We are often told to put our faith in something–a situation, a job, a person. We are also told–by parents and teachers–to reason things out. And we can do both because our faith and our reason are two attributes of being human, though we use them in ways unique to our individual selves.
Faith and Reason are the two ways in which knowledge of Truth comes to us– uniquely personal ways, geared to who we are–the way God created us.
Do you know someone who has only a elementary view of God, a person who may have a “simple” faith, but a faith that is truly genuine? On the other hand, do you know someone whose faith is complimented by an intellectual consideration of God?
We don’t have to be an intellectual, or the smartest person around, to be one of the most virtuous people around. But we can be virtuous, and intellectually savy, too. Neither cancels out the other.
Faith which needs no evidence, and Reason which is based on evidence, are in harmony with one another. As human beings we have the capabilities of both. And in fact, we need both faith and reason if we desire to find genuine truth.
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves. (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2). Encyclical Letter, Fides Et Ratio, Pope John Paul II
By using faith and reason, we come to know the truth about ourselves, as well. We can reason that we did not make our own bodies or create our own souls. Then faith assists us in the realization that God created us, and that as His children, He loves us. Faith and reason, together, tell us this is true. God loves us whether we’re smart, or not so smart; whether we’re beautiful, or not so beautiful, whether we’re successful, or not so successful. He loves us without condition.
But do our actions show the knowledge that we are loved by God? Being loved so deeply ought to change how we treat others, shouldn’t it? So, how are we treating others, especially those close to us? Are we bitter people? Do we hold grudges? Are we unforgiving, yet expect forgiveness for ourselves?
Or–are we empathetic to others, try to understand and forgive them? Would we go welll out of our way for another person? We do have that ability.
God sees the ability to love within us because He put it there, knowing its capability to truly change the world, bit by bit. But since He knows everything about us, He must also be aware that we fall short of making use of our ability to love.
If only–through faith and through reason, we kept in mind the truth about ourselves!
Translating a World on the Edge 