Sed Contra: A Podcast of Catholic Theology

Thinking About the Virtue of Faith with St Thomas Part I

Sep 30, 2025
Molly Ecclesrud, a doctoral candidate in moral theology, and Father John Wilson, a priest and theology doctoral candidate, delve into the richness of faith through the lens of St. Thomas Aquinas. They explore how faith is defined as assurance and evidence, discussing the unique role of God as the object of theological virtues. The duo explains the difference between natural and supernatural knowledge of God, and how conversion transforms our judgment. They also tackle how faith can vary in degree and certainty, while emphasizing its growth through divine grace.
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INSIGHT

Faith Defined By Its Object

  • Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, per Hebrews 11:1 and Aquinas.
  • The theological virtues uniquely orient the soul to God as their object and end.
INSIGHT

God As Faith's Formal Object

  • Aquinas locates faith's formal object in God himself as first truth revealing.
  • Articles of faith participate in God and mediate his self-revelation to the intellect.
INSIGHT

Object Specifies The Virtue

  • An object's role is to perfect a person through engagement, specifying the human act.
  • The object makes an act distinct and thus determines the virtue formed by repeated right action.
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