Q & A

I recently got a call from one of the religion teachers at Immaculata High School whose grade 7/8 religion classes have been coming up with questions, and wanted to know if I was willing to provide some answers. The 20 questions were sent in advance. “Who are Adam and Eve and what are they doing talking to snakes?” “Can I still be religious / Catholic and not go to Church? I find it boring.” OK, I thought; I can handle this.

Then it got a bit deeper: “If God loves us so much why does he let all the bad stuff happen like war and murder?”  Finally, question 20 was “What is faith? What can I do each day to get a little bit more? I don’t think I can download it.”  My respect for these kids began to grow. We were on this journey together….

Ron Rolheiser omi recently wrote: Why do believers have to live, almost always it seems, on the edges of doubt? Why doesn’t God make his (her) existence clear, a fact beyond doubt?

There’s no satisfying answer to that question, and there never will be. No definitive faith textbook can ever be written that will soothe every doubt and answer every critical objection. Why not? Because making peace with this mystery, the mystery of God’s hiddenness, is a question of a relationship in love and trust and not simply a question of right theory. Faith, like love, matures through relationship, not just theory.

Understanding God’s hiddenness, God’s way, is like a child coming to understand his or her parents. You have to relate long enough, live in patience long enough, and develop enough maturity so that, at a point, understanding arises out of a certain co-empathy. When we are loving enough, and open enough, we begin to understand.

May this Advent be a time of loving, and openness, and a deepening of our faith in God’s presence.

By Tim Coonen, OMI