Faith is a light. In John’s
Gospel, Christ says of himself: “I have come as a light into the world, that
whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John
12:46
“We therefore are not the origin of this light but it is the great gift of
Jesus as light of the world. As Jesus exclaims to Peter after his confession, ‘Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my heavenly Father.’ ”
The consequence of this
supernatural gift is that “Those who believe, see; they see with a light that
illumines their entire journey, for it comes the risen Christ, the morning star
that never sets.” And with the light of faith we gain fresh vision, new eyes to
see. This vision is never simply the assimilation of an idea, for faith “is born from an encounter with the living
God.” And the “living God calls us and
reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for
security and for building our lives.”
This love calls us to go out of
ourselves, it summons us to a new life. When we respond, love transforms us.
Through love “we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it
contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens
before us. Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for
our way, guiding our journey through time.” Faith “sees to the extent that it
journeys, to the extent that it chooses to enter in to the horizons opened up
by God’s word.”
Photograph by Father Emmanuel. Reflections on Lumen
Fidei, the encyclical letter of Pope Francis, by Father Timothy.
