Faith
FAITH
Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB
As
we keep this year as the “Year of Faith”, I would like to share a short
reflection on this particular theme from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
In Romans 3:21-31, St. Paul tells us that we are the children of God not because
of our good works or something extra-ordinary but rather it is because of our
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In
Romans 4:9-12, we find a very interesting question put forth by St. Paul and
that is “Was Abraham circumcised first and then did he believe?” No, he
believed in God first and it was only then that he was circumcised. The
circumcision was God’s covenantal sign with the people of Israel. It was an
external sign of the bond that God had established.
As I apply this in the context of
the priestly and religious life, it is but true that many people wish us and
respect us for several reasons. In most cases, we are in cassock or they may
know someone to be a priest which is why they respect.
The priest is indeed a very valuable
person. He represents Christ to the people. Yet priesthood is something much
deeper. I am reminded of a quotation which I came across some time ago. This
quotation comes from a certain priest by the name Fr. Thomas Rosica. He says, “Priesthood is about who we are and not what
we do.” (from the magazine “PETRUS”)
I think one major question that we
could ask ourselves is “Is Faith Enough?” or do we need to compliment it with
good works? The answer I think is rather obvious. Both are required. The letter
to the Hebrews put this phenomenon very beautifully.
Often at times, most of us priests
and religious do a lot of good work but somewhere down the line we forget for
Whom we work. As a result, some ‘good’
religious then enter a ‘crisis’ mode
wherein they feel that they are no different from any other social worker.
Worst of all they could even feel threatened thinking that the work of a social
worker is better than what they as religious do. What then does one do in such
situations?
In the first place, what is required
is a renewed sense of identity. We should ask ourselves “Who am I?” or “What am I
called to do?” This was a question that St. Bernard always asked himself as
a young novice in the monastery, “Bernard,
Bernard, what have you come here for?”
Having put that into place, this sets
the tone for us to bloom in the Lord’s vineyard. What is unique about our work
as priests and religious is that we have the responsibility of taking Christ’s
Gospel through the work that we do. We may not ‘quote’ the Gospel text or preach
to the people but it is and should be through our very demeanour that people
should recognize who we are. This will happen only if our faith in the Lord is
truly genuine.
What is even more striking is that
it is our faith that will keep us going in dark times just as the anchor of a
ship helps in keeping the ship at rest even if there may be turbulent weather
conditions.