As Catholics, we believe in Jesus Christ and in God His Father, whom He reveals to us in the creeds and scriptures. Belief in Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit requires one to have faith in the teachings of the Church. It is also helpful for one to have a clear understanding of what faith means. There are five general perceptions of faith: 1) what we believe, 2) whom we believe, 3) why we believe, 4) a way of understanding the world, 5) a way of understanding a relationship. These perceptions when considered together give one a better and more thorough appreciation or what faith really is.
Faith, first, involves a belief in someone rather than something. We are taught that faith involves a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. As we grow in our faith, it is normal for us to have questions. "Is there really a God?" "Is Jesus really the Son of God?". Asking these questions is not wrong. They are necessary and understandable and provide illustration about how our perspective of God is often incomplete. Opening our minds to a new view of God is necessary for us; a more mature view of God. As Father Link writes it is essential that we open our hearts to others in love because this is where we will find God. When I visited my grandfather for the first time after he had chemotherapy, I knew that when I saw him walking around like "his old self" that God was in his heart and his faith is what had sustained him. When I discovered that my grandfather has begun writing a book on his experience and how his faith has increased and enabled him to "get through" the past nine months, I realized then that God truly put all of here for a reason. Through human reasoning we also know God. By constantly comparing and contrasting that which we see with our relationship with God, we see the perfection of God. Comparing our friends to see who is a better friend is one example of this.
