Lighting the Path Ahead

Last updated on: December 23, 2014 at 6:20 pm by willduquette

Lighting the Path Ahead 2014-12-23T18:20:53-05:00 willduquette

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We’ve been talking a lot about faith here at Cry Woof over the last few weeks; and last week in particular I wrote about the “Light of Faith“, a light that helps us to see things more clearly.

In paragraph 9 of Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis takes it one step farther:

The word spoken to Abraham contains both a call and a promise. First, it is a call to leave his own land, a summons to a new life, the beginning of an exodus which points him towards an unforeseen future. The sight which faith would give to Abraham would always be linked to the need to take this step forward: faith “sees” to the extent that it journeys, to the extent that it chooses to enter into the horizons opened up by God’s word.

(My emphasis.) Faith helps us see clearly—but most especially, it helps us to see the path ahead, that path that leads to God. But also, in order to see that path ahead, we need to step forward. Faith is a light unto my path, but not a light unto my sitting still in a complacent lump.

Now, I said I was going to try to reflect on Lumen Fidei in the context of daily life, that is, in a practical way; and three points occur to me.

The first is that if my faith seems drab and endarkened (if that’s a word), I should ask myself whether I’m being a complacent lump. Am I moving in faith? Am I going out of my way to love those around me with God’s love? It’s possible, of course, to feel drab and endarkened in faith even when you’re doing everything right, but I suspect most of us can use a reality check once in a while.

The second is that if I follow that light of faith down the path, it will not only lead me to God, it will also lead me to my vocation, to my calling; or, if I’ve already answered the call, it will lead me to pursue it further and better.

Third, the pope’s words imply that sometimes you need to take a step in the dark, just to make the lights come on. That seems like you might step in the wrong direction accidentally. And so you might, in human terms. But God meets us wherever we happen to be, if only we turn towards him; and that step in the dark, in whatever direction, is a step towards God, who is faithful even when we are not. So, not to worry.

Previous Post

March 8, 2014

Sticking the Corners

Next Post

March 9, 2014 Whack-a-Mole and those Awful Middle Ages

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Admin App o' the Morning Ask the Dogmat Believing Thomas Bits of Fiction Blasts from the Past Bootstrapping the Interior Life Catholic Mom Christian Living Deep Thoughts from the Doghouse Dominicana Evangelii Gaudium Interviews It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Links to This and That Lumen Fidei Meme Watch On Writing Operation Gratitude Pedant Errant Photography Quill Random Barkings S'Mary's World Shakers of Salt Software Development The Dog Whistler The Dogmat Sez Third Orders Thomas Aquinas Uncategorized Vikings at Dinos Woof Guide to Cinema Woof Guide to History Woof Guide to Literature Woof Guide to Obscure Catholic Music Woof Guide to Philosophy Woof Guide to Popular Music Woof Guide to Technology Woof Guide to Theology Words I Wish I'd Written Works For Me

Select a Month September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Gospel" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Sacred Story Holy Word Good News God's Truth