The Meaning of Faith

And you brought the umbrella?

“Faith” is believing the impossible will happen. Everything is possible with God, who in Jesus has loved his children and called and sent us to be a sign of hope in the world. “Faith” is to trust God, that is, put yourself in the shoes of the merciful Father. “Faith” is to love the Church and be credible baptized believers.

Saints are wonderful models for us to follow as they were so faithful to become “friends of God and men”; women and men capable of connecting faith and life, joy and commitment, dreams and pragmatism, humanity and holiness. They lived with their eyes to the sky as well as down to the earth, with their arms ready to work, offering themselves in the daily Eucharistic and service to the poor, to their last breath. Being part of the Church, in faith communities, is not a privilege, rather it is to recognize Christ in the poor, in those who are alone, in the small, in the suffering, in the family, in the workplace or in our studies, in the community, in the arcades. Saints are called to adorn themseles with a holy interior first.

At every celebration, every meeting, all community activities should be a mirror of an everyday life lived according to Jesus’ call to “be salt and light of the world. “Faith” is essential, and this story of Bruno Ferrero helps us to look with clear eyes, like that of children:

“The fields were burned and cracked from lack of rain. The pale and yellowed leaves painfully hung from the branches. The grass had disappeared from the meadows. People were tense and nervous, as he scanned the sky of cobalt blue glass. The weeks are more and more dry. No rain fell for months. The parish priest organized a special hour of prayer in front of the church to implore God for the grace of rain. At the appointed hour the square was packed with people anxious, but hopeful. Many had brought objects testifying their faith. The pastor looked on admiring the Bibles, crosses and rosaries. But he could not look away from a little girl sitting primly in the front row. On her knees with a red umbrella.”

To pray is to ask for rain in the drought, believing that it will be by bringing your umbrella!

– Marco Pappalardo, author of Have the Courage to Be Happy

To read Marco Pappalardo’s newest book, click here. Explored with reflections from the Pope, space is left at the end of each chapter for readers to write their own thoughts: giving young people a space of their own to grow.