The opening words of this first letter of St. Paul are almost a summary of what it means to grow in faith and spirituality. They point to the ways to achieve that growth: proving your faith, labouring in love, and showing constancy in hope in Our Lord Jesus Christ. Some of us may have been baptized as children others may have learned Catholic doctrine in primary or secondary school and consequently made the choice to be baptized. We should never be content with the faith we learned as children or teenagers: as our human know- ledge grows on many levels, to deal with life as we progress into adulthood and then into old age, so, too our faith must deepen to give us the wisdom and courage to live as better Catholics

St. Paul speaks of "proving" our faith. We must understand that this "proving" is not an intellectual or rational exercise. "Proving our faith" means demonstrating the depth of our faith as we live in complete accordance with it, simply to live as good and sincere Catholics loving as Jesus loved us, and serving as a channel of God's hope for the world.