The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP
II) names seven Characteristics of Faith
according to Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr. in his book ‘Faith and New
Evangelization’. I would like to share
these characteristics in a nutshell.
1. Personal:
Faith must be a
personal conviction based on God’s loving presence in one’s own life.
2. Informed: It must know something of what Christ has
taught.
3. Communitarian: It must be united with others of the same
faith.
4. Growing: It must strive to have a more and more
deeper understanding of the mysteries of life.
5. Loving: It must be manifested by love of God and
love of others.
6. Missionary:
It must be shared with others.
7. Inculturated: It must be understood in one’s own way of
thinking, speaking and
perceiving thru signs and symbols.
According to Bishop Bacani these are the
characteristics of faith that we should seek to spread and foster in the
Philippines. With this kind of faith we shall transform the
Philippines and win the rest of Asia for Christ.
Of the above mentioned characteristics, I
consider the first – PERSONAL – as the most fundamental. Based on my own personal experience, it was
when I had a personal experience of God’s loving presence in my life
that my faith deepened and my personal conviction of the reality of God was
firmly grounded. From then on, I strove
to learn more and more about the tenets of the Christian Faith. These I tried
to manifest in my love of God and
neighbors according to the circumstances of my life. I shared my insights with
others and continued to have a deeper understanding of the mysteries of life as
propounded by the Christian Faith.
by: Buddy Cagurangan
July 14, 2013
