In the Catholic Bible Dictionary, Dr. Scott Hahn writes, “Hebrews 11:1 gives a simple and elegant definition of faith: ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Summa theologiae gave us the classic theological definition of faith: ‘Faith is the act of the intellect when it assents to divine truth under the influence of the will moved by God through grace.’”
Faith involves grace, will, and intellect. The grace of God moves the will, and the will moves the intellect to give assent to revealed truth. Hence, to increase our faith, we must work on the three areas of grace, will, and intellect.
Faithfulness to grace will lead to an increase of faith, whereas abuse of grace may lead to unbelief. Prayer and the sacraments are the main sources of grace. Faithfulness to religious practices such as Sunday Mass, confession, and daily prayer is very important for preservation of and growth in faith.
Resistance to grace leads to darkness of the mind and hardness of the heart. We need to willingly cooperate with the grace of God so that we can have greater confidence and devotion in the practice of faith.
A deep study of Christian faith helps us preserve and increase our faith. Study leads to a fuller and more explicit knowledge of the truth. We have a moral obligation to protect our faith by avoiding reading materials that are dangerous to faith. It is very important for parents to safeguard their children from inappropriate materials.
On April 12, 1947, Our Lady helped restoring the faith of a fallen-away Catholic, Bruno Cornacchiola, by appearing to him at a cave near Tre Fontane (the Three Fountains) in Rome.
Bruno took his three children to the Trappist monastery at Tre Fontane because the shop there was famous for its chocolate. The shop was to open at 4 p.m. While waiting, the children played with a ball, while Bruno sat in the shade with his Bible to prepare an anti-Catholic and anti-Marian talk he was scheduled to deliver the next day.
At about 3:20 p.m. Bruno was disturbed by the children’s shouts over their lost ball. As he was helping them to find the ball, the youngest child went missing. Bruno found him in the small cave, kneeling and repeating: “Beautiful Lady!”
Bruno asked the other two children for help, but soon they too knelt and repeated: “Beautiful Lady!” Bruno tried in vain to lift up the children. He was terrified and cried out: “God help us!”
Then Bruno himself saw the beautiful lady. She wore a green mantle over a white dress with a rose-coloured sash around her waist. The lady was holding a Bible and called herself “Virgin of the Revelation.” She identified herself as “Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, and Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit.”
At her bare feet lay a black cloth which had a smashed crucifix on it. The black cloth is the symbol of priests abandoning their vocation, and the smashed crucifix is the symbol of Catholics abandoning their faith.
Our Lady talked to Bruno for about one hour and 20 minutes. The children could see her lips moving but couldn’t hear anything.
After the apparition, Bruno was a changed man. He and the children went to the Trappist church to pray in thanksgiving. Before they went home, Bruno scratched on the floor of the cave: “On 12th April 1947 the Virgin of Revelation appeared in this grotto to the Protestant Bruno Cornacchiola and his children and he was converted.”
Here are some of the messages of the Virgin of the Revelation:
“Live the divine doctrine. Practise Christianity. Live the faith.”
“Science will deny God and will refuse His calls.”
“Pray much and recite the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers, and of all Christians.”
博諾重拾信德
在「天主教聖經字典」裡，韓思覺博士引述聖保祿宗徒致希伯來人書（11:1）說：「『信德是所希望之事的擔保，是未見之事的確證』，是精簡信德的演譯。」聖多瑪斯在其「神學撮要」中，給我們有關信德的傳統神學定義：「信德是在天主聖寵推動下的意志，使智力贊同超性的真理。」
信德包含聖寵、意志及智力。天主聖寵推動意志，意志推動智力，去贊同天主所啟示的真理。因此，要令信德增長，要在聖寵、意志和智力三方面下功夫。
忠於聖寵的指引會領信德增長；相反，妄用聖寵可導致失信。祈禱與聖事是聖寵的來源。持守實踐神業，如參與主日彌撒、妥辦告解，和每天祈禱，對增長信德至為重要。
抗拒聖寵，引致明悟黑暗和心硬。我們要以意志和天主的聖寵合作，纔能有更大的信賴及熱誠，去實踐信德。
對基督信仰的深究，會幫助我們保守及增加信德。鑽研引致對信仰更全面和更明確的智識。我們在道德上的義務去避免閱讀危害信德的東西。父母在重大責任保護子女不受不良閱物的毒害。
1947年4月12日，聖母在羅馬的三泉附近一個洞內，顯現給背教的博諾.郝勒基愕拏，恢復了他的信德。
那天，博諾帶著三個孩子，到三泉的熙篤會苦修院，為買些出名的巧克力。等待商店營業時，孩子們在打球，博諾則坐在遮蔭的角落，拿著一本聖經，起草他反對天主教及反聖母的詞稿，準備次日的演講。
不多久，孩子們尋找失球的擾攘聲，驚動了博諾。博諾幫他們找失球時，其中一名孩子不見了，卻後來發現他在一個小洞內，跪著，口中不停驚嘆著：「真美麗的女士啊！」
博諾喚進其餘兩個孩子，他們竟然都跪下來，眼睛望著同一方向，驚嘆著：「真美麗的女士啊！」博諾使勁力設法把三個孩子拉站起來，他們卻絲毫不動，博諾禁不住大為驚慄，大喊：「天主幫助我們啊！」
瞬間，博諾看到一位十分美麗的女士，身穿潔白衣裳，披著綠色的斗篷，腰間是玫瑰紅色的腰帶，手執聖經，自稱是「啟示的貞女」，又自稱「天父的女兒、聖子之母，聖神的淨配和宮殿」。她光著的腳掌下面，有一塊黑布，和砸碎了的苦像。黑布是象徵放棄聖召的司鐸；砸碎了的苦像，象徵放棄信德的教友。
聖母和博諾對話了一小時二十分鐘。三個孩子看到聖母嘴唇微動，卻聽不到她說些什麼。
顯示過後，博諾變了另一個人。他帶著孩子，進入熙篤會隱修院的聖堂，祈禱感恩。離開前，博諾在小洞的地上，刻上：1947年4月12日，「啟示的貞女」在這洞內，向誓反教教徒博諾.郝勒基愕拏，及他的孩子們顯現，並使他皈依。
以下是「啟示的貞女」傳遞的一些訊息：「活出神聖的教義 。 實踐基督宗教。活出信德。」 「 科學會否認天主並拒絕祂的召叫。」「要為罪人、不信者、和所有基督徒的皈化而多祈禱和唸玫瑰經。」
