Thursday, December 20, 2007
what faith makes present
Faith is not merely a personal reaching out towards things to come that are still totally absent: it gives us something. It gives us even now something of the reality we are waiting for, and this present reality constitutes for us a “proof” of the things that are still unseen. Faith draws the future into the present, so that it is no longer simply a “not yet.” The fact that this future exists changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the present into those of the future.When I read this passage from Pope Benedict XVI, I was reminded of a poem I wrote at the foot of Salisbury Cathedral in England back in 1993. As I stood gazing at this amazing church, it occurred to me that only a palpable faith could usher into the world a sign of such magnitude and beauty. I've added the poem to my online Advent calendar today (door #20).
from Spe Salvi, paragraph 7
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