Tag Archives: Baptism

Help Thou My Unbelief

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by in C.S. Lewis, Faith, Sacraments, Salvation, Thought for the Day

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Below is a very good insight from 'St. Jack'. By the way, I often say the prayer that he mentions, “Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief.” In fact for several years now I have said it at the elevation of the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass. (Update: after publishing this I realized there should be some clarification. I do not say this prayer in an audible voice. Instead, it is my own private devotion within the Mass.) Please don't misunderstand – it is not that I don't truly believe that it is our Lord's Body and Blood I hold in my hands – I pray it because I want my faith to be continually increased through the supernatural gift of grace we receive in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. And it has had an effect on me.

Don’t bother at all about that question of a person being ‘made a Christian’ by baptism. It is only the usual trouble about words being used in more than one sense. Thus we might say a man ‘became a soldier’ the moment that he joined the army. But his instructors might say six months later ‘I think we have made a soldier of him’. Both usages are quite definable, only one wants to know which is being used in a given sentence. The Bible itself gives us one short prayer which is suitable for all who are struggling with the beliefs and doctrines. It is: ‘Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief.’ Would something of this sort be any good?: Almighty God, who art the Father of lights and who has promised by thy dear Son that all who do thy will shall know thy doctrine: [John 7:17] give me grace so to live that by daily obedience I daily increase in faith and in the understanding of thy Holy Word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume II

 

The Holy Spirit vs. “Feelings”

29 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in C.S. Lewis, Holy Spirit, Promises of Christ, Sacraments, Thought for the Day

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It is quite right that you should feel that “something terrific” has happened to you (It has) and be “all glowy.” Accept these sensations with thankfulness as birthday cards from God, but remember that they are only greetings, not the real gift. I mean, it is not the sensations that are the real thing. The real thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit which can’t usually be—perhaps not ever—experienced as a sensation or emotion. The sensations are merely the response of your nervous system. Don’t depend on them. Otherwise when they go and you are once more emotionally flat (as you certainly will be quite soon), you might think that the real thing had gone too. But it won’t. It will be there when you can’t feel it. May even be most operative when you can feel it least.

The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III

If we have shared in Christ’s death and Resurrection through Baptism, and especially if we have received Confirmation, then we can and should be confident that God is always with us. Of course, we can choose to turn our back on Him through serious sin. But once we repent and turn back towards Him – going to Confession if needed – then we must trust in the promises of our Lord who said He would be with us always. And this remains true even if we do not “feel” His presence. Lewis is very right here and we would do well to reflect upon his words especially when we do not “feel” God.