To the God who reveals himself - teaches Dei Verbum - is due "the obedience of faith" (n. 5). God revealed himself in the Old Covenant, demanding from his chosen people a fundamental adherence of faith. In the fullness of time, this faith is called to be renewed and developed, in response to the revelation of the incarnate Son of God. Jesus expressly demands it, addressing his disciples at the Last Supper: "You have faith in God; have faith also in me" (Jn 14:1).

2. Jesus had already asked the group of twelve Apostles for a profession of faith in his person. At Caesarea Philippi, after having questioned the disciples about the opinions expressed by the people concerning his identity, he asked: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15). The answer comes from Simon: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16).

Immediately Jesus confirms the value of this profession of faith, emphasising that it does not proceed simply from human thought, but from heavenly inspiration: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for neither flesh nor blood has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17). These expressions of a strong Semitic colour designate the total, absolute and supreme revelation: that which refers to the person of Christ the Son of God.

The profession of faith made by Peter will remain the definitive expression of Christ's identity. Mark takes up its terms to introduce his Gospel (cf. Mk 1:1), John refers to it at the conclusion of his, affirming that he wrote it so that "that one may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God", and so that, believing, one may have life in his name (cf. Jn 20:31).

3. In what does faith consist? The Constitution Dei Verbum explains that with it "man freely surrenders himself to God in his entirety, paying Him 'full obedience of intellect and will' and voluntarily consenting to the revelation given by Him" (n.5). Faith is, therefore, not only adherence of the intellect to revealed truth, but also obedience of the will and self-giving to God who reveals Himself. It is an attitude that engages the whole of existence.

The Council goes on to recall that faith requires "the grace of God, which anticipates and succours, and the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and turns it to God, opens the eyes of the mind, and gives everyone gentleness in allowing and believing the truth" (ibid.). Thus we can see how faith, on the one hand, makes one accept the truth contained in Revelation and proposed by the Magisterium of those who, as Pastors of the People of God, have received a "certain charism of truth" (Dei Verbum, 8). On the other hand, faith also urges true and profound consistency, which must be expressed in all aspects of a life modelled on that of Christ.

4. Fruit as it is of grace, faith exerts an influence on events. This is admirably seen in the exemplary case of the Blessed Virgin. At the Annunciation, her adherence of faith to the angel's message is decisive for the very coming of Jesus into the world. Mary is the Mother of Christ because she first believed in Him.

At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary for her faith obtains the miracle. Faced with a response from Jesus that seemed less than favourable, she maintained a confident attitude, thus becoming a model of the bold and persistent faith that overcomes obstacles.

Bold and persistent was also the faith of the Canaanite woman. To this woman, who had come to ask for the healing of her daughter, Jesus had opposed the Father's plan, which limited his mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Canaanite woman answered with all the strength of her faith and obtained the miracle: "Woman, truly great is your faith! May it be done to you as you wish" (Mt 15:28).

5. In many other instances, the Gospel testifies to the power of faith. Jesus expresses his admiration for the centurion's faith: "Truly I tell you, I have found no one in Israel with such great faith" (Mt 8:10). And to Bartimaeus he says: "Go, your faith has saved you" (Mk 10:52). He repeats the same thing to the haemorrhagic woman (cf. Mk 5:34).

The words addressed to the father of the epileptic, who desired the healing of his son, are no less impressive: "Everything is possible for those who believe" (Mk 9:23).

The role of faith is to cooperate with this omnipotence. Jesus demands such cooperation to the extent that, on returning to Nazareth, he performs almost no miracles for the reason that the inhabitants of his village did not believe in him (cf. Mk 6:5-6). For the purpose of salvation, faith is of decisive importance for Jesus.

St Paul will develop Christ's teaching when, in contrast to those who wanted to base the hope of salvation on the observance of the Jewish law, he will emphatically affirm that faith in Christ is the only source of salvation: "For we hold that man is justified by faith, regardless of the works of the law" (Rom 3:28). We must not, however, forget that St Paul was thinking of that authentic and full faith "which works through charity" (Gal 5:6). True faith is animated by love of God, which is inseparable from love of one's brothers and sisters.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1998]