I think that most Christians would say they believe everything Jesus teaches. But when you ask if they have an unwavering faith, often it is met with a great deal more hesitation. Here is what Pope Francis once said, “The great leaders of God’s people always left room for doubt. We must always leave room for the Lord and not for our own certainties. We must be humble.” 

I was thinking of this recently when I was downtown on one of those cold evenings when the streets were almost deserted and I seemed to be aimlessly wandering and looking for those who had braved the cold wind. Often it is during these fleeting moments that I am tempted with doubts and start to wonder, “What’s the use? Am I really making any difference?” 

Much later, when I got home, I came across a quote that touched my heart, “Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. Where is my faith? Even deep down, there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. My God, how painful is this unknown pain. I have no Faith.” 

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While these desperate pleas may well have come from an addict crying out in despair for the choices they have made in life, they are from the mouth of St. Teresa of Calcutta. The people of the streets have taught me a lot about doubt. It always surprises me that with a past filled with violence and abuse, and an uncertain future, they still find hope in the midst of their sorrows. 

We have just come through the Easter season once again where the Gospel is filled with messages of doubt and hope. The disciples, the ones who had been with Jesus for three years, went to meet him after his resurrection, and even when he appeared in full sight, some doubted. They seemed to doubt that he was alive, or maybe they just doubted that there was any point in going on. I think these are often our doubts too. We ask ourselves, “Is Jesus really still alive in our midst, and what does that mean to us?” How can we do it when we know our weaknesses?” 

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Or maybe we are just tired. It gets tiring after a while, doesn't it? Year after year wondering if it is having any effect; looking around and thinking that the world is getting worse instead of better. Well, you see it's almost 2,000 years since Jesus ascended into Heaven and told his disciples, you, and me, to continue his work. So, in my column this month I thought that it would do no harm to give you, and myself, a little encouragement. 

Let us all persevere in doing good. Persevere in the vision that Jesus handed on to us when he ascended and told the disciples that they are not alone. He would send them the Holy Spirit to be with them, guide them, and work through them. At the start of his ministry he outlined exactly why he had come. He said he had to come to set prisoners free, to heal the broken hearted and to give sight to the blind. 

When we are tempted to give up, remember the saying they have in Alcoholics Anonymous, “Fake it until you make it.” When you don’t feel like praying, pray. When you don’t feel like showing up, show up. Live the message of the Gospel to the poor. 

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They will lead us to a deeper faith as we encounter Jesus there. This is our vision; a world where, despite suffering, sickness and oppression, we continue to love, and to show up; a world where in the midst of suffering, and sickness and oppression we still kneel down so that we can carry the wounded. 

The final words once again are from St. Teresa of Calcutta. “People are often unreasonable and self-centered, forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of having selfish motives, be kind anyway. If you are honest people may cheat you and take advantage of you, be honest anyway. The good you do, people may forget tomorrow, do good anyway. You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God, not between you and these people.”