“God, I make an Act of Faith — that your gracious hand guides us. I have faith that our dreams and desires, joys and sufferings, trials and tribulations are known to you and kept close to your divine heart. You never stop thinking about us and working for us.”

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Hebrews, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). We walk a good majority of our life’s pilgrimage by faith. We are guided by our moral compass and accompanied by friends and family. Yet seldom are we one hundred percent certain we are doing what we should. That is where faith comes in.

Candles lit in faith their prayers will be heard and answered.

When we lean in on our faith we are submitting ourselves to God. Oddly enough, doing so can often result in anxiety, skepticism, and doubt that leads to inaction or the wrong action especially in an era where being alone, in silence reliant on our interior is a rare solution.

But having faith offers us a profound freedom if we allow its grace into our lives. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of life” (26, CC). As a result, when trials and temptations arise on our journey we can have faith in God. We can excite within ourselves the faith that the Lord is in charge rather than allow ourselves to slip down a slope of negativity and dejection . We can take a deep breath and enjoy the chaos as long as we submit our “intellect and will to God” (143 CC).

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Have faith. Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”(Matthew 17:20). A mustard seed, our faith, needs to be 1 to 2 mm in diameter! So even in these despairing times hold on to a grain or two. Through a simple prayer, a simple act of faith in God’s divine providence, that mustard seed can grow enormously in our heart and soul. It can be as simple as saying, “Lord, I have faith that your gracious hand guides me.” A gesture as simple as this can be a balm on an agitated soul.

When Jesus healed those who sought him out, he would assure them, “Go in peace, your faith has healed you.”

Let our faith in God’s divine providence restore us.