The Catholic Weekly 11 July 2021

24 NEWS 11, July, 2021 Article 23 states, “The Cate- chism emphasises the expo- sition of doctrine. It seeks to help deepen understanding of faith. In this way it is ori- entated toward the maturing of that faith, its putting down roots in personal life and its shining forth in personal conduct.” It is a gold-mine of truth. Dive in. Secondly, piety . Foremost, piety is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, received at Confirmation, which leads one to devotion to God. Pi- ety begets in our hearts a filial Living a ‘grown-up’ faith D oes the practise of your faith look any different than it did 5 years ago? Is your relationship with God better than it was this time last year? Do you know God more deeply than you did as a child? I hope, to some degree, you’ve answered ‘yes’ to at least one of these questions. Why? Because one’s faith in God and the relationship that buds as a result is not stat- ic, and it cannot remain so. Faith – as a mustard seed – is intended to grow and develop towards its potential: what it can and should be. The ma- turing of faith and the process of its development is a work of the Holy Spirit, yet it requires our cooperation to go from static to a living and active part of our daily life. So, what does a “grown-up” faith look like?! Let me pro- vide a few starting-points… Firstly, fidelity to doctrine . Exercising fidelity to the doc- trines of our faith is vital to the life of a Catholic. Doctrine is “the revealed teachings of Christ which are proclaimed by the fullest extent of the ex- ercise of the authority of the Church’s Magisterium. The faithful are obliged to believe the truths or dogmas con- tained in divine Revelation and defined by the Magisteri- um.” (CCC) Read that again. We are obliged to believe the truths in Divine Revelation and defined by the Magis- terium – and that includes Scripture, tradition and the teachings of the Magisteri- um. As members of the Body of Christ, we have an obliga- tion to adhere to the doctrines defined by the Church: “The Church’s Magisterium exer- cises the authority it holds fromChrist to the fullest ex- tent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable ad- herence of faith, truths con- tained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.” (CCC, 88) The Church is clear on this. Having a mature faith should not be code for ‘cre- ating my own religion’: that is more akin to teen hubris. Even Church Law is clear on this: “The lay Christian faith- ful have the right to have rec- ognised that freedomwhich all citizens have in the affairs of the earthly city. When us- ing that same freedom, how- ever, they are to take care that their actions are imbued with the spirit of the gospel and are to heed the doctrine set forth by the magisterium of the Church. In matters of opinion, moreover, they are to avoid setting forth their own opinion as the doctrine of the Church.” (c. 227) Practically speaking, famil- iarise yourself with the Cate- chism of the Catholic Church. It is an essential source for the exposition of doctrine. affection for God as our Fa- ther. It inspires us to love and respect, for Christ’s sake, all those who exercise His au- thority in the Church. Those who receive the gift of piety find the practise of their faith a joy, not a burden. Thirdly, taking responsibil- ity for your spiritual life . This includes ongoing formation, frequent reception of the Sac- raments of Penance and the Eucharist, building and main- taining an active prayer life, and familiarising oneself with the Word of God and God’s plan for Salvation. The gift of faith is given so that it might aid us to judge reality by its ‘light’, for to see by the ‘light’ of faith is to live with Christ at the centre. Je- sus is the Light that has come and He is the Light that the darkness cannot overcome, nor will it ever overcome. Just as light enables us to see what lies hidden in the dark, the more we take responsi- bility for living our faith the more we see, and the more we see by this Light, the more we understand and compre- hend the world around us and God’s plan for all eternity. Lastly, the foundation that makes a “grown-up” faith pos- sible is understanding, realis- ing and living our baptismal calling, which includes the associated rights and respon- sibilities. None of the three pointers above make sense without this vital element. Baptismmakes us members of the Body of Christ as sons and daughters of God. “Bap- tism incorporates us into the Church .” (CCC, no. 1267) As a member of the Church, “the person baptised belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. From now on he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion of the Church, and to ‘obey and submit’ to the Church’s lead- ers, holding them in respect and affection. Just as Bap- tism is the source of respon- sibilities and duties, the bap- tised person also enjoys rights within the Church: to receive the sacraments, to be nour- ished by the Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church.” (CCC, no. 1269) It is through the Sacrament of Baptism that each of us receives specific responsibilities and duties to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church. This is the seed-bed of a mature faith. Legally it is our duty and right: “All the Christian faith- ful have the duty and right to work so that the divine mes- sage of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and in every land.” (Canon 211) It is this divine message of salvation that we are called to live and proclaim in and through our lives. It is no mere task. It is our calling, it is our vocation as children of God, and it is for this that we were created: to really and truly know, love and serve God in this life, and in the next. Trials will inevitably ar- rive, but don’t let them derail you. Growth happens in times of trial, which means that faith matures as well. So turn to our Blessed Mother espe- cially in hardship as we, too, stand beside her at the foot of the Cross. God does not leave us to rely on our own strength, He provides the means neces- sary to live a life of active dis- cipleship, that is, a life of grace lived solely for Him. Don’t let it pass you by. Let Him change you. Bishop Richard Umbers is an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney and Bishop Delegate for Life of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Moses with the Ten Commandments by Philippe de Champaigne (1648). Bishop Richard Umbers offers three foundational principles for growing in one’s relationship with God. PHOTO:WIKICOMMONS Faith isn’t meant to be static. It’s a relationship of love. It’smeant to growday by day, year by year ... Looking for a new job? www.catholicjobsonline.com.au | Bishop Richard Umbers NEW