5.

Personal, Yet Ecclesial

PARADOXICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
FAITH (CFC, nos. 141-159)
Faith cannot be fully and definitively explained in
any single way. Like a gem with many facets,
faith must be tackled from different angles.
Sometimes, these angles come at odds with
each other, forming descriptions and definitions
of faith that seem contradictory.
A paradox is a statement or reality that may
seem absurd or contradictory at first, butis able
to make sense, and even shed light on truth.
1. Certain, Yet Obscure
Faith is not meant to be practiced and lived out
alone. God did not just reach out and invite one
person to relationship. God invites the entire
human community of the world to relationship
with Him. Therefore, the response of faith is not
simply done on an absolutely individual and
privatized manner. Instead, faith is lived with
others. This faith in community comes in two
forms: 1) a faith with the community called
Church, known as the ecclesial character of faith;
and 2) a faith that responds to the human
community around the world, knows as the
social character of faith.

From a purely philosophical point of view, the Summary

certitude of faith might seem contestable. Faith
is grounded in God, and the certainty of God is
the basis for the certainty of faith.
2. Free, Yet Morally Obliging
Faith is a free choice, taken on fully by a person.
By free choice, we are referring to a person’s
freedom as the capacity for self determination.
• Categorical freedom - freedom of choice, “I
have my freedom”, the act of choice itself
• Transcendental freedom - freedom as the self
formed by its choices
Faith is a very difficult thing to grasp. This is
because the object of faith is God. As explained
by Saint Augustine, any attempt at trying to fully
comprehend the mystery of God is like trying to
place a sea in a tiny hole. Despite this difficulty,
we continue to strive to know more and
experience more of God and faith, just as much
as God continues to strive to reach out to us. As
Father Herbert McCabe puts it, “It is the crucified
and risen Christ gathering us toward himself.
Faith is not something we possess. It is
something by which we are possessed.”

Karl Rahner, “Theology of Freedom,” in Theological Herbert McCabe, God, Christ and Us, ed. Brian Davies (London:
Investigations, vol. 6 (New York, NY: Crossroad, 1974), 186 Continuum, 2003). 4

3. Reasonable, Yet Beyond Natural Reason

Faith is supernatural. When we speak of the

supernatural, it means that something is “beyond
nature.”
• There are just some truths that are beyond the
sphere of natural reason. These truths include
the mystery of the Trinity as well as the mystery
of the Incarnation. These things cannot be
known without God revealing and disclosing
these to us, whether in Sacred Scripture or
passed on in our Sacred Tradition.

• Despite this supernaturality, faith is still within

the human intellect’s reach. Faith and reason are
complementary; this has always been the
consistent and official teaching of the Church.

4. An Act, Yet a Process

Faith is a particular act of the will. Faith can

come in the form of the initial act of saying yes to
God. It can be in baptism, or in a conversion
experience. Faith is both a particular act, yet
perseverance in a life-long process that is the
beginning of eternal life. John’s Gospel declares:
“Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true
God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus
Christ” (John 17:3)