Asking Questions and Knowing Faith

BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:

"Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. "

~Hebrews 11:1-3

Good morning ladies! With all the talk about the U.S Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage and allow gay marriage to be legalized in all fifty states, there are some questions that have been on my mind: Why do we Catholics have faith in what we believe? And where does that faith come from? For me, it comes from growing up Catholic and knowing that I have found a home in God. In other words, God gives me my faith. I have faith because God has proven time and time again that He is on my side and will protect me from whatever challenges I face. I rejoice in the fact that I have my faith! But that strikes up another question: How do you explain to someone what having faith means? I started reflecting on myself, and I realized that while I understand why I believe what I believe, I don't know if I would be able to explain it to someone else. A good example is trying to explain to someone why the Church does not approve of gay marriage, as I referenced above. (The answer to that question is complex and has a lot of depth to it, right?) As we all know, words in today's society have a huge impact on everyone; you say one thing in the wrong way and it could blow up in your face. Catholics need to be educated on why we believe what we believe so that we can describe to others what a salvation our faith is to us, and what it can be to them as well. So here is my challenge: let's all use the resources around us to learn about current issues and relevant topics in the Catholic Church so that we understand our faith and can explain it to others. Don't know where to go for resources? Here you go: Priests/Deacons/Religious life Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Bible Other Catholic/Christian blogs The Internet (be careful with this one--always double check where the information comes from and who the author is) Twitter - if you go to the SheCanLaugh Twitter page, you will find that everyone I follow listens to the teachings of the Church These are just a few ideas. As always, you are all welcome to email, message, or tweet me with any questions you may have. If I don't have the answer right away, I will find out what the Church says about your question promptly. One final note: don't be afraid to ask questions about your faith. It's for your own growth, and it can only help you! In the mean time, keep the faith ladies! Your Laughing Sister, Callahan

Check out the BEING GODLY WOMEN and WISDOM quotes pages for more inspiration!