2. Faith is fundamentally a gift from God. It was given to us when we received the sacrament of baptism. It is a personal offer of love and grace to each of us individually and to the community of believers we call Church. Faith is also a human act. It is a response of Trust Commitment Love that we make to God, both as individuals and as a community.

3. Faith in God, though, like coming to believe in anyone, is a process – a journey of discovery. Faith involves: Challenges Period of darkness Constant struggle and many questions But faith seeks to understand and in order to develop faith properly one should begin with honest probing questions. There are two types of faith questioning that one can utilize. Constructive Faith Questioning – search for the truth so you can do what is right Destructive Faith Questioning – desire to prove something false so you can do what you want.

4. Produces clarity Widens Vision Purifies motives Deepens commitment

5. Why can it sometimes be hard to believe in God? Probably because many people today have trouble believing in anything at all. Come up with some reasons as to why the following would lead you not to trust… Institutions (governments, banks…etc.) Misuse of money Abuse of power Families gossip Abuse, greed

6. Church Child abuse scandal Improper teachings (ex. Purgatory) Materialistic Possessions May break before their time or warrantees expire Ade to become obsolete so you have to buy the next new model Other people Manipulate you, bully you Lie to you or exploit you for their own purpose.

7. With all this mistrust in the world people begin losing trust in themselves. As a result, advertisers and major commercial corporation begin to appeal to this widespread lack of confidence and people begin putting their faith in other things. Ads promise that their product will make you feel better about yourself – you won’t have to fear being thought less by others if you but this car or that item of clothing. Weight loss clinics and the plastic cosmetic industry fool you into thinking that a new body image will enhance your self confidence. Others may encourage you to abuse substances such as alcohol or drugs so that you may forget about all your problems.

8. When people put their faith in such things, they quickly become disillusioned, unfulfilled and disappointed because these things do not last. It is because the object of their belief does not enhance their lives. It wither controls their lives so that they become obsessed with it or it represses their life so that they keep avoiding the real problem about themselves. It is no wonder that people find it difficult to believe in God. It seems hard enough to believe in the world, in life, in others or in themselves. In self-defense, some just avoid all risk of belief. They try to live day to day with heightened hopes or expectations, because they are afraid to be disappointed or frustrated. So they set aside belief in God too, believing that God is just another empty promise.

9. Faith should and does change throughout life, just as one’s body and mind change. Faith does not grow all on its own but it develops out of our own life experiences. It can be shaped by all kinds of personal experiences: Parental love and correction Teachings received in school and church Answered and unanswered prayers Joys, failures, successes Discussions and disagreements with friends and colleagues Painful or traumatic experiences

10. More often than not it is an experience of conflict or confusion that signals a shift or change in faith. The moment of conflict and confusion challenges us to rethink a previous view of God. It is no surprise then that Jesus once told hos followers: Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth? The contrary is true: I have come for conflict and division.

11. Conflict and confusion are often the road to a fuller faith. Such experiences tell us that our previous faith is inadequate to deal with some new dimension of life. The death of one stage of faith and the subsequent movement to the next stage of faith can be a very painful experience for some people because they may think that they have been lied to or that what they believed in was not true. Some people refuse to move onto different stages of faith either because they were told that their questions about their faith were wrong or because they themselves refuse out of fear of change. Some people choose to remain in a particular stage because they feel as if that this is the best way for them to know and have a better relationship with God – and this is OK!

12. As long as one remains at or changes stages of faith with the right intentions, in other words, if one knows that he/she is moving closer to God rather than away, then non one has the right to tell you which stage of faith is most appropriate for you. This is a matter between you and God and no one else. We are now ready to take a closer look at these stages of faith. Keep in mind that what we will be looking at is not really a “road map” detailing the straightest and surest route to union with God. It is more a description of the “road signs” that many people have encountered on their journey’s of faith. Knowing what road signs to look out for may help you to prepare for your journey of faith.

13. Until around age 7 a child’s faith can be expected to be highly imaginative. Depending how they were raised, children may have several different opinions of how God relates to them. God may be the ever-loving, ever present, grandfather figure somewhere in the sky, or perhaps the demanding mother or father figure that is impossible to please. Images of God that cause fear, guilt and worry to a child are the real dangers to faith at this stage. Some of these images may continue into adult life and may seriously harm one’s relationship with God.

