The Two Kinds of Faith

In today’s Office of Readings, St. Cyril of Jerusalem talked about the two kinds of faith. His thoughts are drawn from his catechism, (Catech. 5).

He talks of the fundamental necessity of a faith that gives intellectual assent to revealed truth, a faith in the dogmas of the Church. This kind of faith is necessary for salvation, as he points out that the repentant thief made that assent of faith on the cross at the last moments of his  life, and was admitted to heaven by our Lord. This faith is given us by Jesus Christ.

Then there is the second source of faith, a faith given us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. This is a faith that springs from the first source, a faith not only regarding dogma but is the cause of miraculous events, events that exceed the strength of we mere mortals, the faith that moves mountains, the faith of a mustard seed that grows into a great tree.

All faith is an expression of something interior to us, and has as its object God himself.

Let us have that faith of assent, that “Yes, Lord, I believe what you have taught” kind of faith, so that we might be open to the faith that works wonders in the world.

Do you wonder why miracles are few and far between? Perhaps we have strayed too far from good catechesis, too far from saying “Yes, Lord, I believe!” what you have revealed to us.