St. Paul he tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for; it is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

The Greek word used by St. Paul to describe faith in this passage is telling: uπόστασις (hupostasis), which, literally means, “to stand under; to support.”

For St. Paul, therefore, faith is, or should be, the basis, the foundation, the substance of everything we hope for, everything we look forward to, everything that is uncertain in tomorrow. It is the bedrock upon which we anchor our days.

But we are corporeal beings; we are afraid and anxious of what we cannot see. Just as the future frightens us, the faith upon which we are asked to anchor our future is itself elusive and unseen. What is it then that we must believe in? What is the assurance that our faith is not for naught?

By ourselves, therefore, by our limited human reason, we cannot believe. It is in this sense that we are told that faith is gift.

Grant us, therefore, this gift of faith, that we may be able to look with the future in hope and expectation. Reassure us, dear Lord, of what we, on our own, cannot reassure ourselves: that all shall indeed be well.

We pray this through the intercession of St. Teresa of Avila, who, by her life, showed us how it is to live with that “substance,” that faith, which makes living truly a work of hope:

Nada te turbe
Nada te espante
Todo se pasa, Dios no se muda
La paciencia todo lo alcanza
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
Solo Dios basta

Amen.