"A Faith Journey" Courtesy of the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator
Brother Giovanni – Could you briefly discuss your attitude about faith in God. What is your personal opinion on how one works at understanding faith as a life process? Thank you
The faith journey - my perspective
Faith in God requires introspection. Ironically, nothing makes you doubt your faith more than introspection.
First, you must believe what is not provable. Then, if you get over that hurdle, you must from a Christian perspective accept without reservation that you are loved personally by a God who knows you intimately. This is the “Good News of the Gospel.”
None of this is offered as a challenge to what you believe. The intent is to take a closer, albeit brief, look at what faith is really about. Let’s start with why worry about introspection at all?
For one, it seems that you could be unknowingly accepting a candy store concept of faith if you are not willing to go deep within yourself to understand why you believe in God in the first place.
When it comes to God, why do you believe? How unselfish is your belief? What do you get from your belief? What do you give back to yourself and others because of your belief? These are all valid questions all of us should take seriously if we are going to be honest about our relationship with God.
It is easy to dispose of these questions as unnecessary if you accept your faith as a gift from God. I am sure that it is a gift; however, does this mean that you check your intellect at the door? Is this what your God wants from you? From my perspective, this cannot make any sense if we are embracing the concept of believing in the God of love and mercy.
Let’s take love as an example. Love is sacrifice. Love’s primary purpose is to give not to get. How many of us can remain in love with anything that does not give something back? Is this point where you start questioning my faith? Nonetheless, this does not make the question any less valid.
I always hear how people feel the presence of their God and how important that feeling is in giving meaning to their lives. This is wonderful when it happens, but is this what your faith is about? What happens when your God withdraws that feeling of intimacy and hides from you in the shadows? What happens to your faith then?
The journals of history that recorded the thoughts of the saints are filled with their lament of a God that withdrew from them. Whether driven by our own consciousness or planted by God, the need to test the sincerity of our belief always arrives and becomes the critical point in our spiritual journey. This test is often the withdrawal of any emotional relationship with God. We are left only with our intellectual understanding of our belief in God and little else.
How do fare when this happens to you? What do we find out about ourselves when we find ourselves alone in the darkness? There are endless books that explain this part of the spiritual journey, but how about going it alone for a while and finding out what you really believe.
Isn’t this what the faith experience is really about? This is where prayer and the emerging quality of your relationship with your God takes place.
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Brother Giovanni "Ask Brother Giovanni" is a feature of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, editor
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