your gathering includes just the family but also when you have company for dinner or when you’re eating at a restaurant.
Blessings at Meals
“Lord Jesus Christ, may our Lenten fasting turn us toward all our brothers and sisters who are in need. Bless this table, our good food, and ourselves. Send us through Lent with good cheer, and bring us to the fullness of your passover. Amen.”
— Meal Prayer for Lent
(from Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers)
“We joyfully sing your praises, Lord Jesus Christ, who on the day of your resurrection was recognized by your disciples in the breaking of the bread. Remain here with us as we gratefully partake of the gifts, and at the banquet table in heaven welcome us, who have welcomed you in our brothers and sisters, for you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.”
— Meal Prayer for Easter (from Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers)
5. How to Make an Act of Faith
Objectively, the word faith refers to the truths revealed by God in the Scriptures and through Tradition as preserved and handed on by the Church. That’s what we mean when we speak of the Catholic faith. Subjectively, faith is one of the three theological virtues, which also include hope and love. Faith, in this sense, is the virtue by which we accept what has been revealed by God. That’s what it means to say, “I have faith.”
To make an act of faith, then, is to recite a prayer that expresses your personal acceptance of all that the Lord has revealed to be true. This is something we all should do often, perhaps weekly or even daily if we feel the need. The traditional Act of Faith is:
O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Faith is primarily a divine gift. When Peter made his profession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus said: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 16:17). Apart from the action of God, faith is impossible for humanity. However, the Holy Spirit supernaturally bestows the gift of faith upon us. The Holy Spirit not only gives the gift; He also works in our will through grace so that we may respond.
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
— St. Augustine
This points to the other aspect of faith: God gives the gift, but we must reply. It’s as if a friend gave you a new article of clothing. It does you no good unless you accept it and wear it. The gift of faith is free; we only need to put it on — and the Holy Spirit even helps us to get dressed!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes right to the point: “Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act…. In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate with divine grace” (nn. 154-155). The act of faith, then, is a personal act by which we freely respond to the initiative of God.
Yet if we have made an initial profession of faith, why do we need to continue reciting creeds and praying the formal prayer called the Act of Faith? One reason is that our personal “yes” to God — our acceptance of His gift — is not merely a one-time event. Responding to faith is a constant, daily part of our Christian life. As we continue to actively receive the gift, God continues to give the gift to us. Our spiritual wardrobe gets filled with faith gifts as we continue to respond.
Also, faith needs to grow in understanding. St. Augustine wrote that “understanding is the reward of faith.” As we make statements of faith in prayer and meditate upon these truths, our intellect will come to embrace the truth more fully. We must remember, after all, that our faith is not primarily in statements and decrees, but in God. We believe in the Fatherhood of God, not as something dry and sterile, but rather as a lived reality that makes a profound difference in our lives. Belief that God is our Father changes our view of ourselves and of others. It affects how we relate to others and how we deal with difficulties. To pray and meditate about our faith allows us to grow in our understanding of the truth and in our love with the giver of truth.
Stepping Out in Faith
Most people will endure times when they struggle with faith. That is not unusual. Yet our struggles can lead us closer to God if we step up to Him from the foundation of the faith He has given us. The Gospel gives us a good illustration of this principle in the story of a man whose son was possessed by a devil (Mk 9:14-29). The man brought the boy to the disciples of Jesus with the request that they heal the boy, but the disciples were unable to do so. By the time Jesus joined the group, the father seemed to have been struggling with faith that Jesus could actually heal the boy. He even qualifies his request: “If you can do anything … help us.” Jesus responded by telling the father: “All things are possible to him who believes.” The father then responds with both a statement of faith and a prayer for the strengthening of that faith: “I believe; help my unbelief!”
We can follow the same pattern. When we struggle with some issue of faith, we can begin with a statement of faith. “Lord, I believe in You, in Your word, in Your church, and in Your love for me.” We then can ask for God’s grace in our struggles. “Lord, help my unbelief!”
Lord, I Believe in You
“But you, beloved, who possess this faith, or who have begun now newly to have it, let it be nourished and increase in you. For as things temporal have come, so long before foretold, so will things eternal also come, which are promised.”
— St. Augustine
“Having faith in the Lord is not something that solely involves our intelligence, the area of intellectual knowledge; rather, it is a change that involves our life, our whole self…. With faith everything truly changes, in us and for us, and our future destiny is clearly revealed … the meaning of life, the pleasure of being pilgrims bound for the heavenly Homeland.”
— Pope Benedict XVI
“If we Christians really lived in accordance with our faith, the greatest revolution of all times would take place. The effectiveness of our co-redemption depends on each one of us. You should meditate on this.”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá
6. How to Make an Act of Hope
“I sure hope I win the lottery!” Well, hitting the jackpot may or may not be a good thing. And that statement is at best wishful thinking. It certainly has nothing to do with the theological virtue of hope.
The virtue of hope is given to us at Baptism. Unlike the lottery, it is a sure bet. Hope is based on certainty because it is founded on Christ and on His promises. Do you want eternal life? No problem; Christ has overcome sin and death and provides a channel for relationship with the Father. Do you want truth? Christ has revealed the mind and heart of God. He has given the Holy Spirit to guide you in the ways of truth. Maybe you’d like to hit the jackpot and find both meaning and love. Well, as a baptized Christian, you hold the winning ticket. Christ has loved you first and granted you His sanctifying grace. You are on a path that leads to the ultimate
