Faith matters.

Faith matters because God does not save us without us.

Faith matters over…and over…and over again, as God’s responses do not come all at once.

Faith matters because (to echo the gospel antiphon) it “opens our hearts” to God’s live-giving Spirit, a Spirit that can transform us in ways we can only dimly imagine.

Faith matters because God desires our desire. God wants us to be thirsty, out-of-control, even desperate, especially in a world of indifference, distance & apathy. To quote Pope Francis’s recent words at Assisi, “God thirsts to give us the living waters of his love, but also to receive our love…The Lord’s thirst is indeed quenched by our compassionate love; he is consoled when, in his name, we bend down to another’s suffering.”

Faith matters because it entails active trust, a trust that Jesus Christ the “Emmanuel” is “God with us” in the midst of our daily struggles, peccadilloes, doubts & limits.

Faith matters because God calls us to be petitioners and seekers, not perfectionists and saviors.

Faith matters because we are children of a loving Father, a God who desires our flourishing.

Faith matters.