Wiara fundamentem życia duchowego

Abstract

Supernatural virtue of faith is the basis of the development of the spiritual life of a human being. The Revelation of God and the desire of a man which concerns the experience of God meet in this virtue. It has its Trinitarian source and it influences the mental sphere of a man. Recognition of truth through faith leads to the development of love through the choice of the greatest Goodness which is God himself. It is also present at the foundations of the supernatural hope, which finds its fulfilment in the eschatological experience of unity with God, which is the complete holiness. Faith, together with the other theological virtues and the gifts of Holy Spirit, is therefore the foundation of dialogically developing sanctity. It also has its practical dimension as it confers meaning upon human’s life and it also leads to perceiving the world with reference to God. Having its proper meaning in particular stages of the development of sanctity, faith takes remarkable meaning in mystical experience. However, it needs constant active purgation (the night of senses) as well as constant passive purgation (the night of spirit). This truth is underlined by the classical Carmelite mystics: St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Ávila. Darkness of the experience of faith has its dual source, which is its splendour as well as the limited nature of a human. This fact does not question its development as Polish mystic, nun Roberta Babiak noticed. The dynamics of faith leads to full unity with God.