Thursday, January 24, 2013

Abraham's Faith and Ours

"Abraham was blessed because, in faith, he knows how to discern the divine blessing by going beyond appearances, trusting in God's presence even when his ways seem mysterious to him.

"What does this mean for us? When we affirm: 'I believe in God,' we say, like Abraham: 'I trust You; I entrust myself to You, Lord,' but not as Someone to run to only in times of difficulty or to whom to dedicate a few moments of the day or of the week. Saying 'I believe in God' means founding my life on Him, letting his Word orient me each day, in the concrete choices, without fear of losing something of myself...

"...Abraham, the father of believers, continues to be the father of many children who are willing to walk in his footsteps and set out on the way, in obedience to the divine call, trusting in the benevolent presence of the Lord and welcoming his blessing to become a blessing for all. It is the blessed world of faith to which we are all called, to walk without fear following the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is sometimes a difficult journey, that knows even trial and death, but that opens onto life, in a radical transformation of reality that only the eyes of faith can see and savor in abundance.

"To say 'I believe in God' leads us, then, to set off, to go out of ourselves continually, just like Abraham, to bring into the daily reality in which we live the certainty that comes to us from faith: the certainty, that is, of the presence of God in history, even today; a presence that brings life and salvation, and opens us to a future with Him for a fullness of life that will never diminish."

~Pope Benedict XVI, 1/23/13 General Audience

Father Abraham, today I walk with you in faith.

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