Section — Koch–Preuss
Section 3: Qualities and Fruits of Faith
- THE QUALITIES OF FAITH.—The qualities of faith flow from its nature and purpose.
- The nature of faith demands that it be (a) universal and (b) firm.
a) Faith is universal (universalis) if it, at least according to the will of the believer (implicite), extends to all the truths revealed by God (depositum fidei) and attested and proposed by the Catholic Church (dogmata declarata). The reason is, as we have observed before, that all revealed truths rest upon the same basis, namely, the infallible authority of God. Consequently, were a man to reject or obstinately to deny even one revealed truth, he would not possess the theological virtue of faith.1
“You [Manichaeans] who believe what you like and refuse to believe what does not suit you in the Gospel,” says St. Augustine in his letter to Faustus, “believe yourselves rather than the Gospel.”2 St. Thomas develops this thought as follows: “He who adheres to the teach- ing of the Church as to an infallible rule, manifestly assents to whatever the Church teaches; otherwise, if, of the things taught by the Church, he holds what he chooses to hold and rejects what he chooses to reject, he no longer adheres to the teaching of the Church as to an infallible rule, but to his own will. Hence it is evident that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith, is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all things; but if he is not obstinate, he is not in heresy, but only in error. Therefore it is clear that such a heretic with regard to one article has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will.”3
2 Contra Faustum Manich., l. XVII, c. 3: “You who believe in the Gospel what you will, and do not believe what you will not, believe yourselves rather than the Gospel.” (Migne, P. L., XLII, 342).
3 Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 5, art. 3: “It is manifest that he who adheres to the doctrine of the Church as to an infallible rule assents to all that the Church teaches; otherwise, if among the things the Church teaches he holds what he wills and does not hold what he does not will, he adheres not so much to the Church’s doctrine as to an infallible rule, but to his own will. And thus it is manifest that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith is not prepared to follow the Church’s doctrine in all things; for if he does not disbelieve obstinately, he is no longer a heretic but merely one who errs. Hence it is manifest that such a heretic concerning one article does not have faith concerning the other articles, but a certain opinion according to his own will.”
b) Faith is firm (fides firma) when it admits of no doubt. Belief in divine Revelation necessarily excludes doubt because it is based upon the authority of God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Though a mere opinion can never be called faith in the theological sense of the term, yet firmness as a quality of genuine faith admits of varying degrees. This plainly appears from Holy Scripture, which speaks of a weak faith that is susceptible of being strengthened.4 “A man’s faith,” says the Angelic Doctor, “may be described as being greater, in one way, on the part of the intellect, on account of its greater certitude and firmness, and, in another way, on the part of the will, on account of its greater promptitude, devotion, or confidence.”5
4 Ps. CXV, 1; Matt. VIII, 10, 26; XIV, 31; XV, 28; XVII, 19; Mark IX, 23; 1 Cor. XVI, 13; 2 Cor. IV, 13; Eph. IV, 10; 2 Tim. I, 12.—Conc. Vatican., Sess. III, c. 3, can. 6, de fide.
5 Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 5, art. 4: “Faith can be called greater in someone in one way because of greater certitude and firmness, and in another way on the part of the will because of greater promptitude or devotion or confidence.”—Cfr. Prop. damnat. sub Innocentio XI., n. 19: “The will cannot cause the assent of faith to be firmer in itself than the weight of the reasons impelling to assent deserves.” (Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1169).
- With regard to its object or purpose, faith must be (a) lively and (b) constant.
a) Faith is lively (viva, efficax) when it is combined with charity, which is its necessary form, and when, in co-operation with charity, it causes men to avoid evil and to do good according to the law of God. “He that loveth not,” says St. John, “abideth in death.”6 And again: “He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is charity.”7 St. Paul declares that faith without charity is worthless, and that charity, therefore, is greater than faith and hope8 because it is “the more excellent way”9 and “the bond of perfection.”10 “To believe in God,” says St. Augustine, “means to love Him believingly, to seek Him trustfully, and to be incorporated with His members.”11
7 1 John IV, 8.
8 1 Cor. XIII, 1–3, 13.
