Faith

How we come to know what we can’t “know”

Frolin S. Ocariza, Jr.

One-Slide Summary of My 24-Year Existence

I’m a Catholic

I’m a hardcore Star Wars fan

I love math/computersEWOKS > CARE BEARS

This Talk

BE STRONG

BE WISE

BE FAITHFUL

What we’ll talk about

TRUE FAITH

What is Faith?

#1: The act of believing in “something”

#2: The “thing” that a person believes

The Act of Believing What?

ACT OF FAITH

vs

ACT OF HUMAN REASON

Act of Faith vs Act of Human Reason:

ExampleFact 1: All Gungans are cool

Fact 2: Jar Jar Binks is a Gungan

What conclusion can you make?

A. Jar Jar Binks has long ears

B. Jar Jar Binks is cool

C. Jar Jar Binks talks like a Jamaican

Mesa approve

!HOW DID WE KNOW THE ANSWER IS B??

LOGICACT OF HUMAN REASON

Act of Faith vs Act of Human Reason:

Example 2X + 1 = 2

Find X

A. X = 1

B. X = 0

C. Right there

WE USED WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT MATH

ACT OF HUMAN REASON

Act of Faith vs Act of Human Reason:

Example 3Child, do not

touch this stove when it’s on! It’s gonna burn your hands!

How do you know the stove will burn your hands?

You considered your parents an authority on your well-being

ACT OF FAITH

Blind Faith

Mathematician tells you the following because you’re not very good at math:

“The number of integers that are less than the prime number A and are also prime relative to A is described by the

formula A – 1.”Believe for the sake of believing?

NO!

Believe because you consider this mathematician an authority

REASONABLE BELIEF

BLIND FAITH

It’s True! On Whose Authority?!

“I believe in this, but I’m not completely certain that it’s true…”

“I believe in this, and I’m 100% certain that it’s true!”

DEPENDS ON THE “AUTHORITY”!

Human Authority

We put our faith on…

OUR PARENTS PROFESSIONALS ORGANIZATIONS

These are all human beings

They make mistakes

Human Authority: Example

Ask for my help in school stuff You see me as an “authority” in good grades

Result of my first math quiz in Grade 10…

I’M ONLY HUMAN!

Divine Authority

1 ÷ 0 = ??????

Human authority: “I believe in this, but I’m not completely certain that it’s true.”

What about God? He’s infallible, so anything He says must be true

Divine authority: “I believe in this, and I’m 100% certain that it’s true!”

BUT: We tend to feel uneasy about things we don’t understand

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

– John 14:6

How Can We Be Certain of God’s Authority?

Father Larre: GPS Device in each person’s heart Destination: God

Constant search for the most beautiful, most perfect, and most true We experience God’s

presence along the way

We realize along the way that the Holy Spirit led us to this search from the very beginning!

Resisting the Search

HOW DO WE KEEP UP OUR SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH?

WE NEED TO NOURISH OUR FAITH!

Nourishing our Faith

How do we nourish our faith?

Pope Benedict XVI decreed this year as the “Year of Faith”

Read the Bible!

The Bible contains what God has revealed to us in His time, and how God acted in His time. Kairos – God’s time [2012

CMYPC Retreat]

Source for learning about God’s divine revelations

Source for learning how we must live our lives according to the Truth

How Do We Read the Bible?

Always ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

The Bible is made up of words – our primary form of communication BUT: Words can be misinterpreted

COMMON MEANINGsalvage – to rescue or to

saveIN THE PHILIPPINES

salvage – to kill or assassinate

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of

these matters. His letters contain things that are

hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other

Scriptures, to their own destruction

- 2 Peter 3:16

Prayer

A conversation with God

A conversation is two-way! Otherwise, it becomes

a speech

When we pray, we must listen to God

Attending Mass

You’re literally receiving the Body of Christ You’re literally receiving Wisdom

Other Ways to Nourish Our Faith

THE POPE APP

LAUDATE

Joining a Community

Learn from other people who are also searching

Prerequisite for learning from others: TEACHERS! We all need to take the responsibility to teach

and share our faith

EVANGELIZE

Evangelizing with Words

Introduce our faith to others

Remind others (and ourselves) of our faith

Evangelizing with words is necessary – we must proclaim God’s name God didn’t give us the gift of speech for

nothing

Another Necessary Way to Evangelize

Evangelizing through action

We must practice the truths that we’ve proclaimed!

Those who listen to us and observe us must be able to see in our actions what they hear from our lips, and so give glory to God!

- Pope Francis

To Recap…

Faith: believing in something because it comes from authority

Faith in God: “I believe, and I’m 100% certain it’s true.” God is the Supreme Authority

Nourish our faith by: reading the Bible, attending mass, praying, joining a community, etc.

Share our faith not only through words, but also through action