Faith with Feet

by John Huynh | September 18, 2025

When the word ‘faith’ is referenced, we often think only of doctrines and creeds, of truths handed down for us to assent to.

And this is part of it.

The Church calls this believed faith—the content of the creed, the Paschal Mystery, the unity and trinity of God.

But there is also what the Church calls believing faith: the act of trusting God with our whole selves, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #170.

Believed faith says, “I believe that Jesus rose from the dead.”

Believing faith says, “I believe in the risen Lord, and I belong to him.”

Both dimensions are essential.

Believed faith guards the deposit of truth handed down from the apostles.

Believing faith makes that truth personal, dynamic, and alive. It is not enough to know about Christ; faith means surrendering to him, welcoming him, and confessing with joy, “Jesus is Lord!” As St. John reminds us, everything depends on whether Christ is welcomed (Jn 1:12). St. Paul describes this welcome as obedience—not blind submission, but a confident abandonment of ourselves into God’s hands (Rom 1:5).

The Beatitudes reveal to us where believing faith must find root. Jesus calls “blessed” those whose situations seem anything but enviable: the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are persecuted. None of us naturally desire poverty or persecution.

Mercy, while wonderful when received, can be painful when given.

And yet, Christ locates joy in precisely these realities.

Faith that believes only the content of the Beatitudes might nod in agreement that these are noble ideals.

But faith that believes in Christ dares to trust that this strange way really leads to life. It believes not only that God exists, but that God is present now in the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted.

It believes not only that mercy is good, but that to show mercy is to enter into the very heart of God.

This is the foundation of Catholic social teaching. Believing faith will not let us relegate justice or mercy to abstract ideas or future hopes. It draws us to concrete action:

• to work tirelessly to defend the dignity of life from conception to natural death,
• to welcome migrants and immigrants seeking stability and belonging,
• to advocate fair wages and safe conditions for workers, and
• to strengthen families by building communities rooted in solidarity and care.

Not everyone can do everything. But believing faith always presses us to do something; because faith in Christ means faith in his body, the Church, and in the people he calls us to serve.

The Church has long taught that faith is both gift and response.

The gift is the truth revealed in Christ; the response is the heart that says, “Yes, I will follow.”

The Beatitudes teach us that this “yes” will often look strange to the world. But here is the paradox: in the very places we fear to go, Christ promises happiness.  And we do not traverse these roads alone; he is with us always (Mt 28:20).

So let us hold the truths of our faith firmly. And let us also live them boldly, trusting that believing faith will draw us deeper into God’s mercy and into the lives of those who most need to be remembered, embraced, and loved.