10 Col. III, 14.
Faith must furthermore be perfect (perfecta), i. e., informed or animated by charity (caritate formata). If it is separated from charity, that is to say, if the believer does not live up to its dictates, faith is dead (fides mortua sive informis) and cannot attain its purpose.
Note, however, that a dead faith may still be a true faith, because faith is not necessarily forfeited by mortal sin.12 “Without charity,” writes St. Augustine, “faith may indeed exist, but cannot profit a man.”13
12 Rom. II, 13; Gal. V, 6; Jas. II, 14–26; 2 Pet. I, 10.—Conc. Trident., Sess. VI, c. 7: “Faith, unless hope and charity are added to it, neither unites one with Christ nor makes one a living member of His body. For this reason it is most truly said that faith without works is dead and idle, and that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith which works through charity. According to apostolic tradition, catechumens ask this faith of the Church before the sacrament of Baptism, when they ask for faith that bestows eternal life, which faith cannot bestow without hope and charity.”—St. Augustine, Serm., 158 (al. 16, De Verbis Apost.), n. 6: “Man begins from faith: what pertains to faith? To believe. But this faith must still be distinguished from the unclean spirits. . . . If you only believe, and live without hope, or do not have love. . . . Add hope, therefore, to faith. And what hope is there except from some goodness of conscience? And to hope itself add charity.” (Migne, P. L., XXXVIII, 865).
13 De Trin., XV, c. 18, n. 32: “Faith, indeed, can exist without charity, but cannot profit.” (Migne, P. L., XLII, 1083).—Cfr. St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 4, art. 3–4.
b) A man’s faith is constant (constans, fortis) when it disposes him to sacrifice all he has, even life itself, rather than reject any truth re- vealed by God.14 The value and dignity of faith lies in this that it equips a man with a power which enables him on the one hand to triumph over the world by giving him courage to stand firm in the stormy sea of life, or, as St. Paul, employing a different metaphor, puts it, to “extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one,”15 and, on the other hand, exercise a salutary influence upon his character by purifying his heart and inspiring him with “mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, and patience from above.”16
14 Matt. X, 32 sqq.; XI, 7; Luke IX, 26; Eph. IV, 14; Phil. I, 27 sq.; 1 Pet. V, 9.
15 Eph. VI, 16.
16 Col. III, 12; 1 John V, 4 sq.; cfr. Rom. VIII, 35–39.
II. THE FRUITS OF FAITH.—The principal fruits of faith are: (1) “fear of the Lord,” which is “the beginning of wisdom;”17 (2) that “joy of the Lord” which Christ promised to His faithful servants;18 and (3) an enlightened zeal for souls, i. e., the active and constant desire to spread the knowledge and the love of God among men by word and example;—in a word, the life of faith that is lived by the just man,19 who is convinced that despite all sufferings and tribulations20 he will, if he perseveres, ultimately enter into the joy of Heaven, because, in the words of St. John, “whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world, and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.”21
17 Cfr. Prov. I, 7.
18 Matt. XXV, 21.
19 Rom. I, 17.
20 Rom. VIII, 18.—Cfr. Breviar. Rom., d. d. 10, Aug., Resp. ad Lect. 6: “Blessed Laurence cried out and said: I worship my God, Him alone I serve, and therefore I do not fear your torments. My night has no darkness, but all things shine clearly in the light.”
21 John V, 4.
In his faith the believing Christian possesses the germ of eternal life, which grows in the soul until it develops into the beatific vision;22 for “he that believeth in the Son hath life everlasting.”23
22 St. Thomas, Opusc., IX, c. 2: “Faith is a certain foretaste of that knowledge which makes us blessed in the future.”
23 John III, 36.—Cfr. St. Augustine, Serm., 384 (al. 1, De Verbis Apost.), n. 3: “There are no greater riches, no treasures, no honors, no greater substance of this world than the Catholic faith, which saves sinful men, enlightens the blind, heals the sick, baptizes catechumens, justifies the faithful, restores penitents, increases the just, crowns martyrs, preserves virgins, widows, and married persons in chaste modesty, ordains clerics, consecrates priests, prepares men for heavenly kingdoms, and joins them with the holy angels in the eternal inheritance. As the Lord Himself confirms by promising (Matt. XXII, 30): In the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be equal to the angels of God.” (Migne, P. L., XXXIX, 1690).—St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 2a 2ae, qu. 45, art. 1 and 4.
