Belief and Unbelief

 Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The episode in St. Mark's Gospel which we proclaim today features the famous saying: "I do believe; help my unbelief." While the man who utters these words may not realize it, he has given voice to a prayer to which all of us can relate.

Who among us can claim that he/she has never had doubts? It is simply part of our human condition. We are trained to put our faith in things which we can prove, things which we can perceive through our senses. We are a technologically advanced civilization which has provided answers for many of the mysteries that confounded our ancestors. The world of science continues to make discoveries about the universe in which we live which have expanded our understanding of the created world beyond the scope of human imagination. We know of planets and stars that are so far away that it would be impossible to reach them in our current situation. 

However, the person of faith remembers that God and the mysteries that surround the Divine are not part of the created order. God is the creator, without beginning and without end. While human science unlocks the secrets of the universe, it will never begin to fathom the secrets of the Divine simply because science is concerned only with creation.

The answer to how the universe was created is a scientific quest. However, science will never ask who created the universe. Oftentimes the boundaries between the two are blurred. It is at these times that we can join the man in the Gospel as he prays.

P.S. Check out Fr. Tim Hayes' Cyber Retreat for Lent and Easter which will appear in the Member's Blog.