grace, there is no other known narrow gate. It is a sacrament of faith, the grace received is efficacious, however, without faith baptism would be of no use to anyone. Our Lord says "he that BELIEVETH and is baptized, shall be saved." (Mk. 16:16) St. Augustine says that "without the recognition of the eternal and unchangeable truth, all virtue is but a sham even in the best of men." Hebrews 11: 6 tells us: "without faith it is impossible to please God."I am going to saying something directly and clearly: you are not saved by faith alone, on the other hand you need the virtue of faith to be saved. It accompanies and leads to the life of sanctifying grace. We can talk ad nauseam about God's ability to operate outside of the sacraments, however, just because something is a possibility, does not make it the same thing. In other words, God can do whatever He wants to He is after all God and I have no control over Him. However, there is no good reason why I should believe that God would go to all of the trouble to reveal Himself, His doctrine, and His church, tell us that it is the "pilar and bulwark of all truth," and then simply reduce His expectations to "but whatever is convenient for you."  The rejection of the objective truths of the faith, put a soul at odds with God. They reject the state of sanctifying grace and the gift of faith and without a true conversion, the soul is destined to die there separated from God.Faith Introduces Eternal Life into Us"Faith is the knowledge of things to be hoped for." (Heb. 11:1) When we discover the object of our faith, which is Jesus Christ and ultimately union with Him in eternity, eternal life is introduced into our lives. Faith then is the first virtue if leads to the theological virtue of hope. Our hope in future things and great certainty in the supernatural truths which God has revealed. We could no nothing of heaven unless God reveals it to us. Eternity would make no sense whatsoever, were it not for God's revelation. There is nothing self-evident about our sanctification and salvation. And yet, because God has revealed those things which we ought to assent to, namely, Himself, we can now have true knowledge of God, Himself. No man can hope to attain heaven - which is the true and full knowledge of God, Himself - unless he knows Him first by faith. This requires the acceptance of those things that he has revealed. I am thinking of seven in particular which convey sanctifying grace.According to St. Thomas:"God dwells spiritually, as in a home, with the saints; whose mind is capable of posessing Him by knowledge and love, even though they may not be exercising their knowledge and love at the actual moment. He dwells in them in virtue of the fact that by grace they have faith and charity. Such are baptized infants. On the other hand, a knowledge which is not accompanied by charity does not suffice to establish the indwelling of God in a soul.  As St. John points out, " he who dwells in love sells in God, and God in him" (1 Jn. 4: 16). There are many who know God by natural knowledge or by a faith not quickened by charity, but the Spirit of God does not dwell in such as these." Commenting on 1 Cor. 3: 16 Faith provides the certainty it introduces our reason to the promises of God that do not contradict reason, rather, they elevate and inform it. Grace infuses the virtues into the soul, but, we freely choose to cooperate with that grace. We pursue the truth or we reject it. We pray or we refuse to. We enter the Church or we choose to remain outside of it. We go to mass or we sleep in. Whatever it is, God has revealed it, He has given us the tools and the ability to pursue it and He does not force our cooperation. Make no mistake those who reject the things that God has revealed or who accept only portions of it, do not share in a participation in the divine nature, because they do not have the theological virtue of faith. Those who do, continue to pursue a greater participation, because they have tasted heaven, if only a rain drop on the tongue and they will not be satisfied until they are drawn deeply into it's fullness.Faith is Our Guide in the PresentDivine faith is necessary for salvation. That means that there must be something more than the natural science of philosophy that can be known, St. Paul tells us that in 2 Timothy, "All Scripture inspired of God is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice." Those things that God has revealed and the infallible teaching magisterium have safeguarded are meant to aid the intellect and the will to the proper pursuit of it's end in this life. St. Thomas proposes the necessity of doctrine as revealed by God for our salvation as a means to guide us here and now, so, that we may remain focused and united to our eternal end."Firstly, indeed, because man is directed to God, as to an end that surpasses the grasp of his reason...But the end must first be known by men who are to direct their thoughts and actions to the end. Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation. Even as regards those truths about God which human reason could have discovered, it was necessary that man should be taught by a divine revelation; because the truth about God such s reason could discover, would only be known by a few, and that after a long time, and with the admixture of many errors. Whereas man's whole salvation, which is in God, depends upon the knowledge of this truth." Summa Theologia Faith teaches us everything that we need to lead the life of virtue. There is nothing easy about it. We learn through both faith and reason that their is one God who, who created one universe and gave His only son, who suffered, died, and was resurrected. That one Son, gave us the gift of the Eucharist, which can only be manifested in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, which is the primary manner in which we fully receive the Holy Spirit. Reason can reveal to us through created things the existence of one God, however, no philosopher could know all of the things that God revealed, regardless, of the immensity of his intellect.Faith Helps us to Overcome TemptationsGenerally speaking all temptation comes from the Devil, the world, or the flesh. The elevation of the intellect and the will to a participation in God's divine life help us to overcome these things. Our union with God in the truth, brings about an infusion not only of the theological virtues, but also, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the gift's of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.The devil tempts us to often by making something that is not a good, seem to be a good. He can encourage us to justify the goodness of sinful things. Currently he need not work to hard in our culture. Many people who claim to be "christian" have embraced the lie that two men can "marry" each other. This is a temptation that began with the devil's perversion of marriage and marital love. Jesus Christ revealed something entirely different. We can know that, and we can embrace it, in spite of the devil's influence. To proclaim that "same sex" attractions are natural or that adulterers should receive Holy Communion are "serene theology" is to have given in to your adversary who goeth about seeking whom he may devour. There is nothing serene about a theology that embraces the temptation of the world. While the devil tempts us to disobey God or to refuse to submit ourselves to Him, the world provides attractions of prosperity or fear of adversity. In other words, it draws us to pleasure ourselves and to run from hard things or suffering. Who wants to be called a bigot by the LGBT crowd? A crowd which seems to grow by the day. Sure does not "feel" good to be disliked or to be called names. Nothing pleasurable about it. Faith helps us to overcome this world by giving to us the promise of Christ for eternity. The other option is hell, which is the reward for infidelity. Unlike the Hollywood Bishop, I can guarantee you, unfortunately, that hell, is not empty. People go there, many people outside the Church go there. Many people inside the Church probably go there. Many people. Jesus revealed that tidbit, it would be unreasonable to assert something utterly opposed to it. He did promise heaven for those who were faithful. Keeping our focus on our eternal end is a grace that accompanies devout faith and an aid to overcoming the temptations of the world.While the world provides the attractions, it is the body that is attracted to those pleasures. And we come full circle and at the same time never left. You are human. God has given you and intellect and a will to command your passions. When your body seeks a disordered pleasure, it is up to the man of faith to command the body to seek the good and avoid evil. This means we must constantly cultivate a life of detachment. Praying, remaining in a state of grace, fasting, and doing mortification. Your growth in holiness is possible because Jesus Christ has revealed the truth and you have been given the ability submit yourself to it and order your life to it for God's glory.I leave you with the wisdom of Vatican I:"when God makes a revelation, we are obliged to render by faith a full submission of intellect and will. The faith, however, which is the beginning of human salvation, the Catholic Church asserts to be a supernatural virtue whereby, with the inspiration of God's grace, we believe that what he has revealed is true-not because its intrinsic truth is seen by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God who reveals it, of God who can neither deceive nor be deceived." Dei Filius, Chap. 3Pray the Rosary Daily!Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy On Us!