Let us take a moment to reflect deeply on the nature of faith, for it is the cornerstone of our spiritual lives. "The beginning of contemplation is faith. If there is something essentially sick about your conception of faith, you will never be a contemplative." [1] Faith is not merely a stepping stone; it is the very foundation upon which the contemplative life is built. If our understanding of faith is flawed—if we reduce it to a feeling, an emotion, or some vague sense of the supernatural—we will never truly enter into the depths of communion with God. Faith is the doorway, and if that doorway is misaligned or broken, we cannot walk through it properly. Just as a house built on sand will collapse, but a house built on rock will stand firm (Matthew 7:24-27), faith is that rock, the unshakable foundation of our spiritual journey.
Now, let us clarify what faith is not, for there is much confusion in this regard. "Faith is not an emotion, not a feeling. It is not a blind subconscious urge toward something vaguely supernatural." [1] Many people mistake faith for a fleeting emotion—a warm, comforting sensation during worship or a sudden sense of peace in prayer. These experiences, while beautiful, are not faith. Faith is not something that arises from within us; it is a gift from God, a response to His revelation. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is not about what we feel but about what we know and trust, even when we cannot see it.
Furthermore, faith is not the product of human reasoning or intellectual effort. "Faith is not an opinion. It is not a conviction based on rational analysis. It is not the fruit of scientific evidence." [1] You cannot arrive at faith through logic alone, nor can you prove it in a laboratory. Faith exists in the realm of the unseen, the unknown. It is about trusting in what God has revealed, even when it surpasses our natural understanding. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). Faith transcends reason, not by rejecting it, but by elevating it to a higher plane.
So what, then, is faith? "Faith is first of all an intellectual assent. It perfects the mind, it does not destroy it." [1] Faith is not about shutting off your intellect or ignoring your capacity for reason. On the contrary, it perfects the mind by allowing it to grasp truths that are beyond its natural capacity. Faith is an act of the intellect, a deliberate choice to accept what God has revealed. It is not blind; it is a seeing in the dark, a trusting in the light that comes from God alone. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Faith is the mind’s way of saying, “I do not fully understand this, but I trust the One who does.”
Yet, faith also involves a profound mystery. "The act of belief unites two members of a proposition which have no connection in our natural experience." [1] Faith connects things that do not seem to fit together in our natural understanding. For example, it unites the idea of a loving God with the reality of suffering in the world. It bridges the gap between human weakness and divine strength. Faith does not explain these mysteries; it simply holds them together in trust. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Faith is the bridge that spans the chasm between God’s infinite wisdom and our finite understanding.
And yet, faith does not provide complete satisfaction to the intellect. "Faith is not expected to give complete satisfaction to the intellect. It leaves the intellect suspended in obscurity, without a light proper to its own mode of knowing." [1] Faith does not answer every question or solve every mystery. It does not give us a neat and tidy explanation for everything. Instead, it leaves us in a kind of holy tension, trusting in what we cannot see. This might sound unsettling, but it is actually liberating. Faith frees us from the need to have all the answers. It allows us to rest in the mystery of God’s infinite wisdom. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Faith is about trusting God even when the path ahead is unclear.
But faith is not merely intellectual; it is deeply personal. "Faith is primarily an intellectual assent. But if it were only that and nothing more, it would not be complete." [1] Faith is more than agreeing with a set of doctrines; it is about entering into a relationship with God. It is about saying “yes” not just to the truths about God, but to God Himself. "By faith, one not only assents to propositions revealed by God, one not only attains to truth in a way that intelligence and reason alone cannot do, but one assents to God Himself." [1] Faith is about receiving God, about opening our hearts to His presence and His love. It is about saying, “I trust You, even when I do not understand.” To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Faith is the doorway to becoming God’s children, to entering into His family.
And here is the beautiful truth: "Faith terminates not in a statement, not in a formula of words, but in God." [1] Faith is not about clinging to a creed or a set of doctrines, as important as those are. It is about resting in God Himself. The formulas and statements are like windows; they let in the light, but they are not the light itself. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Faith is about beholding God, about being transformed by His presence.
But if we get stuck on the formulas, if we rest in the words instead of the reality they point to, we miss the point. "If instead of resting in God by faith, we rest simply in the proposition or the formula, it is small wonder that faith does not lead to contemplation." [1] When we focus on the words instead of the Word, faith becomes dry and lifeless. It leads to arguments, controversies, and divisions. But true faith leads to unity, to peace, to contemplation. That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:21). Faith is meant to unite us with God and with one another.
And here is the ultimate truth: "Ultimately, faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to questions on which all our happiness depends, cannot be reached in any other way." [1] Faith is not just a spiritual tool; it is the key to everything. It unlocks the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, the source of true happiness. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Faith is the way to the Father, the way to eternal life, the way to true joy.
So let us open our hearts to faith. "Faith is the opening of an inward eye, the eye of the heart, to be filled with the presence of Divine light." [1] Let us allow faith to open our eyes to the presence of God, to fill our hearts with His light. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18). Faith is the key that unlocks the door to God’s presence, to His love, to His eternal kingdom. Let us walk through that door, trusting in Him who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
[1] Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation