Is Faith A Gift

[infinitelord1]

Is Faith a Gift?

[fides quarens intellectum]

Well, it is not one of the 7 [i]Gifts[/i] of the Holy Spirit; it is one of the 12 [i]Fruits[/i] of the Holy Spirit.

However, I would say that everything good that we have is a gift given to us by God.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='infinitelord1' date='19 July 2010 - 08:32 PM' timestamp='1279589535' post='2145204']
Is Faith a Gift?
[/quote]

Yes. Maybe I'll have put up a Christmas tree to put presents under, because Faith is not a gift I've received yet, after years of trying and hoping (and yes, praying).

Edited July 20, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[Resurrexi]

"For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

[CatherineM]

It's definitely been a gift in my life.

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='19 July 2010 - 10:19 PM' timestamp='1279595967' post='2145311']
It's definitely been a gift in my life.
[/quote]

Amen to that - same here!

[Ed Normile]

I would say faith is actually a blessing.

ed

[Sarah147]

Again, it is evident that this "light of faith" is a supernatural gift and is not the necessary outcome of assent to the motives of credibility. No amount of study will win it, no intellectual conviction as to the credibility of revealed religion nor even of the claims of the Church to be our infallible guide in matters of faith, will produce this light in a man's mind. It is the free gift of God.
[url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm[/url]

[Vincent Vega]

As the popular saying around here goes: "The things of God cannot be learned; they can only be revealed."
So, yes - faith is something we receive, not something that we take.

Edited July 20, 2010 by USAirwaysIHS

[Luigi]

Definitely. My folks tried mightily to pass their faith along to all of us (brothers & sisters) - and they both do have real faith - but not all of us have the gift of faith. And that's heartbreaking.

I think those of us who do have faith forget sometimes that it [i]is[/i] a gift.

[TeresaBenedicta]

Faith is one of the three theological virtues that are infused into the soul at baptism. Yes, faith is a gift.

[JimR-OCDS]

I'm not sure who said it, but as I recall;

"Faith is a gift. It is the revelation of God himself to the person, however he makes that happen."


Jim

[RandomProddy]

[quote name='Resurrexi' date='20 July 2010 - 05:10 AM' timestamp='1279595414' post='2145306']
"For by [b]grace [/b]you are [b]saved[/b] through [b]faith[/b], and that not of yourselves, for [i]it[/i][u][/u] is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
[/quote]

Not to be picky, but is it entirely clear what the "it" is? It (pardon the pun!) could of course be more than one of them theologically...

[kafka]

absolutely. Faith is an infused at Baptism. It is a supernatural virtue based in the soul. It is organic. In a living person giving him a power beyond his own ability. The power of faith enables one to freely accept everything God has revealed, everything God wills, all of God's providence all of God's love, even God as He is in Himself, though through a dark cloud in the midst of the evil and suffering of this first life. And this is why it is a free and gratuitous gift of God. For who has ever seen God? Who can go to him by his own power? Who can live with him forever unless he be taken up.

Faith is never separate from love and hope. The three are one gift of God infused with sanctifying grace at Baptism. One could even say that sanctifying grace is love-faith-hope. One gift of sanctifying grace constituted by three supernatural virtues. And sanctifying grace is in seed the gift of eternal life.

love-faith-hope are one. One gift ordering our being toward God. faith proceeds from love, for how could we accept God and all that He is and all that He does without loving and obeying Him? Hope proceeds from love and faith as from one principle for how could we turn to God in hope of all good things without be united in love and faith? Three wings which dispose one's being to God and he soars to him in spite of all the troubles of life.

Edited July 21, 2010 by kafka

[kafka]

[quote name='kafka' date='21 July 2010 - 06:17 PM' timestamp='1279750669' post='2146150'] Three wings which dispose one's being to God and he soars to him in spite of all the troubles of life.
[/quote]
actually two wings of love and faith and a tail of hope would be a better symbol. Like a bird. The tail steers the direction of the bird. Hope orders all one's desires to be fulfilled in God.