Each of us has a faith story, regardless of how old we are. Our faith story is simply the story of our journey of faith. For those of us who were baptized as infants, baptism is the first chapter in our faith story. Yet there are many people whose faith journey began when they were old enough to reflect upon their life and matters of religion and faith – even though many of them have not yet accepted the grace of baptism. Often when we are baptized as infants and raised in the Church, we take our faith for granted. We don’t reflect upon our faith story – we might not even think we have a faith story.
Yet because God created us, and he is Lord of heaven and earth, whether or not we believe and accept it, we have a faith story of some kind. For our faith story is how it is that we live in relationship with God. Thus, even atheists have a kind of faith story, a history of professed non-belief. I say this because every time someone asks an atheist what their religion is, they profess non-belief in a God. Throughout their lives, their faith story is that of denying belief in the existence of God, for this is how they live in relationship with God. They would say they have no relationship with God because God does not exist. Nevertheless, this is their story when it comes to God and religion.
You, too, have a faith story. If you were to write it out in book form, what might be the subject of each chapter? If we were to tell our story, whether in writing or in conversation, we might write our faith story chronologically. There would be the years when we were in elementary school. Then we might reflect on our faith story in our high school years, followed by the years when we were college age and as young adults. For those who are or have been married, your faith story probably took on a new chapter as your faith intersected with the faith story of the person you dated or married. And for those of you who are married – because life affects us all – your faith story has become inseparable from that of your spouse, whether or not you share the same faith.
The Church encourages us to read the lives of the saints because it is a retelling of their faith story. The story of the conversion of St. Augustine, for example, has been a powerful inspiration over the centuries to so many who could relate to his experience. The biography of recent saints like St. Teresa of Calcutta teaches us about so many virtues that we might imitate. Whether these saints were apostles, martyrs, virgins, religious, doctors of the Church, or youth saints, their stories are meant to inspire us, challenge us, convert us, encourage us and renew our own hope for salvation.
So, whether we trace our faith story chronologically, or perhaps simply by noting the “key moments” in our life where we experienced inspiration, conversion, stretching, doubt, surrender, renewal or greater zeal, it is important that we actually know our own personal faith story. When meeting people and they say, “tell me a little bit about you,” we ought to include something about our faith story in the introduction. Even simply to say, “I’m a Catholic” is to say something significant. Or perhaps, to say I am a convert to Catholicism indicates that faith is an important aspect of who I am. Likewise, to not speak of our faith also says something about us.
The Church has continued for 2000 years precisely because people have shared their faith story. It began when Jesus commissioned the apostles to “Go, therefore,* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a) Knowing our faith story requires that we know what is the “Kerygma,” – the story of the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus – because our faith story must be understood as a RESPONSE to the saving love of God for us in Christ. Evangelization happens when people come to know that we have been AFFECTED by the saving love of Christ.
Sadly, we live in a time when it seems to be expected that we keep quiet about our faith. Notice how uncomfortable people get when we “go there” in the slightest way. This is so much the case that we don’t even talk about faith at home. I often found that in marriage preparation, most couples admitted that they knew so little about the religious beliefs of the one they were marrying that they didn’t think they could accurately represent the faith of their fiancé to me or anyone else. Our faith story should be at the heart of our friendships. It should be the glue that bonds family life together.
In reality, our faith stories are beautiful, inspiring, touching, and encouraging, if we would simply begin sharing more of our journey of faith with others. Whether in marriage, over coffee with a friend, the first five minutes of a parish council meeting, a three-minute reflection after Communion at Sunday Mass or around the table at home on Sunday – the sharing of our faith stories has the potential to renew Christian faith in this country and bring back inactive members to the Church.
Recall that when Jesus went to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Then he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Who Jesus is to each of us can only be answered out of the experience of our personal faith story. This is what we learn in the story of the two men on the road to Emmaus in the first days after the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. They were witnesses! They shared their experience of Jesus with others. My devotion to St. Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus, Head of the Holy Family and Protector of Holy Church, is a growing part of my faith story as bishop. As you reverence your own faith story, start sharing it (the heart of who you are) with others!