14. When a child wants to know more about how the world really is and how things fit together, then the child is ready for the world of stories and this new stage of faith. Learning biblical religious stories gives children at this age a clearer, more consistent picture of God. However, for all children at this time all bible stories are taken literally. Children at this stage view God as the rewarder of good and the punisher of evil. God is like the parent who praises is for being good and penalizes us for wrongdoing. Naturally then, a child may be led to believe that faith involves bargaining with God. “If I do what God expects of me, I can count on him to help in return. Ex. God, if you help me get a 90% on this exam, I’ll go to mass every Sunday!

15. Eventually however children notice that God sometimes keeps the bargain and other times he does not. Therefore God isn’t as predictable or reliable as they once thought. Adults who remain in this stage seen resistant to deeper meaning of scripture and life itself. Furthermore they often blame themselves for misfortunes they encounter in their lives because they think that they weren’t being faithful to God and that is their just punishment.

16. This stage of faith is usually possessed by people who are around their adolescent or early adult years. Since MOST young people naturally value the importance of friendship, they often come to view God as one who treats them much like a trusted companion. The growing significance of companions leads faith in the adolescent and early adult years to be very influenced by the group. As a result, a central feature of faith at this stage is that it is largely conformed to the expectations, values and understandings of the significant groups to which we belong. The significant group may be our: Family Church community Peer group Colleagues

17. Greater identification with a group usually strengthens and supports our understanding of God. A further feature of faith at this stage is that it remains largely unquestioned. Confidence in the authority and dependability on the group eliminates all questioning. A usual comment heard by someone in this stage: “Everybody in my class is receiving the sacrament of confirmation, so guess I will too. This way I won’t upset my family and I won’t look like a non-conformist.”

18. While group faith imparts helpful clarity and consistency, it also runs the risk of discouraging personal responsibility. In the extreme it gives rise to blind defense of one’s own group. Eventually religious practices are done because everybody else does them and they become lifeless and mechanical. These meaningless experiences or even conflicts with people who have opposing beliefs often signals the birth of a new more challenging faith.

19. As certain people mature they begin to realize that it is not enough to hold certain beliefs and perform religious practices simply because: My parents told me to My teacher taught me Church authorities say I should Everybody else does As faith becomes less dependent on group expectations, a desire to take personal responsibility for the beliefs one holds becomes more evident. A person’s understanding of God is now increasingly shaped by personal life experience.

20. Former beliefs are examined and may be Altered Renewed Deepened If found faulty - discarded The passage to personally owned faith rarely occurs without significant tension and struggle. One may even feel as if they are losing their faith! A perfect example of one who is making this transition may be a person who continues going to the sacrament of reconciliation on a weekly basis for the sake of routine. However a growing appreciation of God’s love and merciful nature may encourage this person to alter this routine and only participate in this sacrament when it is meaningful for him/her to do so.

21. The transition to personal faith may also mean that some will have to endure the pain of standing at odds with friends, family members and church leaders but such decisions are necessary if persons are to develop a mature conscience and assume responsibility for the values that they choose to live by.

22. The word simply suggests communion with God. It is the experience of God living in a person. For most people this awareness of God’s inner presence begins with a longing or strong desire to be all that one can be or to live one’s life are meaningfully as possible. Thomas Merton expressed this desire with the following words, “When I have found my truest self, I will have found God.” At this stage of faith the awareness of God’s inner presence leads one to become more aware that God also dwells in all others. As a result, one begins to see people of various creeds, races and nationalities as brothers and sisters to one another. People at this stage begin to see similarities between their own faith and that of others when engaged in conversation. This is known as interfaith dialogue, and it becomes not a threat but an opportunity for new understanding. Adults who live a genuinely mystical faith discover a new responsibility to challenge and strive to improve the very institutions to which they belong, such as the church and government.

23. Occasionally, history provides us with examples of persons who have so identified with the well-being of others and who are so committed to the values of truth and justice that they have a capacity for selfless love. People such as Jesus Peter St. Isaac Jogues Mother Teresa are examples of this sacrificial faith. In some cases the willingness to sacrifice themselves for others has led to Martyrdom which is the giving of ones life for ones beliefs. These people follow the will of God above all else even to the point that their lives are compromised. One’s commitment to the values of truth, justice and love becomes all consuming.