“By faith,” says the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, “they [Gedeon, Barac, Samson, and the prophets] conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection. And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons; they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth.”24
24 Heb. XI, 33 sqq.
How completely the lives of the early Christians were transformed by faith is graphically described in the writings of St. Justin Martyr. “Formerly,” he says, “we took pleasure in deeds of impurity, now we love only chastity; formerly we engaged in magic, now we serve the good and uncreated God; formerly we sought wealth and property above all else, now we hold our possessions in common and give to the needy; formerly we hated one another and quarrelled, now, after the appearance of Christ, we enter into intimate relations with strangers and pray for our enemies.”25
25 Apol., I, 14.
St. Cyprian, writing from personal experience, describes the power of faith as follows: “Whilst I sat in darkness and was buffetted to and fro upon the sea of life without a hold, ignorant of life’s aim, deserted by truth and light, I regarded in my then moral condition as extremely hard what the divine mercy promised me for my salvation, namely, that a man can be born again and, animated by a new life through the laver of salutary water, lay aside the things of the past, and, the body remaining unchanged, transform his mind and heart. How is such a great change (conversio) possible? I asked; [how is it possible] that a man should suddenly cast off that which was either born with him or has become second nature to him by long usage?26 This has taken broad and deep root within me. When will he learn economy who is used to luxurious living . . .? And he who shone in gold and purple, when will he condescend to wear the simple garb of the poor? He who delighted in dignities27 and positions of honor cannot accommodate himself to the obscurity of private life; surrounded by the crowd of his clients, accompanied by a numerous retinue of servile dependents, he would regard it as a punishment to be left alone. Since the instigations continue, drunkenness must invite, as it did in former times, pride must puff up, anger must inflame, greed must cause unrest, cruelty must incite, ambition must give pleasure, and voluptuousness must carry away. Such things I had often revolved in my mind. For as I myself was held captive by many errors, in which I had been entrapped during my previous life, not believing that I should be able to get rid of them, I was a slave of the vices that stuck to me and, despairing of better things, compromised with my vices as if they were members of my household. But after the stains of my previous life had been washed away in the water of regeneration, and the light from above had been poured into my purified heart, now free from sin; after I had partaken of the heavenly spirit, and the second birth had transformed me into a new man, then in a miraculous manner that which had been doubtful became certain, that which had been concealed became manifest, that which had been dark became clear. I received strength to undertake what had formerly seemed difficult, and to do things that had appeared impossible. . . . To sing one’s own praises is repugnant; but it cannot be boastfulness, rather it is gratitude that prompts a man not to ascribe all these things to human power, but to extol them as a gift of God; the freedom from sin which I now enjoy is a result of faith.”28
26 “Either genuine matter has hardened through the decay of nature, or what was adopted has become ingrained through the long duration of habit.”
27 “Fascibus.”
28 Ad Donat., c. 3–4 (Corpus Script. Eccles. Lat., Vol. III, 1, 5).
READINGS.—S. Storchenau, Der Glaube des Christen, wie er sein soll (ed. by H. Hurter, S.J.), Freiburg 1895.—J. B. Zwerger, Der Glaube als göttliche Tugend (3rd ed., by A. Michelitsch), Graz 1906.—Ad. Tanquerey, Synopsis Theol. Mor., Vol. II, Paris 1905, pp. 346 sqq.—E. Müller, Theol. Mor., Vol. II, 5th ed., pp. 22 sqq.—F. A. Göpfert, Moraltheologie, Vol. I, 7th ed., pp. 303 sqq., Paderborn 1913.—Ant. Straub, S.J., De Analysi Fidei, Innsbruck 1922.—R. Schultes, P.P., Fides Implicita. Geschichte der Lehre von der Fides Implicita und Explicita in der Kath. Theologie, Vol. I, Ratisbon 1920.