The power of faith
From a catechetical instruction by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (c. 315-386)
The power of faith transcends man’s strength
The one word faith can have two meanings. One kind of faith concerns doctrines. It involves the soul’s ascent to and acceptance of some particular matter. It also concerns the soul’s good, according to the words of the Lord: Whoever hears my voice and believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and will not come to be judged. And again: He who believes in the Son is not condemned, but has passed from death to life.
How great is God’s love for men! Some good men have been found pleasing to God because of years of work. What they achieved by working for many hours at a task pleasing to God is freely given to you by Jesus in one short hour. For if you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and taken up to paradise by him, just as he brought the thief there. Do not doubt that this is possible. After all, he saved the thief on the holy hiss of Golgotha because of one hour’s faith; will he not save you too since you have believed?
The other kind of faith is given by Christ by means of a special grace. To one wise sayings are given through the Spirit, to another perceptive comments by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing. Now this kind of faith, given by the Spirit as a special favor, is not confined to doctrinal matters, for it produces effects beyond any human capability. If a man who has this faith says to this mountain move from here to there, it will move. For when anybody says this in faith, believing it will happen and having no doubt in his heart, he then receives that grace.
It is of this kind of faith, moreover, that it is said: If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed. The mustard seed is small in size but it holds an explosive force; although it is sown in a small hole, it produces great branches, and when it is grown birds can nest there. In the same way faith produces great effects in the soul instantaneously. Enlightened by faith, the soul pictures God and sees him as clearly as any soul can. It circles the earth; even before the end of this world it sees the judgment and the conferring of promised rewards. So may you have the faith which depends on you and is directed to God, that you may receive from him that faith too which transcends man’s capacity.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Saint Cyril (c. 315-386) was born in Jerusalem around 315 probably of Christian parents. He was raised and educated in Jerusalem and was ordained a priest by St. Maximus. He taught catechumens for several years and about 349 became bishop of Jerusalem. The early Church experienced troubled times in the years between the Council of Nicea (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381), a period torn with factionalism and the heresy of Arianism. In 378, the Council of Antioch sent St. Gregory of Nyssa to Palestine to investigate charges against Cyril over terms used in the Nicene Creed.
Gregory reported that the faith of the Church in Jerusalem and Cyril himself was orthodox. Cyril and Gregory attended the General Council of Constantinople in 381, and Cyril completely accepted the amended Nicene Creed. Cyril was a scriptural scholar, a successful preacher, and his “Catecheses” delivered during Lent in 347 gives a clear picture of the instruction given those preparing for baptism and of the Palestinian liturgy of the fourth century. “Since Christ Himself has said, “This is My Body” who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?” Cyril died in 386 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1882 by Pope Leo XIII.