“In last Sunday’s Gospel, St. Matthew emphasizes the virtue of faith. Faith in Jesus is what animates the paralytic as well as those transporting him: Jesus, seeing their faith... The Evangelist wanted to teach us in this way that no disposition of the soul touches the heart of our Lord as much as faith does. Faith is a homage that we render to God in justice. Its proper expression is adoration, and it presupposes humility and confidence in the almighty power and the goodness of God. These qualities are all present in the soul of the paralytic and his companions.
“This scene invites us to define the nature of faith, which is a virtue that God infuses into our soul. Its seat is in the intellect, but it also calls upon the will, because the truths which it presents to us are not self-evident. This virtue of faith disposes us to give our assent to the truths revealed by God and taught by His Church. The Apostle St. Paul specifies that the faith embraces all the invisible realities that make up the treasure of our hopes (Heb. 11:1). We received faith at our baptism, and we set it into motion with those first lessons of catechism received on our mother’s knee, or perhaps a little after.
“So as not to be discouraged by those around us who do not have the faith, let us remember that faith is the most certain of all knowledge. Miracles, prophecies and the witness of history are the three great proofs of the veracity of the Catholic religion, guarantees of its divine origin. It is our duty not to diminish our faith by fear of displeasing the world.
“St. Paul tells us that faith is a shield (Eph. 6:16). If our shield has holes in it, the arrows of the enemy will pierce through and strike us. St. John describes the faith as an instrument of triumph (1 Jn. 5:4). But if our weapons are defective, they will no longer carry off the victory. The faith which should animate us and which we have to spread is the faith in all its integrity, that of the doctors, the confessors and the martyrs – a living and active faith.”
- “From Assumption to Advent”, Angelus Press
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