Thursday of Fifth Week of Lent

“Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.”  –C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was a very smart man. When I find myself feeling defeated about my faith, or dismissing it as an unattainable goal for the perfectly pious, Lewis can always talk some sense into me.  I love everything about this quote. Firstly, he refers to faith as an “art”—what a beautiful concept. Art takes discipline, creativity, imagination, and, most of all, practice. Now, consider applying all of these skills to faith; naturally, it takes discipline to live faithfully, because it requires self-control, but what about creativity and imagination?  At first, that thought threw me off, but then I realized that my faith has given me a creative lens through which I can view the world with all of the beauty it truly possesses, as designed by God. Furthermore, it made me realize that I possess a personal faith and relationship with God unlike anyone else’s, so naturally, my triumphs, failures, and methods are totally different from those of my brothers and sisters in faith. Finally, the idea that faith takes practice brings me immeasurable comfort. Flaws in faith, no matter how massive, do not indicate failure. They are just steps in an ongoing process, and a sign that more practice is definitely necessary.

Lewis goes on to define faith based upon its permanence—it is immoveable, no matter what. Cognitively, most people with an understanding of faith from a spiritual perspective know this, but anyone who has ever been anything but satisfied (everyone) knows at a deeper level just how difficult of a task this proves to be. Times of great pain or loss can feel like a slap in the face to a person of faith; everything inside of us cries out “How can God do this to me?”. In my experience, at times like this, I try my hardest to picture myself walking alongside Christ carrying the cross, and ask instead, “How is God going to bring me through this?”  Sometimes it works; other times, I have to practice a little bit harder.

As we move rapidly towards Holy Week, there is no better time to begin looking at faith as the art form it is. Everyone falters. Sometimes, faith feels impossible, but maybe, for some, it is a matter of finding the right medium.

-Cailin Potami, Class of 2016