Competence is vitally important in every field of work, and it is especially true in matters of religion, but competence in religious matters is very different from competence in other areas. Competence in religious matters demands that believers know their faith both as a discipline that must be learned through regular study and through prayer which demands a leap of faith.
St. Bonaventure talked about this in his classic work, The Mind's Journey to God. After exploring philosophy, human reasoning and wisdom, Bonaventure finally acknowledges, after an exhaustive effort, that full knowledge of God and God's love is not something we can know by reason alone, but must accept as a gift.
St Boniface witnessed to these same truths in the 7th century. Challenged by the Pope to preach an orthodox faith to the Germanic peoples, he knew from the start of his mission that orthodoxy without prayer and penance would do little to help people, and it was prayer that led him to establish Benedictine monasteries through the German world and prayer that sustained his faith to the point of martyrdom.
Today, read something to enhance your faith life and pray to know it in your heart.
What have been your most important tools for learning about and sustaining your faith?
Today, read something to enhance your faith life and pray to know it in your heart.
What have been your most important tools for learning about and sustaining your faith?
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